roger federer

Nadal, Federer And Co. Headline Flood Fundraiser

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal put aside their famous rivalry this weekend, teaming up with other top players to raise money for Australian flood victims on the day before the start of the Australian Open. In the "Rally for Relief" charity match, players got together on the courts with a common goal, to raise over $1 million Australian for those in the Queensland state who were stricken by the series of floods that have plagued the region. The players gave the 15,000 people attending at the Rod Laver Arena a good show, hamming it up with plenty of wisecracks. The fundraising efforts will continue throughout the Australian Open with players auctioning off shirts and other planned events.

Tennis players aren't the only sports figures contributing in Australia. Lance Armstrong, in Australia for the Tour Down Under, used the power of Twitter to organize a fundraising ride in Adelaide. He personally donated $50,000. Around 8,000 people turned out to ride with him. The Queensland Reds rugby team's doctors have offered free medical assistance to those affected by the floods. The Football Federation Australia donated $100,000 Australian to the relief effort and is planning more efforts.

Tags: australian open, lance armstrong, rafael nadal, rally for relief, roger federer, tour down under

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal Play Tennis On A Floating Platform

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal took their long-standing rivalry to the water last weekend. The tennis champions, in Qatar for the Qatar Open, the official start of the tennis calendar, battled it out on a floating platform on a lagoon in Qatar with the city of Doha in the background. The stunt is similar to similar moves we've seen in Dubai, most recently AC Milan's soccer pitch in the sky. Federer has taken part in one of these events before, playing Andre Agassi on the Burj al-Arab's sky-high helipad.

Last year Nadal won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles and on New Year's Day, Nadal edged out Federer at Abu Dhabi's invitational World Tennis Championships. Federer beat Dutch qualifier Thomas Schoorel at the Qatar Open with an amazing through-the-legs shot setting the stage for another potential battle.

Tags: qatar open, rafael nadal, roger federer

Royal Court: Federer's Suite at the Carlyle Hotel

by Paul Rogers (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports, Lux Tips

After completing his work each day on the hard, sun-baked courts of the U.S. Open in Flushing, Queens, Roger Federer will rest his head on plush monogrammed pillows (above) at the Carlyle Hotel on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the New York Observer reports. Federer, winner of the most grand slam titles in the history of men's tennis, will be staying for the third consecutive year in a $3,000-a-night suite on the 16th floor.

As the Observer dutifully details, Federer's suite has a long, formal living room furnished in black and white and hung with a large "quasi-Picasso." The bathroom is bedecked in black marble and gold trim. The polite and soft-spoken Swiss, the newspaper reports, prefers the smaller of the two bedrooms, eschewing the master chamber, with its mirrored bedposts and leopard-print rug. His focus during the fortnight will be on capturing his 16th major title, two more than the less artistic, though coldly efficient, Pete Sampras.

Gallery: Roger Federer's Lair at the Carlyle Hotel

Tags: carlyle hotel, CarlyleHotel, roger federer, RogerFederer

The Terracotta Warriors of Tennis

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

I hadn't heard of this project until the PR people showed me pictures but apparently it made news last month, the ATP has commissioned French sculptor Laury Dizengremel to create terracotta models of eight top tennis players in the style of the ancient Chinese Terracotta Army which is on display at the British Museum in London. The sculptures are being made for the Masters Cup in Shanghai which will take place in late November. Warrior statues of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have been commissioned and five spots are still still up for grabs in the field, The original Terracotta Army was created to be buried with the Emperor of Qin in 210-209 BC and 8,099 figures have been unearthed around the Emperor's tomb.

Gallery: Tennis Statues