Thanks to JC for sharing his pics and anecdotes about his 2009 European tour.
On this self-guided five-city tennis journey, I flew to Spain, France and Great Britain to retrace the footsteps of the tennis legend and my personal hero – Rafael Nadal. Along the way I discover many wonderful cultures and met individuals from all walks of life, all of whom celebrating tennis.
From the Bull-fighting in Madrid, to the Picasso Museum nestled in the Gothic quarters of Barcelona; I wanted to explore Nadal’s homeland of Spain both as a traveler and as a tennis fan.
First leg of the tour: the Madrid Open
Some pics of Palacio Real, Parco del Retiro and Plaza de Toros:
La Caja Magica – the Magic Box – home of the Madrid Open:
Women’s final: Dinara Safina defeats Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-4
Men’s final: Roger Federer defeats Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 (it was the day after the thriller semifinal opposing Nadal and Djokovic)
Read the complete story on tennis-8.com
The ball boys and ball girls at this year’s Madrid Open will be sporting an ellesse x Surface To Air collaboration design.
ellesse have collaborated with French fashion house Surface to Air to design the kits for the tournament’s ball boys and ball girls.
For the semi finals and finals, trained professional models will take over as ball boys and girls, a concept unique to the Madrid tournament. The professional models will be dressed head to toe in the specially designed ellesse x Surface to Air kits.
This capsule Surface to Air x ellesse Italia collection will be available to buy in limited quantities, offering tennis fans and fashionistas around the globe an opportunity to buy into the magical flair of the Mutua Madrid Open, and the design sensibilities of a Paris fashion house.
