1000 Words is Worth a Picture

(AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)

1077: Number of words devoted to the women's clothes and fashion in AP's reporting from yesterday's action at the U.S. Open.

0: Number of words devoted to the men's clothes and fashion in AP's reporting from yesterday's action at the U.S. Open.

For a look at all those words (including, to be fair, a 600-word sidebar on fashion by AP Fashion Writer Samantha Critchell), read past the jump.
-- Josh L. Dickey

Here's a blend of everything fashion-related from the late-breaking coverage and the second-day story, filed early this morning:

¶   NEW YORK (AP) _ Maria Sharapova was positively giddy.
¶   About her sparkling red dress. Her bejeweled handbag. Her picture in the hallway leading to center court. About everything at the U.S. Open, really.
¶   ...
¶   Decked out for success in an outfit adorned with 600 crystals, Sharapova was all business Tuesday night. Staring the whole way, she humbled Roberta Vinci 6-0, 6-1.
¶   "It's difficult to play against her," the 51st-ranked Italian said. "Strong player. Nice girl. She has a nice dress."
¶   Ah, the red flared shift dress. Plus a cropped black jacket with sheer sleeves, pearl earrings from Tiffany & Co. and a patent leather bag for her rackets.
¶   "Put on a nice outfit and some makeup," Sharapova said, "and you're the bomb."
¶   ...
¶   Known for outlandish outfits, Bethanie Mattek looked downright bizarre in a metallic gold Wonder Woman-inspired costume that made no effort to hide her black bra.
¶   ...
¶   "I feel like I'm part of its history, for sure," (Sharapova) said. "Every corner I turn here, I get goose bumps."
¶   Her outfit definitely provided a little extra zip. Included her dominance was a run of 13 straight points midway in the second set.
¶   "I was trying to get through my warmup as fast as I could so I could put the dress on, actually," she said. "Not a joke. Was pretty excited about putting it on."
¶   ...
¶   Despite twice double-faulting on match point, Sharapova was sharp.
¶   Her biggest mishap? She missed on a sip of water during a changeover and spilled a spot on her custom-made outfit.
¶   ...
¶   "It's red this year, like the Big Apple, in honor of the city," Sharapova told the crowd, before gathering her patent leather racket bag and black jeweled handbag and heading to the locker room.
¶   

And here's Critchell's sidebar:

¶   NEW YORK (AP) _ The opening round at the U.S. Open featured many different fashion strategies, ranging from Maria Sharapova's flashy red dress to Bethanie Mattek's Wonder Woman-inspired gold headdress and visible black bra.
¶   Justine Henin and Svetlana Kuznetsova went for strength with red, Venus Williams added a touch of femininity with a pleated hemline and Serena Williams was flirty in her babydoll dress with a pink bow around the bust.
¶   Most of the top players were winners if you measure success by advancing in the tournament; there were a few more misses if you rank by style.
¶   "Put on a nice outfit and some makeup," Sharapova said, "and you're the bomb."
¶   Then there was Mattek.
¶   Mattek was fined for wearing an argyle cowboy hat at the 2005 U.S. Open and showed up at last year's tournament wearing a loosely draped beige top that resembled a toga. She also donned a leopard-print dress at the U.S. Open once, and her getup at Wimbledon in 2006 included knee-high socks, short shorts and a tube top over a halter top.
¶   Still, this one was bizarre.
¶   The 123rd-ranked player wore a metallic gold dress _ save the mesh cutouts _ with an uneven hemline that was shorter in the front. She also made no effort to hide her bra.
¶   Sharapova took a different approach.
¶   The biggest fashion star of them all walked out onto center court Tuesday night in a red flared shift dress that she helped craft with Nike designers. The 600 crystals on it made it one of the flashiest outfits at the USTA Billie Jean King National Center.
¶   It exuded confidence.
¶   "I was trying to get through my warmup as fast as I could so I could put the dress on, actually," she said after an easy 6-0, 6-1 win over Roberta Vinci. "Not a joke. Was pretty excited about putting it on."
¶   And Sharapova didn't just wear the dress _ she had an ensemble. She made her way from the locker room in a cropped black jacket with sheer sleeves, had pearl earrings from Tiffany & Co. dangling against her jawline and she carried a black jeweled handbag and a patent leather bag for her rackets.
¶   "She has a fantastic game and I have a lot of respect for that but she has a great eye for detail. She's got a style that's very natural to her, and she also knows what she likes and doesn't like," Nike designer Colleen Sandieson told The Associated Press last week.
¶   Serena Williams also took fashion matters into her own hands when she became frustrated with the girlie bow on her dress. Once she ripped it off, though, she hit her stride _ fashion and otherwise.
¶   Meanwhile, sister Venus Williams debuted a dress from her new budget-conscious clothing line EleVen for Steve & Barry's. There might have been doubters that a dress and sneakers that each cost less than $20 would be able to perform at center court against much more expensive rivals, but Venus' decisive 6-2, 6-1 win over Kira Nagy should quiet any of those concerns.
¶   Her light green polo-collar dress with white trim was the first item she rolled out. She has committed to wear other outfits based on her own designs _ available at retail in November _ throughout the U.S. Open.
¶   Before they played their matches Monday night, the Williams sisters joined the likes of Aretha Franklin, Phylicia Rashad and Jackie Joyner-Kersee in a tribute to Althea Gibson, the first black tennis player to win a U.S National Championship title.
¶   Franklin was asked at a news conference what she thought of the tennis stars' style.
¶   "Very daring. Very daring. But they're young. Young people start new trends, yeah," Franklin said. "I wish I was in the shape that Serena is. You know, the little body suit, all of that."
¶   Daniela Hantuchova, the No. 9 seed, didn't fare very well showing off her model-like figure in her match against Julia Vakulenko. She became the first top-10 player to lose, but at least she looked good in a belly-baring skimpy black tank with white trim and low-rise ruffled black tennis skirt.
¶   Vakulenko took the opposite track: a no-frills combination of a modest light blue sleeveless top and darker blue skirt.
¶   Top-seeded Henin and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova went for strength with no-nonsense red outfits that depicted athleticism but would never be pinup material. It's worth noting, though, that Kuznetsova did latch on to one emerging fashion trend: players who layer on jewelry.
¶   She wore a necklace with an oversized diamond S that would bounce around as she made her way around the court.
¶   Martina Hingis had on a thick chain and silver earrings, adding a hint of sparkle to an otherwise all black-and-white outfit.

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