Lotto take it back to their foundation year of 1973 with this heritage treated Leggenda collection, featuring the Corrado tennis shoe and the Dino hi-top. Constructed from premium nappa leather and suede, this scuffy set salutes Lotto’s authentic sports heritage with a Sharpie-style ’1973′ scrawled on the tongue.

Some pics of the Corrado model:

Lotto was established in 1973 by the Caberlotto family (who were the properties of the football team Treviso) in Montebelluna, northern Italy. In June 1973, Lotto made its debut as a sports footwear manufacturer. Tennis shoes signaled the beginning of production, followed by models for basketball, volleyball, athletics and football.
Over the years, Lotto sponsored top players like Martina Navratilova, Boris Becker and Thomas Muster.
Current players endorsing Lotto include Francesca Schiavone, David Ferrer, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

More details on the Lotto Leggenda website.

I spent a few days here and there at Roland Garros this year, and I am always surprised of how journalists (especially French journalists) present the all thing and I sometimes wonder if I live on a different planet or in a parallel universe.

For French journalists it was fantastic two weeks of tennis, for me as a spectator it was another boring French Open.

PS: I’m the one taking the photo, not the one sleeping ;o)

Everything was summed up in the mens trophy ceremony speeches: thanks to the sponsors, to the family, Roger is the best, Rafa played fantastic. Nothing new under the sun, things heard hundred times.
Conventional, boring, no emotion. From my point of view, the only 3 bright moments of the tournament: the semi Djokovic vs Federer, the Schiavone and Li runs to the final, and the Carte Blanche to Bob Sinclar for the Kids Day.

Here are a few personal thoughts about this Roland Garros tournament.

- Empty seats:

Tickets for main courts like Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen are really expensive and really difficult to get. So when I finally get a ticket (about 70 euros) and I see all those empty seats, I’m really upset.

Here’s a suggestion by tennis journalist Jon Wertheim:

How’s this for a bit of cultural exchange? The French help with some junior development. We help them with fan behavior. There were matches held on Philippe Chartrier for which the stands looked to be about 10 percent of capacity. We’re talking rows and rows of empty sears. Surely there is a way to let the patricians in the sponsor tents know how unseemly it is to have these choice tickets and then not use them. We eagerly look forward to the upgrades to the venue. But it’s all for rien if the stands are empty. Just disgraceful.

- Nadal: he didn’t play well during the tournament, but at the end he won for the sixth time, equaling Borg. He also remains at number one for a few more weeks, but Djokovic will probably become the 25th ATP number one after Wimbledon.
What does it change for Rafa? Nothing. He already has won everything – career Grand Slam, Davis Cup, Olympic Gold – and he has nothing to prove. He will have less pressure, he won’t be the one supposed to win everything, but Djokovic will. Nadal will be even more dangerous.

Read the rest of this entry →

Na Li, 29 and Francesca Schiavone, 31 will play today in the oldest women’s Grand Slam final since Jana Novotna and Nathalie Tauziat contested the 1998 Wimbledon final.
The final will be really open as they are both experienced players who both played in a Grand Slam final before (Li lost to Clijsters at the Australian Open, and Schiavone won the title here in 2010).

Will Li become the first chinese player to capture a Grand Slam or will Schiavone retain her title? Please share your thoughts.

Francesca Schiavone’s road to the final

Read the rest of this entry →

A photo recap of my third day at Roland Garros on Tuesday. I had tickets for for the Court Suzanne Lenglen, but watching players at practice was much more interesting than watching matches.

Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond:

Read the rest of this entry →

I was in Paris today for the first day of Roland Garros quarterfinals. I’ve been able to watch Schiavone and Nadal training, the end of Murray vs Troicki, but also some doubles and mixed doubles. Pics and videos coming soon.

Here’s a pic of Francesca Schiavone during her training this morning:

Francesca qualified for the semifinals after a hard fought win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 1-6 7-5 7-5. She will meet Marion Bartoli who defeated 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Famous French DJ Bob Sinclar was the special guest at “Children’s Day at Roland Garros” on Saturday 21 May. For over two hours, the court Philippe Chatrier turned into a giant “musical creation” of tennis matches!

Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Arnaud Clément, Arevane Rezai, Amélie Mauresmo, special guest Teddy Riner and many more, joined forces to entertain thousands of families and children.

Bob Sinclar, a tennis aficionada, also showed off his skills opposite Michaël Llodra and Novak Djokovic.

Proceeds of the event will go to Yannick Noah’s “Fête le Mur” and “Tennis en liberté”, led by Isabelle Demongeot.

Read the rest of this entry →