Black Tennis Pros

Already low on marquee names because of the Olympics, the Countrywide Classic lost another one Tuesday as eighth-seeded Tommy Haas was beat by 19-year-old Donald Young, 6-2, 6-4, in the first round at UCLA.

It was the earliest Haas has lost at UCLA since 2002. He won the tournament in 2004 and 2006, something Haas said may not have helped him.

"There's always usually a feeling of coming back to a tournament you've won once or even more times like in this case," he said. "You always feel pretty good about your game, so in one way it is surprising for myself but on the other hand maybe you don't want it as bad as winning another title."

Young was the youngest player to finish in the top 100 at the end of 2007 and he rose to as high as 73rd on the ATP tour this year. However, he is coming off consecutive first-round exits at Cincinnati, Toronto and Indianapolis.

"The summer by my standards hasn't been going that well," Young said. "I felt I had a lot more expectations for myself and I wasn't doing that well. To get a win here [and] . . . to beat someone of his caliber is great."

After breezing through the first set, Young broke Haas to open up the second set. Haas responded by breaking Young at love to get back on serve and the two then held serve to 4-4.

"Later in the match, obviously I got really nervous," Young said. "A lot of double faults started to roll in. . . . I have been up on a player like that before, but I hadn't closed it before. It was just different territory for me."

At 4-4, Haas fell behind, 15-40, but rallied to deuce before Young hit a winner at the net to take the game and eventually the match.

Other matches Tuesday included fifth-seeded Marat Safin of Russia beating John Isner, 6-3, 6-4, and victories by Americans Vince Spadea over Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and Amer Delic over Dudi Sela of Israel, 6-4, 6-4.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bankrupt apparel chain Steve & Barry's LLC can pay tennis star Venus Williams under the terms of her clothing line contract, a U.S. bankruptcy judge said on Tuesday.

Steve & Barry's, which plans to sell itself at an auction later this month, can pay Williams the $250,000 owed to her under a license agreement, provided she makes certain assurances, Judge Allan Gropper said at a court hearing in Manhattan.

Steve & Barry's was seeking to make $625,000 in payments to Williams, professional surfer Laird Hamilton and basketball player Ben Wallace for their license agreements, but Gropper said the company should wait at least two weeks until its sale procedures are approved.

He said the payment to Williams could be made now as she is expected to wear Steve & Barry's apparel while competing in the Olympic Games in Beijing over the next few weeks. Williams wore designs from her Steve & Barry's "Eleven" clothing line when she won the Wimbledon singles title a month ago.

Gropper said he would allow the other two celebrities to submit further proof that they needed to be paid more urgently. He said all the celebrities, including Williams, would have to show that Steve & Barry's would benefit from something other than "amorphous good will" by paying the celebrities now.

Celebrity-licensed clothing at Steve & Barry's accounted for 41 percent of the chain's in-store sales year-to-date, a lawyer for the company, Shai Waisman, said at the hearing.

The company also sells clothing lines created by actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Amanda Bynes, but neither was a part of the Tuesday proceeding.

The 276-store chain filed for bankruptcy protection in July citing tight credit markets, higher costs and a decline in consumer spending that left it unable to pay its debts.

On Monday the company said Bay Harbour Management had agreed to become the firm's "stalking horse" bidder with an offer to purchase the company as a going concern for $163 million. The bid allows Bay Harbour to make the first offer at the company's auction for its assets later this month.

NEW YORK -- Evian Natural Spring Water, the official bottled water of the U.S. Tennis Open, will have significant on-site presence when the event begins Aug. 25.

Among other activations, Evian will be the official recycling sponsor of the U.S. Open. Evian recycling bins will be placed throughout the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, N.Y.

Evian will also feature brand pitchman James Blake, among the top-ranked American tennis players in the world, in person and through marketing support.

Blake will be at the Evian booth, where kiosks will enable fans to access ShopEvian.com. Any purchase made at the Web site will include a complimentary Evian Brumisateur Facial Spray designed by Blake (while supplies last). The bottles currently are for sale at the Web site ($5.50). Visitors to the Evian booth will also have the opportunity to create their own Evian commercial, which they can view online.

Aug. 28 has been named Evian Day, during which about 25,000 of the Blake Brumisateurs will be handed out. In addition, people can win items such as autographed Blake memorabilia, a pair of tickets to the 2009 U.S. Open, gift certificates to a chic New York restaurant or a year's supply of Evian.

Evian added to its roster last month when it signed Canadian tennis pro Frank Dancevic as a spokesman.

Hello!

One year ago today, out of my sense of frustration with either the lack of coverage of Black tennis players, or the negative coverage, Black Tennis Pro's was born. I sought to create a one-stop shop, if you will, where you could get a good idea of the who, what, when and where on Black tennis players. Since that time a lot has happened in the tennis world as well as on Black Tennis Pro's.

One of the most significant things to happen here is my exposure to Black tennis players internationally. Overall, there's a tendency to think that Black tennis players consist of the few superstars that we have come to know and love i.e., Venus and Serena Williams, James Blake, and now Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, while there are many more very interesting and talented Black players worldwide.

From simply posting the day-to-day happenings with the players and tournament information, I now have the wonderful opportunity to talk to various players, coaches and media personalities. Each experience has made me appreciate the players and their hard work even more.

The most personal experience that I've had is with those of you who were looking for a place like Black Tennis Pro's before it was ever created. From those of you who wrote to me within the first week that the site came online, to those of you who consistently comment, leave voice messages and share information that you think I may not have yet, it is so rewarding to know that there is such a large audience that feels the same way.

I have no clue where Black Tennis Pro's is going, I can't even believe that one year has already passed. However, I do know that I adore the sport of tennis and want those Black players within it to be as visible and positively presented as all of the other players. Until that happens, I'll probably be around...

~~Shelia

It's been a sloooow weekend for Black Tennis Pro's. While there isn't anything to speak of on the ATP Tour, South African Raven Klaasen was working it out on the USTA Pro Circuit in the 10th Annual Ursula Beck Pro Tennis Classic in Decatur, Illinois.

Klaasen defeated Tigran Martirosyan of Armenia 7-5, 6-4 and made it to the doubles semifinals of the same event with teammate Ito Yuichi of Japan; they were defeated by Tigran Martirosyan and Korean Daniel Yoo 6-7(7), 1-6.

We haven't had the opportunity to see much of Klaasen, so here are a few shots of him from the tournament, which was covered by the Herald&Review of Central Illinois.