WORLDTEMPUS - 14 September 2012
Miguel Seabra
Everyone was puzzled: Andy Murray had just beaten Novak Djokovic in an exhausting 4:54-hour struggle under gale force winds to become the first British player to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936, and yet he seemed worried and his celebration was somehow subdued. While all eyes were on him, he started shouting something in the direction of his entourage; cramping, the Scot limped onto the other side of the court with a grimace on his face. Everyone expected him to jump into the stands and commemorate the most important moment of his career with his family, staff and friends…but he didn't. He just wanted to ask them something: “Where's my watch?”
“It's in your bag,” he was told. Yes, it might be gobsmacking – but, after breaking a 76-year old Grand Slam jinx comprising 278 tournaments (not to mention losses in his four previous Grand Slam finals), Murray's first thought after clinching the elusive major title had to do with the whereabouts of his Rado. He missed a huge opportunity to flash his new watch sponsorship at the highly publicized Wimbledon award ceremony and the story didn't go unnoticed; maybe his management gave him a hard time after reading
our Wimbledon watch wrap-up. This time there was no blunder and the Olympic champion proudly exhibited a D-Star 200 chronograph on his left wrist while holding the U.S. Open trophy.
At his side, runner-up Novak Djokovic – winner of the previous three Grand Slam tournaments played on hard courts – was wearing the new generation Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph. Oddly, Djokovic's mother was caught on-camera applauding his son wearing rival brand Hublot.
Sign of the times
“Murray looking for his sponsored watch instead of celebrating profusely is a sign of the times,” someone said in the Arthur Ashe Stadium's press room. Indeed it is: putting a watch on after a match has become the most predictable winning ritual in an era where almost all top tennis players have timepiece endorsements. If a player forgets his timepiece before the on-court interview, the sponsor takes note. Andy Roddick lost his hefty Rolex sponsorship partially because of that.
The other Andy forgot once, but luckily not twice. The Scot, who had a local U.K. agreement with TAG Heuer at the beginning of his career before tweeting a couple of years ago that Hublot's first limited edition dedicated to soccer player Diego Maradona was “the best watch ever,” signed with Rado last June during the prestigious Queen's Club grass court tournament prior to Wimbledon. At number 4 in the world, Murray was then the highest profile male player without a watch sponsorship: Roger Federer (Rolex), Novak Djokovic (Audemars Piguet), Rafael Nadal (Richard Mille) precede him in the rankings while David Ferrer (Bovet), Juan Martin del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (both Rolex) come after him. Rado, who neglected to mention its ambassador's win on both its website and Facebook page until Wednesday, should seriously launch a t-shirt featuring Murray and the caption “Where's my watch?” It might be the tennis quote of the year.
Czech mate
With Andy Murray joining Rado, the best tennis player in the world without a watch sponsorship right now is Tomas Berdych, a perennial top-tenner and the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up who ousted Federer in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open before losing to the Scot in the semis.
Now number 6 in the world rankings, Berdych has emerged as a true watch aficionado. Posting pictures of his timepieces on his Instagram account, he was also frequently flashing his Panerai Bronzo during press conferences at Flushing Meadows. The Bronzo seems to be the powerful Czech's favorite timepiece, but he has a few more: a Panerai Luminor Chronograph, three Ulysse Nardin timepieces, three Rolexes, three Omegas, a Chopard Mille Miglia chronograph, a Montblanc chronograph, a Breitling chronograph and an Hublot Red Devil (the limited edition dedicated to Manchester United). Sooner or later, he might get a deal from a brand interested in his passion and the Czech market. Or a brand interested in competing with the sponsors of the other top ten players.
Azarenka's new Citizenship
On the women's side, the winner didn't have to bother thinking about putting her timepiece on: Serena Williams, one of the biggest superstars among female athletes (if not the biggest personality in women's sports) and one of the greatest players ever to pick up a racquet, simply doesn't have a watch sponsorship. Go figure, since she is one of the very few that can actually play with a watch on during official matches. She was wearing her own '80s retro watches when she won Wimbledon (a Casio calculator) and the Olympics (a gold-plated digital watch), but chose not to wear anything on her wrist on her way to her fourth U.S. Open crown and fifteenth Grand Slam singles title.
The runner-up at Flushing Meadows was Victoria Azarenka, who actually led 5-3 in the third set before Williams amassed four straight games to claim the trophy. The Belarus blonde, who beat TAG Heuer's Maria Sharapova in the semifinals and tops the world rankings, signed with Citizen Watch Company for three years right before the U.S. Open started and will not only substitute for the retired Kim Clijsters as international brand ambassador but also tighten Citizen's ties with tennis: this year's U.S. Open marks the Japanese brand's 20th anniversary as official timekeeper for the tournament. The partnership is scheduled to run until 2015.
Twin power
Doubles players might be (unjustly) regarded as sons of a lesser tennis god, but the Bryan twins have generated a lot of interest and keep breaking records: after winning the Olympic tennis event to complete a career Golden Slam (all four Grand Slam tournaments plus the Olympic gold medal), Bob and Mike Bryan established yet another milestone at Flushing Meadows: their twelfth Grand Slam doubles title together as a team surpasses the record for the most Grand Slam doubles titles as a team in the Open era that was previously shared by Aussies Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde (the legendary Woodies).
The Bryan Brothers previously endorsed Perrelet. But the doubles stars aren't with the brand of the double rotor anymore; they've extended their Oakley sponsorship from their sunglasses onto their wrists – and they actually play with their Oakley watches on.
