…to the Laker.
Congrats!
(screengrab from TMZ)
oh, mirka!
All smiles: Lovely shades, dear. If I had a rock like yours, I’d shield my eyes just like how you’re doing.
Phew: Now that Rafa Nadal has fallen to Robin Soderling, Mirka can get a proper manicure — she won’t be bitin’ on those fingernails for the rest of the week! Another pic of Mirka Vavrinec, aka Mrs. Roger Federer, taking in her hubby’s run for a title at the French Open, after the cut…
bethanie mattek: “All I knew was I didn’t want to wear white”
Richard Pagliaro of Tennis Week asked Bethanie Mattek about how her boo, Justin Sands, proposed to her; how she thinks marriage’ll change her life and career; and to look ahead to her return to the SEWTA. Oh yes, and he asked her about that Romona Keveza gown she wore to the wedding:
“All I knew was I didn’t want to wear white… I was initially going to wear something vibrant or colorful and have a very relaxed wedding with the guys wearing linen pants and have a beach theme. The owner told me ‘I’ve got this evening gown you might like it.’ So I tried it on — it was the first dress I tried on — and it was black and fit perfectly and I liked it. So the wedding got a little more formal and the guys had to wear nice pants, but it was really relaxed and fantastic.”
And they have united to fight the forces of fashion:
“It’s funny because now Justin will often pick out the clothes I wear on court and sometimes he’ll say ‘You should wear this….’”
Justin — we’ve got our eyes on you!
Read up: Pagliaro’s full interview here.
there’s always broadway…
Bethanie Mattek is totally like the Michael Jordan of tennis fashion. She can be anywhere on the court (even off it) and hit her mark every time. Even on her deathbed she’ll come up with stuff like this!
By the way, Ms. Mattek, if tennis doesn’t work out, there’s always Broadway.
Thanks to Stephanie Myles over at Open Court for digging up the deets (and pics) of Mattek’s November 2009 wedding to insurance man Justin Sands.
She wore a black Romona Keveza dress and some zebra-print stilettos from Marciano (hmm, nothing from her tennis clothing sponsor, bebe?). And her 5.5 carat engagement ring almost doubled in weight with her 3.5 carat wedding band — made with black and white diamonds to resemble zebra stripes.
Other minutiae: She skipped the Aussie Open to get hitched. When she returns on the court, you’ll see her name on the scoreboard as Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Mazel tov, Bethanie!
TSF wants Californians to vote “No” on Proposition 8, the state’s anti-gay marriage measure
The looming presidential election is leaving me a little anxious. While Obama is clearly leading in the polls, the experience of the Bush/Gore disaster from 2000 has taught me not to take anything for granted.
And in California, where Obama’s victory is a given, the spotlight has moved to Proposition 8, a ballot measure which would amend the state constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
I don’t even care about getting married, but that isn’t what is at stake here. This is a fight about civil rights.
I’ll leave it to the likes of the Los Angeles Times and writer Prince Golmovilas to make a case for why you, Californians, should vote to defeat Proposition 8 (and when you’re done, we can gab about how cute the girls are looking in Doha!).
Something tells me readers of this blog would vote No on 8 anyway. So really, just make sure to go out and vote tomorrow — if you haven’t done so already.
oh, mirka! how soon will wedding bells ring?
Perhaps the recent wedding attended by Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec — that of Roger’s childhood friend Reto Staubli in Mallorca — are getting tennis’ first (second?) couple thinking about walking down the aisle?
After a seesaw 2008 that started with mono and bookended by a fifth U.S. Open title, the world No. 2 has withdrawn from this week’s ATP tour stop in Stockholm.
“In order to [remain at the top of the game], I need to get a proper rest and get strong again so that I am 100% fit for the remainder of the year or next year,” he told the press. “At this point, I am not sure when I will be ready to play again, but I hope to be back at some point before the end of the year.”
With Rafa Nadal also declining to play, this leaves the tourney with seventh-ranked David Nalbandian as the top seed.
So now that Roger’s scaling back tennis, he’s back in Dubai browsing jewelry with Mirka at the Atlantis resort in the Palm Jumeirah. Items considered: a 60-carat D Flawless diamond ring and a more modest 15-carat pink cushion-cut.
I can’t wait to see what they end up with…
(photos via MTF)
mazel tov
Best of luck to Andy Roddick and Brooklyn Decker on their engagement.
I would link to the statement that’s currently on Andy’s site, but they’re experiencing some technical difficulties. Too much traffic, perhaps?
what’s that on ana ivanovic’s ring finger?
Sorry for the erratic posting schedule. The new year has brought about some big changes in our daily routine, so it will take at least a few days for the dust to settle. But don’t you worry — what we’re not posting, we’re eagerly saving for a fun end-of-week write-up.
In the meantime, I’ve appreciated the lot of you who’ve written in with tips, kind words, and feedback about coverage…
—
You better believe our heart skipped a beat when we saw this picture of Ana Ivanovic at a press conference for the JB Group Classic (exhibition) in Hong Kong. Who is she romantically involved with? When did she get engaged?!
Then we Wikipedia’d the sucker, and it turns out that its an Eastern European tradition to wear the wedding bands on the right hand.
/freakout
More: You can read up on the exo’s playing format here.
(photo by Getty Images; thanks, Rebecca!)