Serena as always brings in style
Serena Williams’ latest on-court fashion statement is an attempt to “push the envelope” with a nod to classic tennis style. So says Williams, the No. 1-ranked player who is baring her midriff and naval ring at this year’s Australian Open. Williams designed the bright yellow outfit that features a T-shirt top snugly cropped and a pleated mini-skirt. “I just wanted to think outside the box,” said Williams, who has never been called a fashion conformist. Some of her eye-catching tennis wear has included a faux leather black catsuit, studded hot pants, a denim mini-skirt with knee-high black socks and a variety of animal prints. “I’ve been on tour for a long time,” said the 34-year-old Williams. “I just wanted to push the envelope again, just bring pop culture to tennis, kind of make it really fun.” After the match, she was asked if she was chilly. “It’s definitely not built for warmth, but it’s built for speed,” Williams joked on center court. “I wanted a pleated skirt, because a pleated skirt is very classic,” she said.
Kyrgios rants over music
Very rarely would you see Melbourne crowd turn on its own but that is exactly what happened in local favourite Nick Kyrgios’ match against Tomas Berdych at Rod laver Arena. The crowd was understandably upset with the 20-year-old’s ranting and complaining aimed at chair umpire James Keothavong. With some portion of the crowd yelling “Get on with it Nick”, “Shut up Nick” and “Get a tissue Nick”. With music certainly being heard in background, Kyrgios was visibly agitated with it. Kyrgios said: “Can you not hear thatIJ” to which the umpire replied: “We’re on it”. Even though Kyrgios didn’t hear umpire’s invitation to stop playing, he went on to say: “Just answer me the question, is music allowed to be playing while we playIJ”. “Did you hear somethingIJ So why are you not telling them to turn it off, did you do thatIJ You can’t do it, you’ve got a microphone just there, you can’t just say ‘excuse me turn your phone off’IJ” Kyrgios then turned to the crowd and said: “Am I hearing things, am I hearing thingsIJ Mate, it’s a circus”.
New Aussie on the block
Russian-born Daria Gavrilova hasn’t been an Australian citizen for very long, only receiving her passport in December and permission to represent the country at WTA Tour events. It certainly hasn’t muted the country’s excitement as Gavrilova beat Mladenovic. Treating Gavrilova as if she was a native-born star like lleyton Hewitt, the crowd chanted “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi! Oi! Oi!” during changeovers and roared when she broke Mladenovic’s serve to go up 10-9 in the final set. When she finally closed it out, Gavrilova told the audience, “I want to hug the whole stadium.”