LOL. Cheryl, I almost choked while I was reading this posting. Thanks for so much fun!

That Baghdatis thing was just too hilarious for words. Sometimes these things just write themselves......

Love the post :)

i bloody love your blogs cheryl :D

brilliant and hilarious. i saw the baghdatis epic racquet smashing. it was bizarre!!

"Which just goes to prove that sometimes even if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might be a fan making bird calls." <----- funniest thing i've read all day

there was also a funny moment after a match today. one of the players threw a used towel into the crowd. a guy grabbed it, fell over and woman, rather than help him up, just stole the towel and ran away. hahaha

Cheryl, hillarious blog, but you and I will never agree about Rafa's fashion statement. I honestly believe that Nike is making a packet out of them, why else would they spend all the money to showcase them.

It's not putting people off though, the crowd are continously expressing their love for him, he's been kissed on court by a spectator after a match, and he even had a proposal of marriage the other day. Just imagine what would happen if he wore outfits that you like................the mind buggles.


There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

aww, Carrie. You can't convince me that you LIKE the traffic cone orange shirt paired with one pink and one white wrist band, then topped with tan and white checked shorts. That isn't even an outfit, it's like a.....collage put together by a blind person.

And thank you for the lovely compliments. :)

Cheryl, I'm looking at the big picture. Look at the overall effect, not the individual items. You see Nike is trying to move out of the comfort zone of men in dull colours. Rafa looks a picture don't you agree. Who says pink and orange don't go, there are all sorts of colours (or colors for Americans) in a garden. I suppose I'm so biased that negative thoughts simply don't enter my head.

The AO officials must have had wind of this that's why they've put the ball kids in pink, have you noticed how they've dressed the line judges to match Federer's turquoise. Do you think we will ever see Federer in a pink headband?

I think one of the funniest things at this tourney is Ljubucic in a headband, he makes James Blake look positively glamourous in his J-cloth.


There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

One day I hope someone will ask Nadal about the level of influence- or concern ftm- he has over the designs. Color scheme, patterns....it's like listening to a radio tuned a half step in the wrong direction.

I must be the only one who likes the fucshia. Bold, bright...no problem spotting them in a crowd. :)

Tomic is on thin ice, I hope he chooses his battles more wisely from now on. There is a fine line between fiery and say, Jeff Tarango territory.

remember rafa's very fetching blue checked shorts he wore in shanghai? with the non-checked bit in the middle? look again at these beige checked shorts. there's a non-checked bit in the middle!! i hope this isn't gonna be a recurring theme

I must be the only one who likes the fucshia. Bold, bright...no problem spotting them in a crowd. :)


Kelli, you are not the only one.....lol.


There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

It's not that I don't *like* the ball kids' outfits...it's just that I have a hard time picturing any 12 year old BOY I know liking it.

Happy New Year carrie- hope you are enjoying the AO so far. :) Good to know I have some company. Everyone was appalled at the sight of the bright pink, and I couldn't understand why. The splash of color just fits with the "Happy Slam."

Rafa looks good in blue- the orange is too overpowering, I think. It's a very, very tough color to pull off.

The sleeveless debate wears on, btw. Today, as I did some research, I pulled up a current picture of Nadal. My mother (in town for a visit) saw it and lamented-

"When is he going back to his old look? It's a shame to cover up that boy's arms."

"When is he going back to his old look? It's a shame to cover up that boy's arms."

probably the same applies to the other parts of his body :)

"When is he going back to his old look? It's a shame to cover up that boy's arms."

yes. exactly. i also think it helps his serve to maybe have no restrictions on his arms and shoulder. plus it gives him a slightly more menacing look. he looks too conservative with sleeves

Actually Kelli, I've got used to the sleeves, I think it's too late to go back to the sleeveless, and it's OK for a young 21 year old, but not for someone older. It's strange that some players still wear sleeveless, but they are not making any impact at all, and it's not to do with the biceps because Rafa is not the only one with bulging biceps.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

LOL! Great blog, Cheryl! I love your dry wit and humour, and I love all your observations which are the same as mine, except I couldn't put it in half the way you did. Enjoyed reading that immensely!

Also...Tomic stole Rafa's shorts. When I watched the Tomic/Cilic match, for the first three points I'm just like "HE'S WEARING RAFA'S SHORTS". Thought that was lame of Nike to give part of Rafa's wardrobe to another player for the SAME tournament. To be fair, we will never see another player wearing Fed's outfits for the same tournament.

Oh no, wait, Berdych (or someone) wore Fed's shoes last AO. Well, I guess Nike recycles after all.

tomic also had the shirt rafa chose not to wear. i saw a site with all rafa's clothes for this part of the season on it, and tomics shirt was on there

cheryl,

This was just what I needed to get a much needed laugh before Rafa's match with Murray! It helped to calm my jittery nerves and the butterflies in my stomach!

I really do not love those shorts! I know that Rafa is a guy who can carry off just about anything, but I will never love checkered shorts in any color combination. Why didn't they just give him plain white shorts? As far as the orange and pink, one of the espn commentators said Rafa liked the colors because they reminded him of his hometown! So I guess Rafa is on board with this look.

I actually loved the colors Rafa wore for last year's AO. I thought they were much more flattering. I loved the night look with those black shorts that had what looked like little bits of silver all over them. As far as the sleeveless look, I think that is gone for good. It is a shame to cover up Rafa's assets, shall we say, but I can still see those bulging biceps even under the short sleeves.

But if this checkered look is here for good, then I will definitely have a problem! :)

i don't mind rafa's t-shirts this tourney but his shorts are for sleeping in at nights, not for wearing in public.

ball kid outfits look fine to me but i'm with cheryl in being concerned about what it must do to the reputation of the boys.

another great blog from cheryl. i did find the baggy racket smashing surprising and hilarious at the same time. felt sorry for him but couldn't help laughing.

Good stuff, Cheryl. May your shallow observations continue all year.

I think Rafa looks good in bright colors. The orange looks good to me, though I prefer the orange shirt to go with plain white shorts. The checkered one is too much for the eyes, esp when it goes with the stripes on the shirt.

Yes its a shame to cover up Rafa's beautiful biceps, but Rafa has grown up into a fine young man now and he probably wants to change his image to reflect this. The same outfit when worn by someone else, won't give us the same effect as what Rafa can give, that's why Rafa is special. Nobody can project that pirate look better than Rafa!

Rafa's image used to be different from other players; thats what made it so unique. Now he just wears what every other player wears, just in the form of fuschia and golf shorts. Nike (or rafa himself) just took away what made his image so special.

I think it's clear that Rafa should strike pink from his Grand Slam attire. Did he learn NOTHING from the French Open?

GREAT column, Cheryl! Looking forward to future installments!

thank you, rpcv. Maybe I'll make this a semi-regular column. :)