Sergio Tacchini celebrates a decade as the official outfitter of the Monte Carlo Masters with a brand new collection, featuring uniforms for on-court officials, including chair umpires, line umpires and ball boys and girls.
The uniform polo shirt features bright colours, mostly turquoise and a thin neon orange piping outlining the raglan sleeve, and it will be made from techno fabric like the pro range match uniforms. This polo shirt, a merchandising item, will make a souvenir to wear at matches on the court. A novelty this year is the introduction of the Italian flag detail on many items of the collection: on the wristbands of the ball boys and girls, on the zips of track tops and bomber jackets and even on the official towels used by the players on the court.
The footwear includes a new technical shoe for ball boys and girls and court staff in a colourful mesh that matches the uniforms. The leather version of the same shoe style has a classic look but a sporty performance, ideal for training on the court.
A few items from the collection:
Title number 97 for Roger Federer who dispatched Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-2 in the final. Federer continues his unbeaten start to the 2018 season and regains the number one ranking for the first time in more than five years.
Following his win at the ATP finals last November, Dimitrov reached the semifinals in Brisbane (beaten by Kyrgios), and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open where he fell to Kyle Edmund. He hasn’t dropped a set all week en route to the final but couldn’t do much to prevent Federer from winning his third Rotterdam title.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the defending champion, but withdrew before the tournament began with a left hamstring injury.
In the doubles draw, Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert went on to claim the title with a 2-6 6-2 10-7 win over recent Australian Open champions Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. This is Mahut’s third title in Rotterdam, after his victories with Llodra in 2014, and Pospisil in 2016.
Photo credit: ABN AMRO
There were rumours since January that Novak Djokovic would sign with French brand Lacoste once his contract with Uniqlo over, it is now official: Djokovic is the newest member of the Croc family.
Lacoste has developed for Novak Djokovic an eponymous clothing line to be worn on the court. These outfits have been specially designed to kit out the champion during the Grand Slam’s tournaments as well as dress him for the other tournaments of the season. The Novak Djokovic collection will be available in Lacoste boutiques, starting May 2017.
Let’s have a look at Novak’s outfits for the upcoming tournaments.
Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev on the men’s side, Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina and Kristina Mladenovic on the women’s side have dominated the clay court season; while world number ones Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber appeared in big trouble. Here’s our recap of who won what.
Men
Marrakech: Borna Coric
Runner-up in Marrakech last year, Borna Coric came back from the brink, saved 5 match points to overcome Philip Kohlschreiber and capture his maiden ATP title.
Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal
Rafa‘s reign in Monte Carlo continues: he defeated fellow Spaniard Ramos-Vinolas, who stunned Andy Murray en route to his maiden Masters 1000 final. With that victory, Nadal became the first man in the Open Era to win 10 titles at a tournament, and the first to win 50 clay-court titless, surpassing Guillermo Vilas (49).
Andy Murray was looking to turn around his season in Rome, but instead he suffered a shock defeat to Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-4. Murray, who didn’t drop a set in Rome last year, becomes the first defending champion to lose in his first match since 2008 when Rafael Nadal fell to Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Fognini lost to Sascha Zverev in the next round, and arrived just in time in Barcelona for the birth of his son:
Enjoy a few pictures from Murray’s practice sessions in Rome:
