NEW SHOES TO KICK YOUR GAME UP A NOTCH T
IT’S A TENNIS REVOLUTION
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s t n e Cont V OLU
UR ME F O
NO . 4
Find out why Juan Martin del Potro is our choice for Hot Champ on Page 19.
FEATURES 10 THE BELIEVER Five lessons you can learn from Melanie Oudin. By Stephen Tignor
14 NET MAN Devin Britton serves and volleys his way onto the pro tour. By Peter Bodo
18 HOT LIST SMASH ’s picks for what’s heating
up the world of tennis
DEPARTMENTS 03 PHOTO OPS 04 GAME ON 08 GEAR The latest shoes
09 LOCKER ROOM Winter tennis essentials
24 FINAL CALL
NEW SHOES TO KICK YOUR GAME UP A NOTCH T IT’S A TENNIS REVOLUTION
THE HOT LIST
THE NEXT BABY FEDERER ROOKIE PRO DEVIN BRITTON MARAT SAFIN CHECKS OUT
FROM BELGIANS TO BROOKLYN DECKER, WHAT MAKES TENNIS WORTH WATCHING RIGHT NOW
THIS PAGE: CHRIS MCGRATH/GETTY IMAGES
MELANIE
OUDIN
AMERICA’S SWEETHEART SHOWS YOU HOW IT’S DONE
ON THE COVER Melanie Oudin may be America’s latest sweetheart, but she has a mean game. The 18-year-old upset three seeded Russians at the U.S. Open, and she has the skills to keep it going. See what you can learn from her starting on Page 10. Photograph by Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images S M AS H
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Editor-in-Chief James Martin Executive Editor Stephen Tignor Design Director Gary Stewart Managing Editor Sarah Unke Associate Editor Sarah Thurmond Contributing Editors Peter Bodo, Bill Gray, Tom Perrotta Senior Instruction Editor Paul Annacone Touring Editor Brad Gilbert Instruction Editor Rick Macci Gear Advisers David Bone, Bruce Levine, Roman Prokes, Dr. David G. Sharnoff, D.P.M. Photo Editor David Rosenberg Designer Jason Sfetko Production Director Ray Smith Prepress Manager Kent Armstrong Partner George Mackin Publisher Chris Evert Group Publisher Jeff Williams, jwilliams@tennis.com ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES New York Adam Milner (associate publisher), amilner@tennis.com; Buz Keenan (business development), (212) 636-2724, bkeenan@tennis.com; Jodi Neuhauser (sales and marketing manager), (212) 636-2751, jneuhauser@tennis.com; Stephanie Bonk (sales and marketing coordinator), (212) 636-2741, sbonk@tennis.com; fax: (212) 636-2720; 79 Madison Ave., Eighth Floor, New York, NY 10016
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2009 Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation 1. Title of publication: SMASH 2. Publication number: 024-124 3. Filing date: September 22, 2009 4. Issue Frequency: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter 5. Number of issues published annually: 4 6. Annual subscription price: $9.97 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: Miller Sports Group, LLC 79 Madison Ave., 8th Floor, New York, NY 10016-8730 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: 1918 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90405 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor, and managing editor: Group Publisher: Jeff Williams, Same as no. 7 Editor: James Martin, Same as no. 7 Managing Editor: Sarah Unke, Same as no. 7 10. Owner: Miller Sports Group, LLC 1918 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90405 Owned by: Miller Publishing Group, LLC & TDG MS Investors, LLC 1918 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90405 11. Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: Miller Mackin Holdings, LLC 1918 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90405 12. Tax status: Has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: SMASH 14. Issue date for circulation data below: Fall 2009 15. Extent and nature of circulation:
Circulation Manager Matt Bramble Assistant Circulation Manager Richard Duncan TENNIS.com Managing Editor Abigail Lorge Online Producer Tino Persico Assistant Editor Ed McGrogan MILLER PUBLISHING GROUP LLC President and CEO Robert L. Miller Technology and Production Director Andy Nelson Chief Financial Officer Mike Sultan Editorial and National Sales and Marketing Offices: (212) 636-2700; 79 Madison Ave., Eighth Floor, New York, NY 10016 Customer Service You must be a USTA Member to receive SMASH. For change of address or service related issues, please contact the USTA at (800) 990-8782. Publications Agreement #40612608 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2
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I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties). Jeff Williams, Publisher
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY GETTY IMAGES
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Yanina Wickmayer celebrates by the Unisphere at Flushing Meadows Corona Park after her semifinal run at the U.S. Open.
NAME TEEKAY JULIAN FINNEY/GETTY IMAGES
MPIONS A H C N W OMEGROER WANNABE EVER? H S ’ T S DWE CHI DER • THE MITEST ROGER FE RO OR UNDERAN’S TOUR • THE LA SAFIN, MAESTVER ON THE ME • MARAT TURN TAKES O • THE RE
>>> FEELING HER PAIN: In Tokyo in October, Maria Sharapova won her first title since being sidelined with a rotator cuff injury by defeating Jelena Jankovic, who retired with a wrist injury in the final. >>> 104: Rankings spots John
0 0S M 4 SM AS AH SH
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King of the Catch
Buchanan
MIDWEST MARVELS
FROM LEFT: AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES; DAVID KENAS; COURTESY OF ERKAN SOYSAL
TWO AMERICANS ARE TAKING THE SNOW-COVERED ROAD LESS TRAVELED FOR EVERY PETE Sampras and Chris Evert, players who took up tennis in the year-round sunshine of California and Florida, there is a Chase Buchanan or Brooke Austin. As two of the brightest prospects in American tennis, Buchanan and Austin are shunning the usual sun-baked path to success by pursuing their tennis dreams in Ohio and Indiana, far from the meccas best known for churning out champions. The stubborn resistance they have shown by staying in the Midwest snowbelt is a quality that has served them well on the court. Buchanan, 18, of New Albany, Ohio, captured the USTA Boys’ 18s National Hard Court Championship in Kalamazoo, Mich., this summer to earn a wild card into the U.S. Open. Indianapolis native Austin is the top-ranked girl in the USTA 14-and-unders and helped the U.S. win the 2009 World rld Junior Tennis title. Both have resisted d the temptation to attend tennis academies or relocate e to warmer areas. “I’ve always been the kind of person who wants to be around nd his friends and family,” says Buchanan, n, a sophomore at Ohio State University who won a Futures pro event last year as a 16-year-old 6-year-old amateur. “It never crossed my mind,” Austin says. Taking the road less s traveled requires discipline, fortitude rtitude and patience. Logistics are e particularly tricky in the winters. Austin’s 5 A.M. sessions are held in a private, unheated bubble because ause winter indoor court time can be hard to come by in Indianapolis. lis. “It’s in the teens sometimes,” says ys her longtime coach, Jeff Smith. “You have to wear three layers Austin of clothing.” Buchanan played six ix months of the year inside and struggled to find competition in
his mid-teens. Both players have had to hit the road often to face adequate opposition. That makes it hard to make and maintain friends while competing. “It’s different because you don’t really know anyone [at tournaments] because no one else from your section is there,” Austin says. The challenge of combining practice and travel with a regular education caused Buchanan to opt for home-schooling starting in ninth grade. Austin, an eighth-grader, is considering it as well. There are perks to staying in the snowbelt: More time with family and proving that there isn’t just one route to tennis success. “It’s not easy,” Buchanan says, “but I’m happier doing it this way than I would be doing it down in Florida.” Buchanan got a strong first taste of Grand Slam tennis at this year’s U.S. Op Open when he drew Top 10 player playe Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France France. “It’s a lot different playing a 17- or 18-yearold and playing a guy who is [24] and pretty much a physical specimen,” he said aft after managing just d three games in a straight-set defeat. But the experience paid off when he reached the final even taking out the of the U.S. Open boys’ event, world’s top-ranked junior, Yuki Bhambri, w along the way. Buc Buchanan’s mother, Meli Melissa, says his tennis has involved ten sa sacrifice for the w whole family. But cl clearly, you can su succeed in tennis ev even when the sun doe doesn’t cooperate, she says. s “Chase always wanted to prove you c could do this from a little club in Ohio.”
It’s the coolest trick on tour. A player catches an errant ball on his racquet out of midair and suavely tosses it to a ball kid. (Search “Rafael Nadal Neat Ball Trick” on YouTube to see what we mean.) But nobody can do it quite like Erkan Soysal. The Turkish-born teaching pro, who lives in Germany, has pushed the boundaries of tennisball catching. He’s caught balls from more than 400 feet away, ones that were fired directly at him from a ball machine at a speed of almost 100 m.p.h., and some while paragliding. What’s the, um, catch to this trick? “Anticipation,” says Soysal, who coils his whole body around the oncoming ball like a giant snake. But, alas, the language barrier prevented him from going into detail on how to do it, so we asked Mike Leach, director of tennis at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Florida, to show us how. Here’s his advice: Start by catching the ball with your hands as though you are at an egg-catching contest, moving your hands down and back at the same speed as the ball. After you’ve got a feel for the motion, try the trick with your stick. At first, it might help your control if you hold the racquet at the throat as you cradle the ball back. Once you’ve mastered that, practice with your hand on the grip. “The key is making the racquet move at exactly the same speed as the ball,” Leach says. “Too slow and it’ll bounce—bing, bing, bing— too fast and you’ll miss it entirely.”—ALLEN ST. JOHN
“CHASE ALWAYS WANTED TO PROVE YOU COULD DO THIS FROM A LITTLE CLUB IN OHIO,” OHIO, BUCHANAN BUCHANAN’SS MOTHER, MELISSA, SAYS.
Isner jumped, from No. 143 in January uary to No. 39 after the U.S.
Soysal
—DOUGLAS ROBSON Open, where he was tthe last American man standing. >>> BAD ODDS: The Australian Open singles purse rose to
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FED NEXT? GRIGOR DIMITROV IS A TOP-NOTCH PROSPECT WITH A FAMILIAR LOOK TENNIS FANS AT the ATP tour Rotterdam event in the Netherlands had watched Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play a tear-filled Australian Open final less than two weeks before on TV. Now Nadal was battling again, this time in front of them. His opponent? He was a tall, thin guy with a smooth one-handed backhand, a dangerous topspin forehand, and a certain casual betweenpoint strut. Had Federer snuck into the draw to try to avenge his Aussie Open loss? No, the player giving Nadal so much trouble wasn’t the Grand Slam king, but an 18-year-old from Bulgaria who had idolized him for years, Grigor Dimitrov. While Nadal would win in three sets, the kid left an impression. “He’s headed to the Top 10 for sure,” the Spaniard said afterward. Dimitrov has talent to spare—he won junior titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2008—but as this season drew to a close, the Top 10 remained a distant dream. “I had some bad luck with draws,” says Dimitrov, who was ranked No. 308 late in 2009. “I had the
SAFIN SIGNS OFF
Marat Safin has been both maestro and underachiever on court, with awesome and lame antics along the way. Here’s how he fits into to the scheme sc of te tennis greatness
goal of the Top 150 this year, but I still think I did a lot of hard work.” He’s been doing that work at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris with the man who coached Federer to his first Wimbledon title in 2003, Peter Lundgren. “We’ve been focusing a lot on physical training and getting stronger,” says Dimitrov, who, at 6-foot-2, is a rail thin 169 pounds. For fans at the U.S. Open qualifying event this year, there was a sense of déjà vu seeing the ponytailed Lundgren in the stands and Dimitrov, with his uncanny resemblance to Federer, on court. He slapped balls loosely in the warm-up, bent low and spun his racquet before returning serve,
and led with his elbow as he extended all the way through his backhand. “I was a big fan of Roger’s growing up,” Dimitrov says. “It’s been amazing to meet him.” Still, Dimitrov knows he’ll have to find his own way to succeed. “It’s great that people say I play like him, but he has his trademark, and I have to have mine. I have to be Grigor Dimitrov first.” That was obvious in the second round of qualifying in New York, where Dimitrov wowed the audience with beautifully spun slice backhands and jumping forehand winners, but lost in straight sets. As if we needed any more proof: It’s not easy to play like Roger Federer. —STEPHEN TIGNOR
MAESTROO ● At 20 in
● Reaches ’02
Australian Open final but loses to underdog Thomas Johansson.
2000, wins the U.S. Open and reaches No. 1.
● Wins
second Slam title at ’05 Australian Open.
● Leads Russia
to its first Davis Cup title in 2002.
● Calls his blond
entourage Down Under in ’02 his “unbelievably beautiful bench.” ● On Once voted the
fans favorite fans’ player, Safin play complains that com tennis is “not tenn interesting, inte because it’s bec boring.” bori
● Signs megabucks,
multi-year deal with Dunlop in ’01 but goes back to old Head racquet within a year.
say he’s washedup, reaches ’08 Wimbledon semis on his least favorite surface.
● GQ’s 2005 spread of “the purest physical talent in the history of the game” is a hit with the ladies. es.
LAME AME ME
AWESOME ● Worst season
ever? In 2006, hits lowest ranking (No. 104) in eight years.
● Curses at
climb Himalayan mountain instead of play tennis; bails on expedition after 10 days.
● After an
● Or is 2007 the
worst ever? Fails to reach a singles final for the first time since 1998.
umpire, smashes racquet during first-round loss at Wimbledon in ’04, then issues sincere apology.
● Decides to
● Fined $2,000
for tanking at the beginning of the 2000 season.
injury-plagued 2003 season, falls out of Top 50 for first time in five years.
● After dismal smal ’03 season, n, “chills out”” by camping g and fishing g in California.
UNDERACHIEVER
● Loses in first
round at Montreal in ’09, but defends lil’ sis Dinara by telling her critics they can go bleep themselves.
● A 12-year-old Safin is not accepted into Nick Bollettieri’s academy; seven years later he wins his first tour title.
CHECK, TENT AND MONEY: ISTOCK PHOTO; ALL OTHER PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
● Though many
a record $1.86 million, but only five Aussies, including Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, were ranked high enough this fall to gain direct entry. >>> GOT HER NUMBER: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova posted back-to-back wins
6
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SMASH 15 OUR TAKE ON TENNIS AND THE WORLD AROUND IT–BUT DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT The Austrian postal service has honored Rogerr ht Federer with a postage stamp. Wait, we thought Federer was Swiss.
Dinara Safina takes yet another step to becoming ming the least d a wild card back deserving No. 1 ever by losing to a qualifier and to back in Tokyo and Beijing. An underdog with bite: Jesse Witten, playing in only his second Grand Slam, cruises to the third round at the U.S. Open before losing to Novak Djokovic in a tough four-setter. Way to go, J-Dub. The Belgian brigade: Kim Clijsters, Yanina s Wickmayer and Justine Henin—three contenders o. from a country where there were none a year ago.
THE RISE OF THE RETURN THE OVERPOWERING SERVE IS UNDER ATTACK AS PRO TENNIS BECOMES A DEFENSIVE GAME UNLESS YOUR TV has been on the blink for the last couple of years, you’ve no doubt noticed that pro tennis has shifted from being a fast-serve contest to a counterpunching battle from the baseline. Indeed, the serve is losing its importance and the return is on the rise, particularly on the men’s tour, according to our informal poll of players, coaches and analysts. “The game has evolved,” says John McEnroe, a serve-and-volleyer in his playing days. He thought the change was especially obvious in the 2008 Wimbledon final, when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were “serving and staying back nine out of 10 times,” he said. “Who would have thought [that would happen] in their wildest dreams after watching the likes of [Boris] Becker, [Pete] Sampras and [Goran] Ivanisevic?” Federer agrees: “Players used to attack,” he says. “Now they defend more.” The women also showed a shift from offense to defense at this year’s U.S. Open, where players with attackable serves such as Melanie Oudin, Caroline Wozniacki and winner Kim Clijsters made big impacts. HERE’S A LOOK AT WHAT HELPED CHANGE THE GAME » New wonder strings: The hot string on the tours these days is polyester-based Luxilon, which allows players to take huge swings and generate spin to keep the ball on the court. “When tthe majority of players started using Luxilon, game much more than anything else,” it affected the return r James Blake says. sa “It made serving and volleying much returning that much more easy.” tougher and ret » Better fitness: fitnes “It’s become a lot more about legs and a lot less about actual s shot-making,” says Andy Roddick, who clocked a record 155 m.p.h. blast bla and calls himself “the last real big server.” » Slower courts: “It’s “It not science fiction that the courts are slower now and it’s more important to win a rally,” Ivan Ljubicic says. Novak Djokov Djokovic agrees. “The [slower surfaces] give more opportunities to th the players who are physically well prepared and whose games are based on the baseline,” he says. “I am one of them.” » Slower balls: “The “ Wimbledon ball is like a flipping grapefruit,” says say Larry Stefanki, Roddick’s coach. » Better receivers: “Everyone’s eye is better,” says Mike rece Bryan, adding that when Roddick came on tour, his big serve “scared “scare people.” “It’s still the biggest weapon in the “but guys are returning it pretty calmly.” game,” he says, s hands are better than one: The majority of » Two han players use us two-handed backhands, which can deflect the hardest serves into the court. The player who even th put the ball back in play when returning or set up can pu big ground stroke with a well-placed serve stands a bi the best chance of winning.—DOUGLAS ROBSON th
A Andre Agassi on the current comeback mania: “I’m s sure Kim [Clijsters] has inspired a lot of people. But s she can’t inspire this 39-year-old.” K Kimiko Date-Krumm turned 39 the day after she w won the Korean Open in September. She became the o oldest WTA tour titlist since Billie Jean King won a ttitle at age 39 in 1983. Biggest loser: Ivo Karlovic serves up more than an three sets worth of aces—78 in all—in a five-sett Davis Cup semifinal loss to Radek Stepanek. We definitely prefer “Delpo” for Juan Martin del Potro’s nickname over what Argentin Argentines call him: “The Giant from Tandil” (his hometown). Here’s ho hoping that the USTA will bring the U.S. Ope Open up to speed with the other Slams and deci decide in 2010 to put a roof on Ashe. “The curse is over,” says Gael Monfils. He won his first title in four years in Metz in September. Devin Britton tweets on what an honor it was to play Roger Federer in his Grand Slam debut: “Best time I’ve ever had losing. Actually, best time I’ve ever had, period.” Rick Macci, who coached Jennifer Capriati and the Williams sisters, on his new protégé, Mia “The Kangaroo” Lines of Australia: “I have never seen a 4-year-old with such god-given talent.” Wishful thinking for 2010 . . . Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic get their games back.
. . . Sam Querrey recovers quickly from emergency arm surgery and finishes in the Top 10.
. . . and Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal stay off the injured list.
over Venus Williams in Tokyo and Beijing. >>> BIG DIFFERENCE: The ’09 U.S. Open men were 1 inch taller and 5 pounds heavier on average than the guys 20 years ago, and twice as many were 6-foot-4 or taller. <<<
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MEL A NIE OUDIN HAS F MADE HERSEL F THE FUTURE O AMERICAN ARE TENNIS. HERE FIVE LESSONS N YOU CAN LEAR AR’S FROM THIS YE . YOUNGEST U.SROPEN QUARTE FINALIST. BY OR STEPHEN TIGN 10
FROM LEFT: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; HAMISH BLAIR/GETTY IMAGES; KEVIN C. COX/GETTY IMAGES
THE R E V E I L E B
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a stunning paid of f with re turn, and it t Maria r ns he ai g in ag , tic ch prac t her next mat ou to play ab ed d ed ke ne As just upse t. dn’t say she di n outside di ll Ou ba e a, t th Sharapov needed to hi e sh id ball sa e e th her game. Sh zone and keep wn. nt ’s comfort do ne nd po be op a r ov he of Sharap ill help the 6- foot -2 rpose. This w low to make game.” yourself a pu y ve m stract gi di ay to d pl is an to y le The ke just have uncomfortab an y l the time: “I ur opponent ate on what t very far at yo tr e ge en ak to nc You hear it al m g co u in ll yo u’ go ’s game. . You’re no t r your own nerves. Yo And it’s tr ue someone else ing yourself fo you from your tr ying to play ther than judg terms can her re ra , ur u’ as yo do yo er if to on ng l in ro ve ve w st le you ha , Oudin grew the desire to g. n en in te Op was a do of e is is o th th to nt , At t rs ne s. Bu ur oppo mistake ing to de Villie s nore what yo ent on. Accord accomplish. Brian de Villier w h to es ac ed lead you to ig ch co ed at d m ne an e din. She games on e of her owing what sh Not so for Ou k down their product of kn ts in the middl nts and brea mentieva ht adjustmen “having De ig a sl by e en d El er en w e ed re scout oppone th se in “The ticed e faced No. 4 But she won . no sh s ys re er sa fo lli he Vi Be . ,” .” de tape n and matches r game plan rves eadows, Oudi to stick to he n hits mos t se at Flushing M the discipline ns the Russia io e at tu tim si a tr ht that in tig They spent ex nent ’s body. into her oppo
1. GO IN WITYH A STRATEG
ES 2. BE ON YOUR TO
r or the turfRoger Federe s us the gr ace of th famou e wi g os in th ov of m just because ts when they ’re t ge en , no s ev gs , it’ rin d et st fe an r , he e play er s’ seeing Oudin’s up e fidge ts wi th that you no tic you can’ t help and bounces the same: Sh t es ys Bu to s. wa r It ’s no t of ten al am he is l illi on ua r of Venus W ts herself up ice- re turn rit lif rv e se sh r ll, He ba . e gobbling po we en Op is tossing th e he th re at the U. S. her opponent ep mov ing all shoes she wo n, and then, as steps and ke can tio e tle he si lit po as e y w Us : lo ad re do as to in the Nadal bends el ach tells you on ho t coals. fa co din e’s y Ra Ou er sh r on e ev fo as lik at es re go ion of wh and do wn For the same entr ate. That gerated vers point begins? body to conc a s hi re g fo in This is an exag . be rc ys en fo ev mself, and ,” de Villiers sa r mov ees Oudin do it y of br acing hi e’s on her toes ll see that he time. W hy do serv e. It ’s a wa tter when sh rally and you’ es be a r, she’ll iv g es he ce rin ov at re m du e e he n dl di sh id be fore elanie feels se. Watch Ou rd do wn the m “M ur ha ll. co t e we of hi , th is as rn in ll tu et dy ba and her fe af ter her re Ev en when a ich pu t her bo op bouncing of tin y steps. r fast feet , wh r bigges t ns he He ze e s. ar do t nt They don’ t st of an ne up rt po e t mor e impo of her taller op n shot s is mad hands? Yes, bu iv e weapons ment be tw ee her body. Fast ve the of fens ha of t t n’ on es fr in do n it mee t ace. Oudi ht aw ay. in the fir st pl them firing rig right posi tion and she ge ts , et fe r he e streng ths ar
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urns of doing. “Ret us ever think rt of her pa g bi a be have to we er s says, “so game,” de Villi .” w no e or m t e w ork on it a lo significant tim Oudin spends t ou ng yi tr , r re turn prac ticing he n appr oach e mother of t w ay s she ca th en is er ff ity di ss si ve w ith Nece es gr ch ag hi w be ey say, the shot and is is to n invention, th di th Ou es e do e 5- foot -6 . it. One w ay sh means that th ry cr eative on on her re turn e” gl an e th ve f of ut se “c ra ph r is will have to be of he hear d th w here mos t You may have t does ally the pr o tour, ach, but w ha mor e physic co be ur ill yo w s om nt fr you w oppone ho ns ea es m rib her. That mean? It desc it a n p sing than w impo e, do rv k to trac mix up her se should move she’ll need to fr om you mix t ay us aw m t e hi sh ’s eans serve that but it also m fe w of s, something up her re turn
3. CUT OFF S THE ANGLE
s. of the corner and in to one ng your hi tc re st an Ra ther th line, you l to the base body paralle w ar d to ly al on ag di should move re u’ yo as ee t it the ball and m allo w s a is Th d. ar rw mov ing fo put like Oudin to small player e shot . th to in t gh ei mor e of her w s w ha t it’ s, er lli de Vi According to her ith w es mos t he emphasiz turn. re e th to es w hen it com e’s mov ing “A s long as sh cut off ys, “trying to sa he ” d, ar forw nent po op e th giving the angle and y.” ppy. ha I’m , ok lo a diff er en t
T AND O H S Y R E V E E S U 4. RT U O C E H T F O T R A EVERY P
the ball, they can bang at lesson. taught that if e th d ar s se er is m ay pl ve tour n seems to ha em, di Aspiring W TA th Ou . of ce st an be ch ha ve a hand wi th the re this fo g To in they ’ll al wa ys t. at in tr po a lo w and pene r wa ys to win She can hi t a ar e man y othe t play er s. e os er m th an s th ow e kn or bu t she also ing the ot locations m e began mov s spins and sh W imbledon, sh at the line, end, she varie ic wn ov do nk nd Ja ha Jelena ning her back in sp Do wn a se t to r de he si ft by her right rehand and le d nd an ha former No. 1 to kh Jankov ic’s fo ck ac ba ced aw ay fr om r cr osscourt un he bo s, it ot e sh er st tter n. wh be pa s is n’s th di Ou om fr of one escape vulner able to ed ou t ho w to stt Russia’s agains ic ne ver figur d match was un -ro n her driv e. Jankov st en fir atte be n’s d ea en, Oudi enager who ha At the U. S. Op va, a fello w te off going toe to ko y ar en W ch . er yu rli vl time in Anas tasia Pa t tw o year s ea an wasted no en junior ev en va, the Americ ne. The ko easily in the Op zo en rt ch fo yu m vl co r bigger Pa nent ou t of he po n. op toe wi th the r ga he be t n shot to ge ar-making ru using her dr op and Oudin’s st Villiers . “She r go t on tr ack cording to de ac , an pl e Russian ne ve th of ike play er.” trrik rt st -s pa st al fir rm a Change is a no ys . “She’s no t sa he ,” ty rie wi th va needs to play
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5. BELIEVE
FROM LEFT: JULIAN FINNEY/GETTY IMAGES; HAMISH BLAIR/ GETTY IMAGES; TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
se, is easier This, of cour ne. It ’s no t do an th said ve in your self lie be hard to to a cour t, on k as you w al ecial kind sp a but it takes d tenacity to an e nc tie pa of w hen you fall keep the faith s pr oven ha n di behind. Ou ecial sp e she has thos d regardless an , es ut ib tr at ts the ball, of ho w she hi ue to be her in nt they ’ll co t asse ts. an mos t import strength “Her bigges t ughness in to l ta en m r is he believes s ay w al that she Villiers de ,” she can win very compe ti’s he “S . ys sa s the battle.” tive and love se t is no t din m This t it’s a pr oduc n; easy to lear t Bu p. eu ak m l of your men ta n ca u yo ts ther e ar e habi w ill help keep de velop that . e as possible you as positiv s e’ sh n he w Watch Oudin many of the losing. Unlike ayer s, she pl en top w om tle nega tive lit ry show s ve esn’ t spend do emotion and iticizing much time cr errors. The r te af f hersel pically ge t ty ll mos t you’ a look of fr om Oudin is Nadal, she ke Li f. ie el disb time af ter e th s ke also ta in t to fir e po y ke w inning a “Come a ith herself up w pump. Mor e t fis a or !” on luntar y than just invo serve as ey th , reac tions rs to Oudin de in tangible rem w to in. of her desire s encouraged ay w al e ’v “I no fear,” ith w ay her to pl “and no t to , ys de Villier s sa .” ng si be afraid of lo
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NAME TEEKAY
CAN ANYONE STILL PLAY SERVEAND-VOLLEY TENNIS IN THE AGE OF THE BASELINE BOMBER? EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN DEVIN BRITTON IS AIMING TO FIND OUT. BY PETER BODO PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN PFLUGER
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“That was pretty cool,” Britton said recently, while trying to put his Grand Slam debut into perspective. “I’ve watched the tape like 20 times now.” You could be forgiven for wondering why Britton has watched it so often; after all, Federer beat him in straight sets, and the rookie was clearly nervous. You may think it was just for the thrill of seeing himself on television in his first match at a major, and against a living legend to boot. But that wasn’t the reason. Britton kept hitting the replay button so he could absorb all of the analysis provided by former pros Jimmy Arias (on Tennis Channel) and John McEnroe
(on ESPN2). “They both said stuff that’s been very helpful to me,” Britton says. “Mac especially gives it to you straight. He said I needed to move better, and that I tended to rush my service motion. I do need to work on my movement, and the serve, that was just nerves.” Given Britton’s enthusiastic attitude, it’s easy to see why the other McEnroe, Patrick, the U.S. Davis Cup captain, decided to take him to Croatia as a practice partner in July. “Devin is a great competitor and has a strong work ethic,” he says. “This is a kid who knows he has to get better, and he wants it and he’s prepared to work for it.”
DEVIN AND GOLIATH: Britton receives a handshake from Federer after his first-round loss.
16
FROM LEFT: MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES; TIMOTHY A. CLARY/GETTY IMAGES; DAVID KENAS
HE FIRST DVD CAME FROM TENNIS CHANNEL. DEVIN BRITTON THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY COOL OF THE NETWORK TO SEND IT. ANOTHER ONE ARRIVED FROM ESPN2. AN ACQUAINTANCE SENT ONE TO HIS HOME IN BRANDON, MISS. MORE WOULD FOLLOW. ¶ IT’S SAFE TO SAY THAT DEVIN BRITTON HAS THE WORLD’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF DVD RECORDINGS OF ROGER FEDERER’S FIRST-ROUND WIN AT THE 2009 U.S. OPEN, AND IT ISN’T BECAUSE THE MATCH REPRESENTED THE FIRST STEP IN FEDERER’S ULTIMATELY UNSUCCESSFUL DRIVE TO WIN THE OPEN A SIXTH STRAIGHT TIME. IT WAS BECAUSE FEDERER HAPPENED TO BE PLAYING DEVIN BRITTON.
This fall, McEnroe and the USTA development coaches advised Britton to spend a few weeks in Spain to train with top coaches there and take his lumps on the largely clay-court Futures circuit. He responded like a properly humble Southerner: Yes, sir. Britton started playing tennis at age 5, tagging along with his mother, Cindy, who did battle in league play at local country clubs. By chance, a pro invited him to hit a few, and Britton showed an affinity for the game. Before long, he was training with other prospects from the suburbs of Jackson, Miss. He was also a gifted baseball player, and one of the hardest decisions he had to make was giving it up to focus on tennis. “I liked pitching,” he says. “I was one of the better pitchers in my youth baseball days, so it was just tough to quit on that. On the other hand, I couldn’t hit very well at all, so maybe that wasn’t such a bad move.” By the time he was 14, it was obvious that he needed to leave home to develop his game. Facing a dearth of challenging practice partners, Britton moved on to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where he spent three and a half years. Although Bollettieri is a leading proponent of the baseline game, Britton says that the coach and his staff recognized a natural style when they saw one, and never tried to discourage him from playing the serve-and-volley game that came easily to him. Britton enrolled at the University of Mississippi early in 2009, and after just four months he burst onto the national tennis radar when he became the youngest-ever winner of the NCAA men’s singles championship. The feat was especially noteworthy because serve-and-volley players aren’t just a vanishing breed, they’re also notoriously late bloomers. Could it be that all those reports of the demise of the attacking game have been greatly exaggerated? John McEnroe, one of the last of the great netrushers, seems to think so. Britton played the junior event at Wimbledon this year and happened to be in the men’s locker room when Mac walked in. “We were just talking,” Britton says, “and I told him that I’m a serve-and-volleyer. He actually came out and watched my next match, and afterward told me he really liked that I played that way. That was encouraging.” Britton feels confident that his style can survive the warp-speed, laser-sharp ground game that dominates on the pro tour. In fact, he strikes a note of quiet, self-assured defiance when he says, “A bunch of people are saying that you can’t serve and volley [in today’s game]. I can’t do anything about what they’re saying, I can just try to do my best to prove them wrong.” To help him get to net, the 6-foot-3 Britton often departs from his solid two-handed backhand to hit a one-hander with biting slice. In this, he may be something of a pioneer: Few players have a formidable carving one-handed backhand to accompany a bludgeoning two-hander. Britton’s forehand isn’t entirely ironed out, but then his game isn’t built around it, either—another point of departure from paint-by-numbers pro tennis in 2009. “I don’t anticipate making any major changes in the way I play,” Britton says. “The only reason you don’t see more guys serving and volleying is because they’re completely focused on groundies from a really early age. But I know I need to do some work to be able to compete as an attacking player on the tour. I need to work on my legs, because strong legs are the foundation of the attacking game. That, and having a big serve.” Although nerves got in the way of Britton’s serve at the U.S. Open, that weapon had been on full display at Wimbledon. Britton has a smooth motion and, perhaps most important, an excellent second serve. At one point in his match against the No. 7 seed, Japan’s Shuichi Sekiguchi, Britton stepped up and served three aces. All his opponent could do when the last one blew
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A HELPING HAND: Britton, giving Will Ferrell a shove into the umpire’s chair on Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, and in action at the U.S. Open, his first Grand Slam.
past him to end the game was crack a big smile. Before Wimbledon, Britton wasn’t sure he would turn pro. He’d enjoyed his lone, spring semester at Ole Miss. Having been home-schooled since seventh grade, he liked the challenge of college. At first he was in over his head in his English class: “You don’t write that many papers when you’re home-schooled,” he says. “But once a tutor showed me the basics, it was pretty easy.” Britton is happy about his stint in college. “Unless you’re really a dominant junior, why not go to college for a year or two to see what you can do?” he says. “Even though I only went for four months, I thought it really helped me, mentally. You have to learn to balance things, and it takes a lot of focus to do both school and tennis well. It was kind of funny, but that
only seemed to make me calmer on the court. Maybe it had something to do with my success.” Speculation on the value of the college experience soon became moot. Britton blazed his way to the boys’ semifinals at Wimbledon and found himself facing his unheralded countryman Jordan Cox. Britton struggled with fatigue (the kiss of death for an attacking player who relies on crisp execution), yet he made surprisingly few errors in an epic, three-set match that Cox finally won, 16-14 in the third. Even though he lost, Britton made up his mind to turn pro. In Croatia, as a Davis Cup practice partner after Wimbledon, Britton was slightly awe-struck by the time he spent with James Blake and Mardy Fish. “Just getting to see what those guys do on a daily basis, staying in the same hotel and seeing them at all
times of the day, that was a lot of fun.” The hard practices were less so, although Britton impressed McEnroe with his work ethic and compliant manner. Britton said the experience of hitting with Bob and Mike Bryan as “unreal.” “They’re two of the most intense guys I’ve ever seen,” he says. “Every ball they hit has a meaning. They don’t waste any time. And they have their routines so down pat: down-the-line drills, cross courts . . . . But I expected that. It’s something that’s normal at the top level. Everybody’s intense.” Having grown up in a small city in the South, Britton is polite, even-keeled, and laconic in a way that, while it seems distinctly Southern, is also reminiscent of a young Pete Sampras. It’s a good temperament for tennis. The USTA coaches with whom Britton works, Mike Sell, Hugo Armando and Jay Berger, like that aspect of his character. The ability to take things slowly when chaos rages around you and resist panicking in times of stress are overarching virtues. Still, Britton is a work in progress. He knows he’ll have to work on his Plan B for those days when aces don’t pop off his strings. He had a taste of that against Federer. That match was the final exciting episode of a remarkable summer, the kind of summer Britton might undertake to describe in an essay if he were going back to college, now that he’s got that paper-writing thing nailed.
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2009
The HOT LIST SMASH GOES TO THE CUTTING EDGE TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT’S HEATING UP THE GAME
HOT NEWCOMER: BROOKLYN DECKER
“I think I lost half my fan base today.” Those were Andy Roddick’s words after he announced announc his engagement to model Broo Brooklyn Decker in 2008. While Rodd Roddick’s followers may have jumped ship shi for single tennis stars, the 27-yea 27-year-old did the sport a huge favor when he married Decker in 2009. W What better way to attract (c (certain) fans to the sport than to ha have a swimsuit model sitting cou courtside? Roving lenses are nothin nothing new for Decker, 22, who has been in i the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue the past four years, and appe appeared in body paint in w in those pages that 2009. It was fi Decker first caught Roddick’s eye. He had his h people call her people, took her to a comedy show, and a ye couple years later American tennis ser has a seriously hot first lady. While Decker is a laid-back Southern girl at heart—sh heart—she’s from Charlotte, N.C.— the former high school cheerleader and class president moved to New York to model at age 18 18. Within a month she had worked for Sports Illustrated and Secret and since then she’s Victoria’s Secret, campaign for Gap and American been in campaigns appea Eagle and appeared in Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Glam Glamour, GQ and FHM—whose readers now ha have even more reason to watch tennis. 18
HOT YANKS:
SAM QUERREY AND MELANIE OUDIN In tennis terms, it wasn’t long ago that “Hot American” was an oxymoron. But no more: With Melanie Oudin’s emergence and Sam Querrey’s summer offensive, pro tennis in the U.S. is looking up. While everyone was busy lamenting the lack of up-and-comers, Oudin broke through this summer. Though she was a top junior, no one took notice of her pro chops until she qualified at Wimbledon and beat Jelena Jankovic to reach the fourth round. But she earned instant celebrity when she became the first 17-year-old American since Serena Williams in 1999 to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals. After the Open the new starlet made the media rounds, appearing how with Conan on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Tonight Show O’Brien. Oudin rose to No. 42 after the Open, and with her quick feet, killer forehand and excellent court sense, she won’t stop there. As for Querrey, he did what Southern Californians do best: had an awesome summer. With a title in Los Angeles and runner-up finishes in New Haven and Indianapolis, he won the U.S. Open Series and cracked the Top 25. Maybe Querrey has had so much success because he’s gotten serious about his career: The 22-year-old hired a friend as an intern this summer to help with booking flights and gripping racquets. After all, a pro’s life can be hectic; now Querrey can concentrate just on his tennis.
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HOT KICKS: S: Mi ADIDAS Adidas might as well rename its Mi Adidas s customized sneakers s the cha-ching line. Days ys after Melanie Oudin debuted her yellow llow and pink Barricade V shoes at the U.S. Open and proceeded to reach the quarterfinals, Adidas said sales and d visits at miadidas.com increased fivefold. efold. The customized sneakers, which consumers can design online and come ome in styles for tennis, basketball, football and running, nning cost between $95 and $240 (the Barricade V is $140). The buyer gets to choose colors for the upper, outsole, laces, stripes and eyelets, and the tennis shoes have hard-court or “omni” (for clay and grass) outsole options. Then there’s the personalized message, which Oudin made ffamous by choosing the word BELIEVE as her signature statement.
Despite the success of Mi Adidas, other brands are not joining in the love fest over make-it-your-way tennis shoes. Nike has a line you can customize for running and basketball styles, and Puma has one for retro running and skating sneakers, but neither have plans to offer tennis players the same perk. With all the shoe clones on courts these days, it’s nice that there’s a brand br bringing some individuality to the sport.
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HOT CHAMP: JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO When he began the U.S. Open final, Juan Martin d del Potro was a scruffy, too-tall 20-year 20-year-old with slumped shoulders. A day late later he was a clean-shaven, stylishly dressed champion with a mu mug not unlike John F. Kennedy Jr.’s. Amazing what a major title c can do. The question now is, Will winning his favorite tourna tournament be enough to satisfy del Potro, Feder on the rest of the field? The or is he about to go Federer 6-foot-6 Argentine has the to talent to reach the top “I had two dreams, pi of the game and pile the first one to win tit up Grand Slam titles. the U.S. Open, and He hits his foreh forehand the second one to be harde perhaps harder like Roger.” than anyone in tw history, his twoback handed backhand is immune to high bounces, and his serve h has gone from good to exceptional. win After winning the Open, del Potro showed off a quiet persistence that might become his tradem trademark when he gently pried a microphone f away from Dick Enberg and said a few words in Span Spanish, despite CBS’ plans to move the trophy presentation along. He may seem shy, but del Potro has a way of getting what want And he’s aiming high: “I had two he wants. dreams,” del Potro says, “the first one to win the Ope and the second one to be like Roger.” U.S. Open, SMASH
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HOT STRING: LUXILON M2 PRO Ever since Gustavo Kuerten came out of nowhere in 1997 to win the French Open with a polyester-based string, more and more players have been telling stringers, “I’ll have w what Guga’s having.” Those strings, produced by Luxilon, a Belgian m manufacturer of medical sutures and bra straps, are now used by the overwhelming majority of pros, either as a full set or in a hybrid. Pros and amateur tournament-level players like Luxilon’s dead feel. It frees them up to swing their hardest and still impart enough spin to keep the ball in the court. The M2 Pro has the The rub is that Luxilon can juice of its older Luxilon b be hard on the arm. Enter string siblings, but tthe new Luxilon M2 Pro. is kinder and gentler It has the juice of its older on the arm. sib siblings, like Big Banger Alu Pow Power and Big Banger Timo, but is kind kinder and gentler on the arm. It’s even used by Maria Sharapova, who is m making a comeba ck after rotator cuff surgery. But a word w comeback to the wise: If you’re thinking Lu ux, you need sound stroke mechanics s, because Lux, mechanics, it will ex xpose your shortc comings. Put another way, you should have an expose shortcomings. NTRP off 4.5 or higher if you’re yo ou’re going to try to follow in Guga’s footsteps. fo ootsteps.
HOT ACCESSORY: RY:: BANDANAS The bandana never wentt away, but has it ever played ayed a bigger role in the sport’s t’s fashion than it does today? day? Roger Federer and Rafael el Nadal have had a bandana na rivalry for years, and many others are joining them. Juan Martin del Potro o wears one. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga sports rts a bandana when his hair is long. Sam m Querrey doesn’t wear one, but his Samurai followers do. Grigor Dimitrov, rov, the former top junior who reminds many scouts of Federer, has adopted ted the look, too. The women’s tour has s undergone even more of a bandana a makeover. Gone, for the most part,, are the visors and baseball caps of recent cent years. Instead, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, a, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Gisela Dulko, ulko, among others, have adopted the bandana. One question remains: Will ill Justine Henin, who is set to return to the tour in January, ditch her signature ture cap and tie her hair back instead?
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HOT RETIREES: BELGIANS
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HOT CALL: FOOT FAULTS With the institution of Hawk-Eye, it seemed that one longtime feature of the pro game, the berserk tirade, had become a thing of the past. The computerized challenge system gave players a chance to see for themselves whether a line call really was correct. But there was one element of the sport that had gone uncovered, the foot fault, a fact we learned in no uncertain terms at this year’s U.S. Open. That’s where Serena Williams, down a set, was called for a foot fault at 5-6 in the second set of her semifinal against Kim Clijsters. As the world knows, the tirade was back with a vengeance, and Williams was soon off the court, a loser due to a pair of code violations. Afterward, the actions of both Williams and the lineswoman were called into question. Some said a line judge shouldn’t make such a borderline call—the tennis equivalent of basketball’s “ticky tack” foul—at such an important moment. Others maintained that it’s a player’s responsibility not to allow herself to have a foot fault called on her when she’s serving to stay in a match. But what both camps can agree on is that the call should become part of the challenge system. This is doable, according to the folks at Hawk-Eye. The only trouble is, Where will we go for our tirades from there?
Step one: Play your way to the top. Step two: Become disenchanted with the travel, the training, the injuries and the never-ending season. Step three: “Retire,” Brett Favre–style, from the game, and start a family or a tennis academy. Step four: Come back better than ever. That’s how it worked for Kim Clijsters, who went from stay-at-home mom to U.S. Open champion after playing just two warm-up tournaments. Clijsters’ return was so successful, and so seemingly easy, that Justine Henin, who retired as the No. 1 player in the world in 2008, couldn’t resist giving the tour a second try, too. Henin hopes to compete at the 2010 Australian Open and eventually win a Wimbledon title to complete a career Grand Slam. If she succeeds, the Belgian method might become the approach of choice on the women’s tour, any players over the where burnout has claimed many o could years. The next candidate who use a Belgian break, followed by a smashing second act? Ana Ivanovic, the former No. 1 from Serbia who can no longer hit a serve. Watch and learn, Ana, as Kim and Justine show you the way.
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HOT TREND: SETTLING DOWN Is there something ng new in the re always Evian the pros are sipping? There must be, because a lot of players have ger Federer been settling down lately. Roger married his girlfriend of nine years, e Mirka, in April, and the couple im welcomed twin girls in July. Kim ur Clijsters got away from the tour in 2007 to start a family, but she n was back to win the U.S. Open ere two years later. And while there may not yet be children for Andy Roddick, he proved he’s ed the marrying kind when he tied n the knot with model Brooklyn Decker a week after Federer got ns: married. One question remains: onal Can a globe-trotting professional le tennis player ever really settle down? Seems more like a traveling family circus.
HOT JUNIOR GIRL:
HOT JUNIOR BOY:
NOPPAWAN LERTCHEEWAKARN
YUKI BHAMBRI
Here’s a name to remember in 2010: Noppawan Lertcheewakarn. Don’t worry, you can call her Nok. In 2008, Thailand’s Lertcheewakarn, 18, was the first Asian girl to be named an ITF junior world champion after she reached the final of the Wimbledon junior event and went 39-12 in singles and 31-12 in doubles. In 2009, her last year as a junior, she returned to the Wimbledon final, and this time e she won the title. She also captured the junior doubles titles at a the French Open pen and Wimbledon. Lertcheewakarn’s wakarn’s journey to the top began by chance. Her mother was a nurse at the hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where the wife of Steffi Graf’s former coach, h, Marek Malaszszak, was due to give birth. She asked Malaszszak Malaszs to watch her daughter playy tennis. He saw potential ntial in the 10-year-old old and offered to coach ach her for free. Recently, ntly, she has been working with former Clemson lemson University men’s n’s coach Chuck Kriese through the Rising Starr Program of the e Lawn Tennis Association ation of Thailand. Emulating her er idol, Monica Seles, the he Thai plays double-handed anded off both wings. She now has her sights set on the WTA tour. By the way, her nickname, Nok, means bird in Thai. This bird is ready to fly.
Things weren’t looking good for India’s Yuki Bhambri last st year. He crashed out early in the junior events at Roland Garros, os, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. But then suddenly he got hot, winning 15 consecutive matches. A week after his streak ak ended, in the semifinals at the Eddie Herr championships ps in December, he was holding the champion’s trophy at the Orange Bowl. owl. He finished the year ranked No. 2 in the world. His run didn’t end there. In February, Bhambri won the junior Australian Open and became the top junior in the ITF world rankings, a spot he’s held ever since. Bhambri hambri has also won five Futures events ents in India, and moved into the ATP P tour tour’s s Top 350. Bhambri, who turned 17 in July, grew up in New Delhi and learned the game with his older sisters, Ankita and Sanaa, who are now on the WTA tour. He currently trains at Nick Bollettieri’s academy in Bradenton, Fla. At 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, his game lacks major-league power, but he makes up for it by playing smart, building points and utilizing his defensive skills and killer forehand. If Bhambri’s game stays hot, expect to see him in the main draws at the Slams next year.
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FEDERERS: THE ROGER FEDERER FOUNDATION; CHRISTENSEN: COURTESY COU OF LACOSTE; ALL OTHER PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
HOT celebrity PLAYER: HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN There are a lot of celebrities who play tennis, but there’s only who could hit with a light saber. Hayden Christensen, the face of Lacoste’s new men’s fragrance line, Challenge, grew up playing tennis in Ontario, Canada. He once served as a ball boy at the Canadian Open, and was nearly hit with a racquet swung by John McEnroe when he ran out too soon to retrieve a ball. Christensen was good enough to be a nationally ranked junior, but decided he’d rather pursue a professional acting career than a scholarship to play in college. Within a couple years, he was cast as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The Christensen was once a rest, as they say, ball boy at the Canadian is Hollywood history. Open and was nearly summer, hit by John McEnroe’s toThis promote racquet. Lacoste, the actor attended Roland Garros and the U.S. Open, accompanied by his Jumperr co-star and fiancée, Rachel Bilson. He also got to hit with tennis legend Mats Wilander. “That was one of the highlights of my tennis experiences in life,” Christensen, 28, said in a video interview for French Elle. Whether he’s wielding a racquet or a light saber, Christensen is as hot as it gets.
H DESIGNER: HOT M MARIA SHARAPOVA When Maria Sharapova sat out nine months to rehab her injured shoulder, she did a lot of sitting by the pool. But she wasn’t just soaking up rays. She was spending time on her other pa passion, fashion, sketching her ideas for a signature line of sh shoes and handbags for Cole Haan. If you think the combo of the young tennis star and the sophisticated brand seems st strange, just take a look at Sharapova’s style. The girl can dr dress, and she loves designers. Oh, and did we mention that Co Cole Haan is owned by Nike, Sharapova’s apparel sponsor? But forget the business, let’s talk about the line. While ot other much-hyped celebrity collections have lacked style an and cohesion, Sharapova’s are chic and edgy. From the Maria Ai Air Koko Pump, a black suede ankle-tie heel, to the Maria Air Sa Sarafina, an over-the-knee flat suede boot, to the sleek Maria Bl Black Snake Embossed Clutch, these accessories are striking and scream high fashion. And since Nike is involved, the an shoes include Nike Air technology to make them a bit more sh comfortable. That’s a good thing, because Sharapova likes co her heels high, at 4 1/3 inches. When she wears them, she he stands 6-foot-6 1/3. Watch out Juan Martin del Potro. st SMASH
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Think you can beat that caption? Take a look at this photo and write your best one-liner. The winner will receive some Nike gear. E-mail captions@smashtennis.com.
“SMASH” (ISSN 1930-2592) is published 4 times a year (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter). Vol. 4, No. 4. Copyright C 2009 Miller Publishing LLC. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Printed in the U.S.A. MANUSCRIPTS AND ART: The Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos, or negatives. SUBSCRIPTIONS: You must be a USTA member to receive SMASH. To become a USTA Member, change your address, or if you have service related issues call (800) 990-8782 or email memberservices@usta.com. Or you may send your magazine label along with your new address to USTA P.O. Box 18150, Pittsburgh, PA 15236 Back issues available for purchase at www.tennis.com. Please allow eight to twelve weeks for the address change to affect delivery. Address all non-subscription correspondence to SMASH, 79 Madison Avenue, 8th Fl, New York, NY 10016. POSTMASTER: Send address changes and returns to USTA P.O. Box 18150, Pittsburgh, PA 15236. Periodical postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices.
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