But when it comes to photo shoot, some of them find unbuttoning their shirts for the 2009 ATP World Tour Player Calendar almost proved too much.
French photographer Corrine Dubreuil revealed, "Marcos Baghdatis (Mr April) was very shy at the beginning. He was not comfortable, so he told me he would only take off his shirt if everybody left the studio.
"When I started to take the photos, Marcos started to dance to the music and take off the shirt very slowly in a very sexy way, like a belly dance. When everybody returned, he did an Andrew Ilie or Pat Rafter by tearing his shirt to pieces!"
Baghdatis joined 13 other players from each region of the world for the shoot, from the camera savvy Tommy Robredo and Fernando Verdasco – who have both appeared naked in Cosmopolitan Magazine in support of the Everyman Male Cancer Campaign – to Tomas Berdych, Bob and Mike Bryan, Fernando Gonzalez, Tommy Haas, Ivan Ljubicic, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Juan Monaco, Paradorn Srichaphan, Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny.
Dubreuil shot the classic and striking monochrome photographs for the player calendar in Paris, during the ATP Masters Series event last year. Toutchai U-Bol was on hand to photograph Srichaphan in Bangkok.
"By far the most seductive player was Tursunov. He kept playing with my camera and flirting with the make-up artist Vinca! He was great and easy to shoot."
Check out Tursunov in the video! Sexy!
But Dubreuil's favourite is Verdasco. He said, "What a body! He got so involved in the shoot and knew exactly which photographs were the best."
Fans will be able to view the photographs at the W Hotel in Times Square, New York, during the US Open fortnight. (Via ATP.com)
Suddenly Leryn Franco has become the hottest girl on the internet.
Paraguayan javelin thrower Leryn Franco might have placed 51st overall in a field of 52 competitors in her event at the Beijing Olympics, but she has definitely won the heart of Serbian tennis star and world no. 3 Novak Djokovic.
Leryn, 26, and Djokovic, 21, were seen walking around hand in hand in the Olympic village, leaving no doubt the duo are in love.
“Djokovic looks to his new partner as if she were a trophy,” an Argentine athlete told La Nacion newspaper. “Is it official? Yes, of course. They go hand in hand everywhere,” he added.
Leryn and Djokovic was also seen in a restaurant near the Olympic village where athletes reside during the Games.
"Modeling is a way for me to continue with my sport," Franco said. "The hours are flexible, and you can earn good money through photographic modeling and the catwalk."
Hmm... that reminds us of Maria Sharapova, isn't it?
Despite her performance at the Olympics, it won't low down her career at all. In fact, the much-talked about romance helps boost her career. The question now is, with all the press constantly bringing up his dating situation, will Leryn distract Djokovic at U.S. Open? We will see. (Images via Zimbio)
It's the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year 2008.
Men's Singles Have you check out the draw yet? Personally, I think Roger Federer has a better draw compare to Rafael Nadal. I would love to see the two along with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in the semifinals.
If Andy Murray is able to achieve that far (he never made it through the quarterfinal in any Grand Slam before), he could improve his ranking from the current world no. 6 to world no. 4, provided how well David Ferrer (current world no. 4) and Nikolay Davydenko (no. 5) perform.
There has been much said about Juan Martin Del Potro for his recent winning streak, I'm still not convinced about his performance. I mean this guy has never really been tested on heavyweight matches like the U.S. Open. Same goes to Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who last made impact at the Australian Open earlier this year. So, I don't really see these guys as a threat to the top seeds.
Women's Singles While the women's draw looks pretty imbalanced, Dinara Safina could miss a chance here to win the U.S. Open being in the tough top half of the draw. Perhaps another rematch here between Safina and Elena Dementieva in the final? While I'm pretty confident with Safina's consistency, could one half of the Williams sisters perform well here on their homegrown?
Ana Ivanovic is back as the world no.1 and top seed. She has recovered from her thumb injury too. However, she has not been playing for weeks now. So, I believe she's not physically ready to take on the other girls yet especially she belongs to the top half of the draw. It's going to be another short stay for her as the world no. 1 again. As for Maria Sharapova, she's out due to shoulder injury.
For the complete women's singles draw, click here.
It's Always about the Shirtless Guys Any great tennis tournament is never complete without seeing players practicing, especially when they are shirtless, isn't it? And I don't mean the women players of course. Here are some pictures for your eyes only.
Tommy Haas, one of the sexiest guy in men's tennis.
Tommy Robredo; Why are all the sexy tennis players named Tommy?
David Ferrer has to perform or see Andy Murray surpass him in the world ranking.
Will Marat Safin be able to repeat his outstanding performance in the recent Wimbledon?
James Blake is a busy now. Here he attended the Heineken Premium Light Tennis Event at the outdoor of World Financial Center New York.
For 17 years, Heineken USA has helped support the U.S. Open tennis tournaments and has formed a new relationship with James Blake.
Blake hosted this charity event and will appear on U.S. Open ads and Heineken Premium Light in-store signs.
James Blake, Christian McMahan(CMO Heineken) and Brian Citron (Sr.Brand Director Heineken)
Heineken presented Blake with a $10,000 donation to the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Cancer Research Fund at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Heineken is also sponsoring Heineken Premium Light Hat Night for fans on Aug. 30. (Via Black Tennis Pro's)
Tennis players never shy to practice shirtless.
French photographer Corrine Dubreuil revealed, "Marcos Baghdatis (Mr April) was very shy at the beginning. He was not comfortable, so he told me he would only take off his shirt if everybody left the studio.
"When I started to take the photos, Marcos started to dance to the music and take off the shirt very slowly in a very sexy way, like a belly dance. When everybody returned, he did an Andrew Ilie or Pat Rafter by tearing his shirt to pieces!"
Baghdatis joined 13 other players from each region of the world for the shoot, from the camera savvy Tommy Robredo and Fernando Verdasco – who have both appeared naked in Cosmopolitan Magazine in support of the Everyman Male Cancer Campaign – to Tomas Berdych, Bob and Mike Bryan, Fernando Gonzalez, Tommy Haas, Ivan Ljubicic, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Juan Monaco, Paradorn Srichaphan, Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny.
