Lots of Fed Cup action this weekend… the U.S. lost to an equally-thinned out Russian team in one semi, and the Italians beat France 3-2, giving them a chance to defend their title.
Best dressed match: The rubber between Venus and Russian Anna Chakvetadze. Venus wore a Reebok pleated skirt and some Indian-style earrings, while Anna wore the adidas Summer YOC tank in purple. Totally cutesies.
Honorable mention: The light blue kits that Lacoste put on Nathalie Dechy and Severine Bremond.
Question: Does anyone know who Meilen Tu‘s clothing sponsor is? Its logo looks like a griffin…
Buy: You can buy Anna’s YOC tank at Tennis Warehouse.
FYI: Along with this year’s seminfinalists, Israel, China, Germany, and Spain all qualified to participate in next year’s World Group.
Meilen Tu is wearing Loriet. The logo is a winged lion. They are a new brand. I heard about them through a friend who recommended their clothes. Really comfortable, good prices. They worked with me to put together a good package for my team. They also have great online discounts at lorietsports.com. I really like their stuff. It was nice to see them represented at Fed Cup.
I don’t think it’s fair to call the Russian squad “equally thinned out.” The Americans intended to play Serena Williams, but even with her, the American team would have had one top ten player, another in the top twenty, plus Vania King (world 83) and Lisa Raymond, who isn’t even in the top 100 as a singles player, and who might not even have played doubles with both Williams sisters on the roster, and in any event has to play without her long-time doubles partner. Even without Sharapova and Kuznetsova, the Russians could field two top ten players and both of their substitutes outrank Vania King. This only highlights, once again, the increasing depth of the Russian women’s tennis program and the relative paucity of strong American players. Especially when compared to the US Davis Cup team, which can field the number one doubles team in the world AND two top ten men.
i always look forward to the hardcourt season fashions… a great chance for players to show a little more of their personalities and their own styles on court…