Tomas Berdych has been sponsored by H&M for over a year now and his outfits have made some waves, particularly his Australian Open kit, which resembled an Argentina football jersey.

He’s the first and only tennis player to wear designs from the Swedish chain on court and the Czech says he’s enjoying the exclusivity, something he didn’t have when he was sponsored by Nike and was down the pecking order behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

“They are doing a pretty good job in terms of discussing the stuff, how it’s going to come up, how the line is going to be made, what’s their idea, when they are going to change the outfits and everything,” Berdych said. “This is a completely different setup than what I had in the past.”

Great consolation prize

Doubles champion Rohan Bopanna joked that his title win could make up for missing out on World Cup tickets.

The 33-yearold Indian had tweeted earlier that his application for semi-final and final tickets for the FIFA World Cup was denied.

But he admits the Dubai trophy is quite the consolation.

“Yeah, definitely,” the Indian doubles star said laughing. “I would have loved to have both, but at least at the World Cup I do get a chance again in March to apply online. So let’s try.”

Keeping an eye out

Ever wondered how closely players follow their rivals’ news and results?

This week, I realised Federer is very aware of the happenings on tour.

When asked whether he’d consider competing in the South American swing, like Rafael Nadal, Federer corrected the questioner saying that Nadal was only playing one event – Rio de Janeiro – in South America this year.

When quizzed about Novak Djokovic’s inability to win a title this year, the Swiss said: “Well, he’s only played two events.”

Nice to know the Swiss master is keeping tabs on his closest rivals.