Exuberant Tsonga brings Nadal down to earth

 

After Rafael Nadal's success at Roland Garros, I would get to cheer any defeat of the Spaniard. I honestly believe that Federer should have won that match, as he genuinely deserved the title. Anyway, Nadal won once again and that's that. 

While Federer decided in the last minute to skip Halle, taking time off to fully recover after the Parisian fortnight, Nadal chose to play in Queen's. Like last year, the Spaniard was shaky in making the transition from clay, but, unlike 2010, he managed to avoid an early defeat. Although he struggled to get passed Czech Radek Stepanek, Nadal got himself into huge trouble when facing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals. The exuberant Frenchman knows how to put on a show and this time was no exception. After losing the first set on a tie-break, Tsonga fought his way back into the match, winning a fairly disputed second set 6-4. Having leveled the match at one set a piece, the Frenchman unleashed a ruthless display in the decider, winning it 6-1. Although Nadal appeared tired and out of sorts in the end, this was a fine performance from Tsonga. It might mark his return to form after a rather dark period marred by injuries. From Rafael, I would expect more such loses, as I really don't like how he gets away with playing a mediocre tennis. It's very frustrating knowing he isn't playing at his best yet he is still winning important tournaments.

photos (top-down):  Reuters, GETTY IMAGES

A fashion scoop from the 2011 Australian Open: the land of horrors!

Not sure what happened to the sportswear manufacturers this year, but the Australian Open looked grotesque and scary. Starting with the green and pink Adidas outfits and finishing with Venus Williams and her odious pieces, this year was a genuine fashion faux pas.
 

Tsonga, Justine Henin, Alicia Molik, even poor Maria Kirilenko (otherwise a true fashionista) had to endure the horrors of wearing that terrible combination of vibrant mint-green and intense cyclamen. Some did it with style though. Toning it down by adding a white skirt, respectively, a top, they've managed to look decent on court. However, there were cases (i.e. Dolgopolov or Date Krumm) when the outfits were visually challenging. Wearing green and pink cap-a-pie, I felt my eyes being bruised by the powerful colours.

 

Venus Williams made a long awaited return by causing an uproar. Wearing her signature EleVen outfits, she walked on court with a short shirt (I assume it was intended to serve as a dress), really plain looking and totally unsuited for tennis. A more glamorous version was showcased in her third round encounter with Petkovic. Things didn't stop there unfortunately, as she introduced us to what she called the 'Alice in Wonderland' dress. Words are pointless in describing the monstrosity:

I've always been a fan of her style. She used to push fashion forward but her recent lack of results seems to have affected her inspiration. Get some treatment and return as strong as ever ;).

This year's championships had everything. I've noticed it bore a strong resemblance to the Oscar nominees list. Venus wasn't the only one to star in it. Caroline Wozniacki matched another Hollywood front-runner  in her 'Danish Swan' dress, courtesy of Stella McCarthy. In her case, it actually proved an excellent choice, very bold too.

photos (top-down / left-right): GETTY IMAGES, Ben Solomon (x3), ?, Ben Solomon, ? ,  GETTY IMAGES (x4)