New York: It was 90 degrees in the sun, the spectators were wilting in the heat, and there on the court, Rafael Nadal was slicing and lobbing balls back over the net - in a full tailored suit.
The US Open begin next week. But for Nadal and many of the bluechip athletes whose lucrative side business is endorsing and representing brands, the week leading up to the Open is one part practice, one part celebrity commitments.
"I'm working very hard and working well, I think," he said of his Open preparations. But before then, there's business to attend to.
Nadal, 29, has just been announced as a global ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger, the maker of that new, stretchier suit, and will be the face of its tailored clothing and TH Bold fragrance and the body wearing its underwear collection.
So it was that, before Arthur Ashe Stadium, Nadal found himself playing on Tuesday on a red, white and blue Tommy Hilfiger court in the middle of Bryant Park, in a game of strip tennis (lose a point, lose an article of clothing) against a bevy of Hilfiger models.
Had he ever done anything like this before? "I never did," he said with a laugh after the match, at which he had sacrificed a few accessories (a tie, a pocket square) and his shirt, but stayed generally besuited. "It was special, and we a lot of fun, I think."
Stripping down is becoming old hat for Nadal, who had previously appeared in various states of undress in ads for Emporio Armani. Coinciding with the Bryant Park match, the new Hilfiger campaign (featuring Nadal, sinuous and musclebound in his boxer briefs) began appearing everywhere - on bus shelters, billboards and the back page of sections of this newspaper.
An accompanying video shows Nadal striding into a locker room, taking off his jeans and then his underwear, with a flirtatious wag of the head.
"You saw the video of him taking the underwear off in the locker room?" Hilfiger asked. "That was fun."
Hilfiger is aiming, unapologetically, for sex appeal. His underwear business had been big in the 1990s, selling boxers to "college kids, skaters, all the young people in the '90s," Hilfiger said. "Then it sort of quieted down. We started selling white underwear briefs. White underwear briefs are usually sold to middleaged guys. And they weren't sexy anymore."
Nadal became not only the model, but a focus group of one. "I talked to him at length about what kind of underwear would you wear," Hilfiger said.
Nadal professed to be unconcerned about being a sex symbol on such public display. "I feel lucky to have the chance to be the ambassador of such a great brand as Tommy Hilfiger," he said. "I don't think much, I don't pay much attention if I'm the backdrop of a newspaper."
For the rest of the world, attention is likely to be paid.
"We're doing reverse sexism here," said Jane Lynch, the "Glee" actress and comedian who is gay and served as the match's umpire. "This is great. Especially the part about Rafa in his underwear. Because that could turn a girl straight, if you know what I mean."
