Venus Williams
© AFP Glenn Campbell

LONDON (AFP) - But the defending champion American found herself upstaged on that front by quirky fellow American Bethanie Mattek.

Mattek may have slumped to a 6-0, 6-1 defeat in the first round match but she made the most of her first appearance on Centre Court thanks to an attention-grabbing outfit of vest top, running shorts, football-style long socks and basketball shoes.

"I was going for, like, a soccer theme," explained Mattek, who revealed that she had found the socks at famous London department store Harrods on the eve of her match.

When it comes to sporting unusual outfits, Mattek's record is far more impressive than her results. Previous US Opens have seen her sporting a cowboy hat and a leopard-print dress.

"All the players in the locker room are like, 'oh my God, Beth, what are you wearing today? You have to tell me first'," she said.

"I've pulled out some crazy stuff which I've gotten fined for before so for here I was like 'okay, I'm going to be mellow here, wear all white.'"

Bethanie Mattek
© AFP Glenn Campbell

The 21-year-old was also endearingly frank about how she came to be sporting two advertising patches that had been strategically placed on her bust to guarantee maximum exposure for the sponsors.

As a young player struggling to establish herself on the tour, Mattek was grateful for the offer of a 1,000 dollars per patch.

"I was like 'awesome' all right!'" she said, before joking: "If I wasn't wearing a bra maybe they would have gone up five or something. That would definitely have got a picture."

Such was the interest in Mattek's attire that former champion Maria Sharapova found herself kicking her heels in the corridor waiting for the American' press conference to finish.

The glamorous Russian gave short shrift to the suggestion she may have a new fashion rival, insisting with a quizzical look: "I didn't see her."

But Williams, a student of fashion who has designed some of her own outfits in the past with mixed results, was more generous.

"She looked real cute, sort of 70's inspired," said the defending champion. "I want some of those socks."

Williams will now face another American, Lisa Raymond, for a place in the third round.

©AFP