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Update: Erwin here, writing to tell you that I have started working at Tennis Now — an online hub covering all things tennis-related: the pro tour, gear reviews, tips/training/drills, and of course the off-court and style deliciousness that we covered here on TSF.

I hope you are all having a great summer; we’re all excited to see what everyone’s going to wear at the Olympics this week, right? We’ll check back in soon. In the meantime: TennisNow.com

Dear readers,

When we started blogging four years ago — about tattoos (on Flavio Saretta and Potito Starace), trophies (still our fave: Bercy 2006), and Lleyton‘s marriage to Bec — we never thought of TSF as anything more than a casual hobby. Instead it gave us a chance to flex our tennis geekery: becoming besties with Sorana, obsessing about Mirka, playing “Where In the World is Andre Sa?”, founding a one-man fan club for Kolya, and polling everyone about their Top 5. (Who’s in ours, you ask? We both agree on Monaco, Melzer, Nole, and the puffy pecs on Igor Andreev.)

But as 2011 came to a close, we felt that it was time to move on and make room for our other projects. This will be our last post on TSF.

We’ll still be covering similar topics in our own work (uhhh SI pairing Rafa with Bar Rafaeli? Sexy.), so if you are curious to follow: Nick’s at @nickmccarvel and Erwin’ll be at @erwincong. (Note: TSF’s Twitter will continue to be maintained.)

Tennis Served Fresh wouldn’t have made it this far without support: from family and friends who clicked away on posts; readers who visited and left comments; industry folk who let us pick their brains; labels who let us into their showrooms; contributors who helped us with coverage; and from fellow journos whom we spent many, many hours with in the trenches. Thanks to everyone. Without you, Erwin would never have ended up peeing next to Tursunov and Melzer in a U.S. Open bathroom.

Until next time: hugs, kisses, and a Venus Williams twirl (maybe a Petkorazzi shimmy??) —

Erwin and Nick

Hopefully they’re taking their vitamins, too! In a short clip, a few select stars of the WTA — Laura Robson, Caroline Wozniaki, Petra Kvitova and others — guess how many USANA vitamins are in a jar. USANA is one of the official partners of the WTA. Before Agnieszka Radwanska delivers the final tally, can you guess which player was the closest? And how many vitamins do you think are in the jar?! | TSF Vault: Videos

Small court, big results. Before Andy Murray‘s London hopes got muddled because of injury, the Scot took to a British warehouse to play some Road Tennis. Not sure what that is? Nor were we. adidas explains:

[We invited the] Road Tennis Association of Barbados to London, to teach Murray how to play Road Tennis. A cross between traditional tennis and table tennis, Road Tennis is played on the street, with participants chalking out their own courts. Murray had never played the game before, and was given just one hour to pick up his wooden bat and attempt to master the game’s ins and outs, before we put him up against Barbados’ finest.

In the video above, Murray gets a “warm-up” with storied English boxer David Haye, who is now retired, and British rapper Example.

adidas noted that the Murray vid was the first of many to come for the brand over the next year: “The event marked the start of our new campaign, where we’ll be challenging some of the world’s best tennis players, around the biggest tournaments next year.” Excited? You bet we are!

As for who Murray gets a lesson from on the Road Tennis pavement? That’d be Sylvain “Lama” Barnett, a legend in Barbados and one of the Pro Road Tennis Association’s greatest players of all time.

Broadway magic? A new play is in the works for Broadway, set on the rivalry and friendship between NBA legends Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. The play is in its casting phase right now, which The Wall Street Journal noted was a blessing for the vertically-blessed. | And if you like your hardwood stories with a little bit of dance and song, Lysistrata Jones, a musical now in previews, opens Dec. 14.

Creative hunger. We’re in love with the Museum of Communication in Berlin and their current food and fashion exhibit. Move over, Gaga! This fella is donning some carb-inspired, pasta-and-ravioli threads. Yum.

High society. New York’s famed High Line park in Chelsea now has its own book, High Line: The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky. On Wednesday, Nov. 30, Coach is hosting a release party for the book along with New York magazine at the Coach store in Midtown Manhattan.

short(er) balls: Both Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova voiced their want for the WTA’s Season Ending Championships to move to London’s O2 Arena to join the men. The feasibility of such a thing happening? At least a few years off with contracts in place and the events still three weeks apart. | On USA Today, Bethanie Mattek-Sands writes of her improved shoulder, taking care of her dog at home and the first-ever tennis camp she’s hosting in Arizona next month. | The only golf and tennis shop in downtown D.C., Drilling Tennis & Golf, is set to close after over 30 years in business. | Beware, Martina Hingis! Tory Burch says she plans to eventually design yoga, tennis and golf lines for women. | IMG stalwart Teddy Forstmann, “one of the most powerful men in sports, fashion and media,” according to The New York Post, died yesterday at the age of 71. He had brain cancer. | Growing in popularity in Australia? That’d be polo. | The world’s largest jacket? Half the size of a tennis court, y’all!

(johnson/bird screengrab via official show website; museum photo via fox news; jacket image via world records academy)

No more Oreos or Jamba Juice? Venus is aspiring to have a better diet in 2012. (AFP/Getty)

A tall order for the taller sister. Can the meat-and-potatoes Wimbledon-queen summon her past success as a leaner and greener player?

Older sister Venus, who’s claimed five titles at the All England Club, is having a health scare of her own after being diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease, which can lead to damage of the body’s vital organs. The illness forced her drop out of the US Open this year and has pushed meat out of her diet.

Despite the seriousness of the condition, Venus has been sporting a positive attitude and even healthier eating habits. She told reporters, “I changed my diet completely, so lots of vegetables. I [altered] my mind frame completely because I was the person who always ate their steak first and their salad second.”

Times are changing for the superstar, who said last year that she “eats to live and not lives to eat.” She continued talking foodie favorites, saying that she considered “beans and rice and blackened chicken” a top meal choice.

Venus discussed her new diet’s impact on the future. “My goal next year is to play a full schedule. It will take some work to get there, but I’m no stranger to hard work.”

TSF Vault: Venus Williams

This recalls the gourmet changes for 2011 ATP success stories Novak Djokovic, who’s claimed three major titles this year, and Andy Murray, who went on a 17-match winning spree after the US Open.

Djokovic’s decision to cut the carbohydrates to curb his Ciliac disease helped him achieve his best season ever, including the No. 1 ranking. Meanwhile, Murray discussed his own gourmet foray into becoming more fit. Before losing to Tomas Berdych in the Paris Masters, he said, “I think there’s a bit of difference in my approach to training and the diet; I feel pretty fresh.”

Not all’s well for the scrawny-looking Scot, who misses being able to pick up a menu and order what he wants. You can almost imagine his mouth watering when he said: “It can be quite frustrating when everyone else is dunking their bread in olive oil or smearing it in butter.”

Murray aside, Venus’ newfound form and fitness will no doubt have fans worldwide salivating for a dominating force in an otherwise floundering WTA. Petra Kvitova, 21, the current world No. 2 and winner of Wimbledon and the Season Ending Championships, might be the answer. She’s still, however, young and half-baked in terms of talent and poise.

It’s time for Venus to turn up the burners and bring back the motivation for which she’s known. Currently ranked No. 103, having only played a handful of tournaments this year, Venus quickly doused rumors of retirement.

“I love the game. The racket feels right in my hand and I’m planning on going right back to where I was at the top of the rankings in the singles and doubles.”

With Venus back in-shape and on form, the alarm bells should be sounding for the rest of the women’s tour. It’ll be tough to get out of the fire and back into the figurative frying pan that is professional tennis at her ripe age of 31. But if anyone can come back from adversity and succeed, it’s a Williams.

High stakes (steaks?), indeed.

Almost voted (in) as Mr. Popular.

Just after the US Open, a tweet from Jon Wertheim caught our eye on a mayoral candidate in Florida who was using some ATP players as part of his campaign for office. The off-center approach was part of an off-center candidacy, and a few weeks ago Steve Berke, the candidate at hand, even landed in the pages of The New York Times. Berke’s bid fell short last week in Miami Beach. But hey, you can’t blame him — and the “After Party” party — for trying, right?

(screengrab via nyt.com)

Peter Burwash. Like, the real one.

Not who he seems. This story caught our eye in this weekend. From the Monterey County Herald:

Peter Burwash is famous in the tennis world, but last week he discovered his picture was on a newspaper column by one “Richard Burwash,” published in Salt Lake City.

“I got so many calls about it,” Burwash said. “Friends, newspapers, TV stations called.”

The name and photo were purloined off the Internet by Mayor Mike Winder of West Valley City, Utah, the state’s second largest city and a suburb of Salt Lake City, population about 130,000.

Winder apparently was fed up with negative publicity about West Valley and decided to pen “good news” about his city under a pseudonym. When it became apparent that the real Peter Burwash, 63, is well known as a motivational speaker, author of 10 books and founder of the world’s largest tennis management firm, the game was up.

Image via pbitennis.com

Better safe than sorry? On Wednesday morning, Serena Williams was part of a headline on TMZ, but there were no photos of the tennis star on a red carpet or out to dinner in Hollywood. Want more details? Click here. Or the image above. And should we really be surprised that Serena has a panic room? It’s Serena! | TSF Vault: Serena Williams

(tmz.com screengrab)