Doubles, Anyone?

When my June/July issue of Men’s Fitness landed in my mailbox, tennis star Rafael Nadal’s shirtless torso looked familiar—and it wasn't because I was looking at my own torso in the mirror, that’s for damn sure. Had it not been for the green Nike polo shirt around his neck, I would’ve never remembered that a similar photo was used on the cover of the 2008 fall fashion issue of New York magazine.

The photos, taken by Nigel Parry, are fantastic, and work remarkably well for both magazines. The New York cover shows Nadal at his pouty and petulant best, giving the camera—and thus, the reader—a wicked come hither look that likely sent the magazine flying off the racks across the country (especially in Chelsea and West Hollywood).

Men’s Fitness Uses Nadal Photo from New York Cover Shoot for its Own