Clay Court Season Stars
Clay Court Season is about reach its culmination with the French Open at the end of this month. We’re sure to see a ton of new gameplans and styles in Paris, but we’ve already seen many successes at Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Houston, Rome, and other tournaments. Let’s take a look back at some of the big players and winning styles of the dirtiest season of the year.
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When you think of clay, Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal almost always comes first. With commanding wins at the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, he has proven that he hasn’t lost a step on clay. Nadal has worn the Lunar Ballistec 1.5 Tennis Shoes to conquer the clay. This high performing shoe does not break easily and provides a very competitive amount of stability. Nadal’s problem has never been movement, so it’s not like he needs a super lightweight shoe. He matched this shoe with his exclusive Nike Aeroreact Challenger Top in Purple and Orange. He has been wearing this shirt for one full year now, and it has reduced his sweat so much that he now only changes shirts twice during a match instead of five times. The Purple and Orange look was pleasing on the eye, but not the best for the clay. Expect something a bit cooler come Roland Garros.
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Maria Sharapova made her return, and her immediate success turned many people’s heads. After serving a suspension of failing a drug test, she came back to the clay at the Porsche Grand Prix Tournament in Stuttgart and made it to the semis. On her run, and for the rest of this year’s clay court season, she has been wearing Nike pieces from a line custom-made for her. From the Maria line, she has been wearing the Flex Tennis Skort, Flex Tennis Tank, and Aerobill Featherlight Adjustable Visor. She has been wearing what looks like a specially designed pair of Zoom Vapor 9.5’s.
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There are a few players outside of the tournament favorites that could make a huge splash in Paris. They are two of the most exciting players in the field, and have scored wins over virtually everyone. They are different players and have different styles, which probably has to do with the near 20 year age gap between them.
Venus Williams is one of the most established players on the women’s tour and she is always a tournament threat. Despite not playing much during this clay season, she has posted big wins in the latter part of 2016 and early 2017. She knocked off current number one Angelique Kerber and many other top players, and was a force to be reckoned with on hard courts. On the red dirt of Roland Garros, Venus will be rotating quite a few outfits as she did for the last season. She wore Thika Collection at the Australian Open, and – sneak peak! – She will be wearing clothes from the Diamond Collection.
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After a big win at his home clay tournament in Munich, Alexander Zverev is going to try to manufacture a deep run at the French Open. For the beginning of the clay season, he has been donning the adidas Melbourne line and an awesome pair of adidas Ubersonic 2’s. He will be switching his outfit for Roland Garros though. Since adidas is an official sponsor he will wear the Men’s Roland Garros Tennis Tee in White and Core Green, these Roland Garros Tennis Shorts in Green, and the even cooler Adizero Ubersonic 2 Clay Tennis Shoes in Core Green.
The French Open is always one of the most interesting tournaments of the year, and what it lacks in aggressive plays it makes up for in style! Get your own style and match – or clash with the clay this summer at tennisexpress.com! See you there!!
