Sharapova, Blake make fashion a factor on and off the court

MARIA SHARAPOVA

She's been fashion's bright spot on the courts for several years even if she's not the risktaker that fellow glamazons Venus and Serena Williams are. (Both Williams sisters also have dabbled in design.)

Sharapova has long worked with her Nike team collaborators on her tournament outfits, often culminating in a cocktail-turned-tennis dress for the U.S. Open, which seems befitting for an event that coincides with New York Fashion Week.

But, Sharapova says, there's also lots of time running to and from airplanes, hotels and conference rooms, and she wanted to expand her wardrobe to accommodate that. She partnered with Cole Haan on a new accessory line of bags and shoes that, save the Nike comfort technology, is rooted in fashion, not athleticwear.

"This is the first time I'm able to do something that totally branches out from tennis itself," she says.

Sharapova did suffer an injury last year, which kept her out of competitive tennis for 10 months. Sketching was one of the things she did in this newfound spare time.

The flat-heel, over-the-knee boot she designed is first on her list of must-haves from the collection. And she wants it in gray suede. "I'd wear it with a cute jumpsuit, or going into fall, I'd wear them with a pair of jeans, or a great coat with a little dress," she says.

JAMES BLAKE

Blake says fashion could be part of his game plan when his days on the professional tennis court are done.

The Thomas Reynolds line, however, has a bigger mission than to keep Blake working. It's his way to honor his late father, the real Thomas Reynolds Blake.

"I wanted to do something that would tell fans where I got my values," Blake says. "I want to be someone kids look up to, and I couldn't be that guy without my father."

Blake recalls of his father, "In the confines of our home, he'd joke that he was a fashion guy. When he got dressed up for work, he'd look stylish. But when he went out to the golf course, he looked ridiculous. I think he did that more so we'd make fun of him and have a good time."

Blake is new to wearing Fila on the court this year, and the collaborative Thomas Reynolds collection has been in place since the start of the agreement. There are plans for the line to include golf, tennis and other activewear, and then expand to general lifestyle clothes.

He hopes to infuse at least a little bit of the UNC Chapel Hill blue that he's made a tradition of wearing as he pays homage to another role model: Michael Jordan.

Blake says he pays attention to details.

"I was always into fashion outside of tennis," Blake says. And he said playing on the professional tour, "I saw some things on the men's side that were unsightly."