Black Tennis Pros

Felix’s #FridayFeeling 🙌

Felix Auger-Aliassime dispatches of Jaume Munar 6-4 6-3 to reach his first career ATP semi-finals! pic.twitter.com/MNKbEm0LLy

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 23, 2019

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RT this to @usta this if you think this is unacceptable for US Tennis pic.twitter.com/HJg6hSj5sk

— WTA Tea (@WTATea) February 21, 2019

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 MONTPELLIER, France (AP) — Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 6-2 in an all-French final of the Open Sud de France on Sunday, winning his 17th career title and denying his countryman a first.

Tsonga broke the seventh-seeded Herbert’s serve three times and dropped only four points throughout the match on his own serve.

The 33-year-old Tsonga was out for seven months last year following a left-knee injury. His previous title was in October 2017 at the European Open in Antwerp.

"I am very happy with the way I played this week," said Tsonga. "It was an amazing moment for me to win here in Montpellier... I have made many efforts to come back [here], so for me it is a good reward and I hope I will be able to continue playing at this level."

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✨🙌🏾🎾🏆✨ @opensuddefrance #TsongaTeam #OSDF19

A post shared by Jo-Wilfried TSONGA (@tsongaofficiel) on Feb 10, 2019 at 7:51am PST

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💪🏾✨ #TsongaTeam

A post shared by Jo-Wilfried TSONGA (@tsongaofficiel) on Feb 10, 2019 at 9:29am PST

He also beat Herbert, who owns a career grand slam in doubles, in their two previous matches.

Herbert has now lost his three singles finals on the ATP Tour.

Source
ATP Tour

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American Scoville Jenkins advanced to round 2 of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston, Texas today. Jenkins took out Austrian Alexander Peya 0-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Jenkins is currently ranked on the ATP World Tour at 202.

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I'm probably late on finding this out, but my favorite Russian dish of tennis player is currently playing his last season on the ATP Tour. Twenty-eight year old Marat Safin says that he's had enough stress.

I've always enjoyed watching Safin play, you never quite knew what to expect. When he's on, he's on, and vice versa. A lot of players I probably wouldn't even notice if they left, but Safin...this guy I'll miss.

Here's some of what Safin had to say regarding his impending retirement:

"I don't want to get stressed, I don't want to plan anything," he said.

"I want to play and be relaxed, no stress. Whatever comes, comes.

"It's great for me. Just try to be in shape, be able to run around the court. Like this it's much easier to play tennis.

"At least I want to enjoy it. I don't want to suffer anymore, I don't want to get stressed, I don't want to feel bad on the court anymore."

"It's not easy because you're under continuous tennis pressure, which is traveling around the world, practising every day, be in shape, try to be a little bit more responsible what you're doing outside the court," he said.

"It's getting tougher and tougher with the age, especially with the injuries I've had throughout the years.

"It's not an easy game, let's put it this way, especially if half of the time you've been injured."

"When you are young, 20 years old, 19 years old, you're coming, everything is new, it's exciting to come and play the big matches," he said.

"With the years, you start to feel the pressure.

"A little bit you start to be unsure in certain moments of the match, hit it down the line or play a little bit cross-court.

"So you start to feel a little bit uncomfortable on the court, and this is what makes you have doubts.

"Eventually it comes to the errors. The young boys are not scared anymore. They will eventually be scared with the years, but it's tough to play against them in such conditions."

But when asked about when he would eventually walk away, as he has previously indicated, Safin would not be drawn.

"No, I'm enjoying it, it's just a different way of enjoying myself," he said.

"(But) you need to keep yourself fully committed to the tennis -- it's getting tougher and tougher."

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Top seeds and two-time Rogers Cup champions Bob and Mike Bryan opened their title campaign in Toronto by defeating Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.

They next face Croat Mario Ancic and South African Jeff Coetzee, who reached the quarterfinals with back-to-back wins Thursday. They needed 54 minutes to get by Fernando Gonzalez and Andre Sa 6-3, 6-2 in their first round match, and then ousted Czech No. 8 seeds Martin Damm and Pavel Vizner 6-4, 6-3. Vizner won the Canada title last year with Indian Mahesh Bhupathi.

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Black Tennis Pro's has the pleasure of an exclusive interview with professional tennis player Dustin Brown.

I caused a little bit of a stir among some of my female readers a couple of months ago when I created a post entitled "Jamaica's Dustin Brown Has The Look." The post consisted only of photo's of Dustin, because at that point I had no firsthand information to accompany "the look."

Fortunately, Dustin uses the internet. He came upon the post and left a comment, when I saw it I contacted him immediately. He was on the road playing tournaments at the time, but was kind enough to work with me through email to provide an interview, for which I am very grateful. I would love to have followed up on some of his responses, perhaps next time.

Dustin: Well, I am 23 Years of age, I was born in Germany on the 8th of December 1984. In 1996 I moved to Jamaica, which was a lot different to the life in Germany but also very important for my progress in life and tennis.Dustin: I currently live in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Shelia: What began your interest in tennis?

Dustin: In Germany at the age of 5, we lived beside a tennis club, and the coach there was also Jamaican and a friend of my parents.

Shelia: I understand that Jamaica does not have a tennis federation, where do you do your training, get equipment, coaches?
Dustin: Jamaica has a tennis federation, but they aren’t doing anything for professional tennis, so basically you are right, there is no federation. They don’t sponsor me and evenso I am the best tennis player Jamaica had over the last 16 years, they don’t even report my results in the media. With some financial support I could be much further than I am right now. I am training in Germany right now, and my equipment is sponsored by Babolat (Rackets), Pacific (Strings) & Topspin (Clothing). This is only equipment sponsoring, no money.

Shelia: Do you receive sponsorship from Jamaican sources?

Dustin: No, I dont receive any sponsorship from Jamaican sources.

Shelia: Have you traveled to the United States yet?

Dustin: I have been to the states many times for tournaments and for practise in Academys mostly at the Every Tennis Academy.

Shelia: Which tournaments will you be participating in soon?

Dustin: My plan right now is to play 3 Futures in Switzerland, and one in the UK and then get ready for the clay court season.

Shelia: I notice that you've done some modeling, do you enjoy it? Is it something that you are serious about?

Dustin:Yes, I enjoy modeling. Well, serious yes, but tennis still comes first. I had a shooting for the clothing firm Sir Benni Miles last week.

Shelia: You caught the eye of some of my readers so I created a post from some of the photos on your website. It went over very well.

Dustin: I am happy to hear that readers were very interested to get information about me.

Shelia: What do you do for fun? Or do you have much time for fun?

Dustin: Well basically when I am not doing anything related to my sport tennis I am doing a lot which has to do with my laptop i.e. music, internet, watch dvd's. I also like to go out with friends and have a good time, going to the movies, a bar, a disco, or just spend time with my girlfriend.

Shelia: Okay, let's get some 'fun facts' about you, what's your favorite food?
Dustin: Ackee & Saltfish (Jamaican National Dish).

Shelia: Favorite book?

Dustin: Illuminati & Sakrileg by Dan Brown

Shelia: Favorite Movie?
Dustin: Cool Runnings.

Shelia: Favorite type of music?

Dustin: Hip Hop, R&B & Dancehall.

Shelia: Favorite vacation spot?
Dustin: Jamaica (Visit my Dad).

Shelia: Favorite grand slam tournament?

Dustin: Wimbledon.

Shelia: Favorite ATP Tour player?

Dustin: Marat Safin.

Shelia: Favorite WTA Tour player?

Dustin: Serena Williams.

Dustin's official player site is here and his modeling site is here.

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The ATP unveiled its dramatic new advertising campaign - ‘FEEL IT’ - on the eve of the BNP Paribas Masters. The multi-million dollar campaign, featuring ATP stars including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and James Blake, showcases the sport’s core values as a one-on-one gladiatorial battle, full of intensity and passion. Developed following extensive consumer research, ‘FEEL IT’ pre-launched at the BNP Paribas Masters and will be rolled out globally throughout 2008.

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Life is going to change fast for Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who came into the Australian Open as a promising but little-known 22 year old and leaves as one of the hottest stars on the ATP circuit after reaching his first Grand Slam final. Tsonga, who will break into the Top 20 for the first time on Monday, had never before reached a final at ATP level.

Tsonga will come under immediate consideration for a singles berth in France's Davis Cup first-round tie against Romania on February 8-10. New sponsors will be beating down his door and he'll be one of the marquee players headlining center-court programs at almost every tournament he plays.

Appearing in only his fifth Grand Slam championship, the 22-year-old knocked out No. 9 seed Andy Murray in the first round, No. 8 seed Richard Gasquet in the fourth round and No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal in the semifinals before losing a four-set slugfest against Novak Djokovic in the final.

One year ago Tsonga was ranked World No. 212, having lost to Andy Roddick in the Australian Open first round. On Monday he will rise to No. 18 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings to become the second highest-ranked Frenchman behind Gasquet.

A New Star is Born: Fairytale Run to Final

After an illustrious junior career that included winning the 2003 US Open junior title – in a year he finished the No. 2 junior in the world – his progress up the South African Airways ATP Rankings and onto the ATP circuit was hampered by a variety injuries.

Tsonga made his ATP-level debut in tandem with Gasquet at Roland Garros in May 2002, but it wasn’t until September 2004 in Beijing that he took his singles bow and recorded his maiden victory over Hyung-Taik Lee before falling to former World No. 1 Carlos Moya in the second round.

At ATP Masters Series Paris two months later, he hit a 144mph serve – the third fastest on the circuit that year – and highlighted his speed around the court by upsetting Mario Ancic 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 before falling to Guillermo Canas.

A herniated disc injury kept him out of action between November 2004 and March 2005, followed by two injuries to his right shoulder. Between October 2005 and February 2006, Tsonga was again sidelined by back and abdominal problems.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Last year Tsonga won four of five Challenger tournaments he contested between April and June. On the same weekend that he won the fourth of the Challenger titles in Surbiton (d. Karlovic in the final), Tsonga also played qualifying at Queen's Club, where he won three matches to make the main draw. En route to the third round Tsonga took out four-time tournament winner and former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt. Match Report

For his performances Tsonga was awarded a Wimbledon wild card and the Le Mans-born player didn’t disappoint as he reached the fourth round (l. to Gasquet). A third round showing at the US Open (l. to Nadal) was followed by a quarterfinal exit in Metz (l. to Murray) and a semifinal performance in Lyon (l. to Grosjean) during the indoor season.

In his first tournament of the 2008 ATP season, Tsonga beat Hewitt again en route to the Adelaide semifinals (l. to Nieminen). The following week he partnered Gasquet to the Sydney doubles crown (d. Bryan-Bryan), which represented his second piece of ATP silverware after Lyon a few months earlier (w/Grosjean).

Tsonga was attempting to become the first Frenchman to win the Australian championships since Jean Borotra in 1928. Yannick Noah, at Roland Garros in 1983, is the only Frenchman to have won a Grand Slam singles title in the Open era

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Many of tennis' brightest young stars, including Gael Monfils, Benjamin Becker and Sam Querrey, can now call themselves graduates of ATP University following the conclusion of the three-day session held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. A total of 36 players attended ATP University, held from November 27-30.

Administered by the ATP's Player Relations department, the ATP University featured classroom presentations made by ATP staff members and outside experts specializing in the fields of communications, finance, and medicine. The workshop covered topics including the history of the ATP, how to control personal finances, and the importance of the media and promoting the sport.

The players, who also had the opportunity to explore the Magic Kingdom after class, had high praise for ATP University.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lauded it as "a great opportunity to learn a lot of things," and Croat Marin Cilic agreed, saying: "The ATP is introducing new stuff to us, including media, rules and regulations, anti-corruption...We had a lot of questions and the ATP explained to us how it's going and now we're better informed about that. I also had doubts about some things and now most of them are quite clear."

While many players pinpointed media training as their favorite session, Dutchman Robin Haase said: "The financial session for me was really important because I live in a country where I pay a lot of taxes, so that was really interesting and a lot of help. It's good to be here. It's educational and it's fun also with all the other tennis players here to have the feeling that we're doing it together."

"It's been great," said American Sam Querrey. "Really fun, really educational, it's nice to see these guy, the hotel's nice, the weather's nice. No complaints."

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Round 1 - Singles

James Blake, USA vs Jonas Borkman, SWE
















Round 1 - Singles

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA, vs Nikolay Davydenko, RUS

Round 1 - Doubles

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA and Sebastien Grosjean, FRA
vs
Michael Berrer, GER and Philipp Kolschreiber, GER

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STUTTGART, Germany - Mercedes-Benz will end its sponsorship of the men's ATP tennis tour when the current three-year contract expires at the end of 2008.

The company has been one of the main sponsors of the ATP since 1996. The German carmaker said Friday it would shift focus to golf, equestrian and soccer, as well as fashion and lifestyle.

"Over the years, our partnership with the ATP has had a very high brand fit for Mercedes-Benz, but we are now adding a new angle to our revised brand positioning," said Olaf Goettgens, vice president of brand communications for Mercedes-Benz.

Richard Davies, the CEO of ATP Properties, thanked Mercedes for its support.

"Both the ATP and Mercedes-Benz have achieved great things in our time together," Davies said in the statement.

The Mercedes star symbol has been attached to tennis nets at more than 40 tournaments around the world. Mercedes also provides courtesy car services at tournaments.

Source -- AP

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