SHIRT IS NOT AN ADVANTAGE

Simone Bolelli (right) says branding was at play when the Italian wore a shirt with the Stars and Stripes on the sleeve for his second-round match on Thursday against Tommy Robredo.

An attempt to get the New York crowd on his side?

"Naaaww," Bolelli said after his four-set loss, explaining his clothing sponsor, Hydrogen, makes shirts specifically to wear at most of the major national tournaments.

"They have Italian ... they have Paris, they have US," he said. "But Wimbledon was impossible because they're all white."

SWEAT EQUITY

In past US Opens, it may have been the kind of stuff that was swept up and thrown away: Placards that identified players at news conferences. Banners hung from light poles. Towels players used to wipe away their sweat.

Now, all of it - the obscure and the obvious - is collected as bits of sports memorabilia and sold in a kiosk under the stands of Court 11 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

"Some may wonder, "Why would you want that?" but people want a piece of the US Open," said MeiGray Group memorabilia salesman David Meisel, whose dad, Barry, founded the company in 1997 and struck deals with the tournament and individual players for castoff balls and other items. It has been at the tournament since 2012.

For the budget-conscious, there is an actual ball from a first-round match between two lesser-known players ($5) and a Philipp Kohlshchreiber news conference name placard ($20). For a little more money you can get a rolled-up net from last year's three-set women's final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka ($5,000), a scuffed racket used by Mike Bryan to win the 2012 doubles title ($1,495), and the actual ball used on match point in last year's men's final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic ($2,500).

And then there are the towels. Price is determined by the name of the player involved and one other crucial factor.

"It has to have been used," Meisel said. "The more sweat, the better."

SECOND-ROUND BLUES

She might have been out-hit by Serena Williams at the US Open but Vania King hit all the right notes at her news conference afterward.

King, a 25-year-old based in Florida, studied music as a child. In 2006, she performed America the Beautiful in Arthur Ashe Stadium before a tournament night session.

So following King's 6-1, 6-0 loss to the top-ranked Williams in that same arena on Thursday, a member of the media put forth this question: "After a tough match like this, can you think of a song you might want to sing in the shower or sing to your friends - or to us?"

King chuckled at the request, paused, then began belting out Can't Help Lovin' That Man.

After a few stanzas, she cut herself off, rapped her fingers on the desk in front of her and said she wanted to come up with an easier song.

And then she broke into Fever, crooning for about 20 seconds.

She stopped and laughed.

The reporters present applauded.

Associated Press

(China Daily 08/30/2014 page9)