Wimbledon on the Hudson?

Here's more from Wimbledon in Rockefeller Plaza. HSBC, a Wimby sponsor, set up a mini grass court to celebrate the Slam. Its hard to see in this pic but there was a woman in a dress on the far side trying to hit with the HSBC pro. She was terrible. I'm not sure she had ever heard of the game of tennis. At last - someone I could crush!

© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

Tennis Desination: Rockefeller Plaza

I was in New York for a fun weekend and, on Saturday, got to catch Roddick beating Kohlschreiber on a big screen set up in Rockefeller Plaza. AND got free strawberries and cream too! This is almost as good as sitting on Henman Hill. I Heart NY!

© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

Queen Elizabeth and Her Lovely Hat Attend Wimbledon

Queen Elizabeth II is attending Day 4 of Wimbledon today. Here she is greeting Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki on the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. This is her first visit to Wimbledon in 33 years. While its all very English and proper, let's hurry up and get back to the Isner/Mahut match!

© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

Isner & Mahut: 59 All In the 5th Set at Wimbledon!

Hopefully you caught at least some of the most incredible match ever played today. At Wimbledon, in the 5th set, John Isner (USA) and Nicolas Mahut (France) are tied 59 all. And play has been called due to darkness. For the second time. This is epic tennis - all kinds of records are being broken. Most games in a set - 118 (so far). Longest set - 7 hours, 6 minutes (so far). Longest match - 10 hours exactly (so far). 192 total aces in the set, 98 of them by Isner (so far!). How fantastic is this? And it all starts back up again tomorrow. What can either of these guys possibly do tonight to get themselves back up mentally and physically for the continuation of the match? I guess we'll see tomorrow!

Photo by Hamish Blair, Getty Images


© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

Staying Cool Apre's Summer Tennis

After a steamy game of tennis in the sweltering heat, I want to kick off my shoes, relax by the pool and cool off in a pair of summery flip flops. But I refuse to be seen in a pair of rubbery discount-store fashion rejects. What I want are these super sweet Commoda slide sandals made by Stella McCartney for Adidas.

Stella has been doing brilliant things with Adidas tennis wear as we’ve seen on the likes of up-and-comer Caroline Wozniacki. But she’s also designed some totally hip shoes for Adidas, with all of the performance but none of the clunkiness we’ve come to expect of athletic footwear. And, with her Commoda flips, she’s definitely got a winner. On the practical side, these cuties have a grippy outsole (no slipping around the pool), are a super light 4 ounces, and have an antibacterial treatment on the liner to prevent odor and bacterial and fungal growth (eewww!).

But let’s get real. I won’t be buying these slides to avoid foot fungus. I love them because they are so over-the-top cute! First, just to make sure everyone knows these didn’t come from Wal-Mart, Stella’s name is emblazoned across the fashion-forward bandage-y strap. Next, the insole is jazzed up with a little tonal zebra print and, as we all know, animal prints remain the runway rage. And, finally, the color - Grape with Deepest Purple accents! You absolutely cannot go wrong with purple.

My summer fashion recommendation? Stay cool après tennis with an incredible pedicure and a pair of these fabulous Stella McCartney slide sandals.

Photo via www.adidas.com.

This post originally appeared on www.strawberriesandscream.com!




© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

And The Richest TV Viewers Are Watching . . .

I just saw this interesting bit of tennis trivia in the newspaper. According to Mendelsohn Media Research, the richest TV viewers aren't watching C-SPAN, the Travel Channel or the Fine Living network. Nope. They're watching the Tennis Channel! Supposedly, the average Tennis Channel viewer's household income is about $233,000 per year. So maybe that's why we're seeing so many ads for Mercedes and Lacoste on the Tennis Channel!

(Wondering if I have the Tennis Channel? Check out this celebratory post: Guess Who Has The Tennis Channel?)


© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

Quick Tennis Fix: Use A Lot Of Sunscreen

Summer officially arrives this weekend but the sun is already blazing out on the tennis courts. Surely, you are using lots and lots of sunscreen already, no matter what the weather.  Just remember, to save yourself from sun damage, you have to:

Use sunscreen - the beautiful brown tan you get today is the precursor to the skin cancer you'll have tomorrow.

Use a lot of it - apply about a shot glass full of sunscreen to all exposed parts of your body.

Use it frequently - start putting on sunscreen at least 1/2 hour before you head out into the sun and reapply every hour or so.





© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

Avoid Muscle Cramps in Tennis

While summer is not officially here, the sweltering heat is. And, during a night match I played recently, I saw one of the dangers that comes with playing tennis in all of this heat - muscle cramps. A woman on the court next to me was playing for maybe 10 to 15 minutes when she suddenly sat down hard on the court with a cramp in her calf. She was unable to massage it out, although she really tried. She ultimately hobbled off the court, her tennis match at an end.

So what causes muscles cramps like that, how do you treat them, and how can you prevent cramping in the first place?

CAUSES: In sports like tennis, muscle cramping typically occurs in the big muscles of the legs - the calf and the hamstring. There are two main causes for these cramps: muscle fatigue and dehydration. Factors that can make you more likely to experience cramping include older age (again with the old age stuff!), poor or nonexistent stretching habits, lack of conditioning, dehydration, high rate of sweating, or excessive exercise intensity and duration.

TREATMENT: So what do you do if you're mid-match and you suddenly experience painful cramps? How do you treat them? First, of course, you have to stop playing, stretch and massage the cramped muscle and ice the area. You will probably be unable to continue playing without further cramping (sorry - this may mean a forfeit). If you think your cramping is due to dehydration and excessive sweating, drink some water or, more helpful, a sports drink to help replace sodium and electrolytes. You'll need some time to recover from muscle cramps so this may mean taking a few days off from tennis and other exercise.

PREVENTION: Of course, it would be best if you never got muscle cramps in the first place. To prevent them, be sure and stretch your muscles before starting a match. Need some good on-court stretches? Check out this post: Winning The Warm-Up. Also, as we've always advocated here at Tennis Fixation, get yourself hydrated. And stay hydrated throughout your match and after to avoid cramping. See these posts for more info on the importance of hydration: Drink! Drink! Drink!, Eat Your Water and Quick Tennis Fix: Hydrate! Finally, keep loose by doing those stretches on a regular basis (yes, even if you're not about to jump on the court) and consider getting a massage every once in a while. At last, you have a great excuse to justify that massage you've been wanting!




© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

"Serve-Ace-A's" Stun Competition At First Annual Hill Country Hyatt Open

While many will claim that the French Open finals were the focus for all things tennis this past weekend, the truth is that a cut-throat mixed doubles competition was brewing down in San Antonio. The No. 1 ranked Serve-Ace-A's took on the less-well-known Other Team. (Apparently the other team had neither the creativity nor the energy to come up with a team name so, for ease of reference, we're calling them the "Other Team.")

The Serve-Ace-A's have been playing together for just a short time but have come to dominate mixed doubles tennis at what remains of the Hill Country Hyatt's once massive tennis complex. The Serve-Ace-A's consist of Kim, a well-known tennis blogger (see, for example, this entire blog) who spends a lot of time thinking up good tennis team names. Her partner, Mike, is a lefty who plays an unorthodox and physical brand of tennis, almost as if he had once been a star baseball player at Texas A&M for 4 years. He is known for his cutting edge work in the application of pylometrics to tennis. And occasionally this actually works to the benefit of the team!

The Other Team is made up of Denise, known by some as "greatest tennis partner ever." Says her partner, "she brings a lightning bolt forehand to the game which is unreturnable when it goes in. If only it would go in more often." Andy, working with Denise, is a truly great tennis player. His spin serve and backhand drop shot were the subject of much discussion down at the Hyatt's Lazy River.

The Hill Country Hyatt Open took place over the course of two hot, humid energy-sapping mornings. In retrospect, its hard to remember what was most impressive - the fact that not a single player was hit with a ball or the sight of at least one player consistently jumping and pirouetting on the court and never once distracting his partner?

In the end, when the dust and humidity-laden air had settled, the inevitable had happened: total game count - Serve-Ace-A's 13, the Other Team 11. Victory for the Serve-Ace-A's.

It was a memorable tournament, one that will not soon be forgotten by the legions of fans who were there to witness it those two days. The one question in all of their minds: will the Other Team be able to regroup and take on the Serve-Ace-A's again at some time in the future? I'm sure tennis fans everywhere truly hope so. How else do you get to see tennis of this quality? See you next year Other Team.

The victors and the losers pose for a friendly post-match pic:

© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

Happy Birthday Rafa!

Rafael Nadal has made it to the semis of the French Open where he's coming up against one of my favs - Austria's Jurgen Melzer. And Rafa celebrates his 24th birthday today which has to be good luck. So here's a pic of Rafa in a more casual, less high-intensity-during-the-match mood, picking up his Nike gear before the tournament.

And here's a pic of those great shoes he's wearing - makes you want to be sponsored by Nike!

Happy Birthday Rafa!




Photos via Nike Tennis

© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved