And now, a brief break from Fashion Week. Let's talk fashion ... and sports! With the US Open selling a record number of tickets, tennis apparel is seeing a boom. According to the National Sporting Goods Association, tennis gear sales are up and hitting a higher growth rate in popularity than any other sport, with an 18.7% increase in participation in 2007. And according to WWD, this growth -- especially in women's -- means increased gear and apparel sales in addition to more court time. Case in point: Maria Sharapova's new Cole Haan line (Cole Haan Sporting), announced on the heels of her grievous abandonment of the miniskirt. "Mixing fashion and sport is an important trend that we see now," says prexy Jim Seuss. The line, scheduled to hit stores in February, offers 40 casual pieces for women, and 30 for men.

You can almost hear the ratings fall. While Federer and Nadal battle it out over fashion and style, sad news has already swept over Wimbledon as word got out that Maria Sharapova will be trading in her trademark mini tennis skirt for -- sigh -- plain old tennis shorts. In the past she's pulled a few odd fashion moves (like diamond-encrusted sneakers), but this simple twist dampens one of her greatest fan assets: her long legs. Sure, Sharapova will be playing outfitted in Tiffany jewelry, though who really notices that sort of thing? "I'm going with the traditional shorts, believe it or not," Sharapova told the AFP. "I've never worn shorts at a Grand Slam. I'm gonna be debuting that. Call it menswear, obviously. It's kind of like a tuxedo look, very simple lines, classic." Yeah, classically lame!