Black Tennis Pros

(L-R) Nicolas Almagro and Tsonga

A day after knocking out two-time Rogers Cup champion Roger Federer, Tsonga delivered another strong performance, dismissing the eighth-seeded Almagro in one hour and 28 minutes.

The Frenchman won 70 per cent of his service points, and saved three break points in the final game to lock up the quarter-final win. The victory increased Tsonga’s undefeated record against Almagro to a 5-0 mark. "I was a bit tired today. I lacked energy. The match yesterday took a lot of stamina, and today my energy level was low," admitted Tsonga. "Therefore, I decided to focus on only a number of return games and try to focus on holding my serve. It was a way for me to save the energy I had left, not playing hard every game."

 
Tsonga is into the semi-finals for the second time at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Canada, after reaching the final four in Montreal two years ago. The 26 year old is looking to win his first title in 2011, having finished runner-up in Rotterdam (l. to Soderling) and the AEGON Championships in London (l. to Murray). Tsonga's biggest title to date came on home soil, when he claimed the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris three years ago (d. Nalbandian).

The World No. 16 and Djokovic have met eight times, and Tsonga holds a 5-3 edge. Djokovic won their most recent meeting, defeating the Frenchman in four sets in the Wimbledon semi-finals. "The last match was very close, very intense, very important for both of us," Djokovic said. "He's been playing better in last couple of months. I think he increased his level. He's and all around player. He can play pretty well on all surfaces. He has a big serve. If he serves well, he can beat anybody. He showed that in previous couple of tournaments.

"So it's going to be tough one. It's a fast surface. I need to return well and hope that I can get some chances."

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American James Blake came back to defeat Australian Chris Guccione 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 Friday night at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, following a special Salute to Heroes ceremony featuring The National 9/11 Flag flown at Ground Zero.

Blake dropped the opening set, but quickly regrouped to take a 2-0 lead in the second. He broke Guccione two more times in the third set to clinch the victory in one hour and 35 minutes.

The win ensured a blockbuster second-round clash between Blake and top American Andy Roddick, both past finalists at the year’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. It will be the 11th meeting between the pair (Roddick leads 7-3).

The 31-year-old Blake entered this year’s BNP Paribas Open with his lowest ranking since his 2000 desert debut, having dropped to No. 158 after an injury-plagued season in 2010. Meanwhile, World No. 8 Roddick has won seven straight matches, clinching his 30th ATP World Tour title in Memphis and leading the U.S. into the Davis Cup quarter-finals.

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American Donald Young earned his first win at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in three years as he came back to defeat Italian Potito Starace 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in just under two hours on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open.

The 21 year old fought off nine of 12 break points faced on serve, while delivering on four of his six opportunities against the 47th-ranked Starace.

Young, currently at No. 143 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings, reached the third round at this tournament in 2008 with wins over Bobby Reynolds and Feliciano Lopez before falling to Rafael Nadal. He next faces World No. 5 Andy Murray.

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In a battle of the Frenchmen, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet played a first round match held over from Tuesday because of rain at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia/ATP World Tour Masters 1000, Rome, Italy.

In close to two hours, Gasquet defeated Tsonga 7-6(2), 6-4.

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McALLEN - Fifty of the players who entered the 2009 Dr. Raul Marques and Dr. Rosario Parra Men's Futures of McAllen singles qualifying tournament came to the Rio Grande Valley to swing, sprint and dive their way to another gold star on their tennis resumés.

Donald Young doesn't need any more gold stars - he just needs playing time.

Young, 19, is already a professional and plays in ATP Tour events.

With an ATP world ranking of No. 146 (130 when he entered), he stands 240 spots ahead of his next-best competitor, Vladimir Obradovic, at the tournament hosted by McAllen Country Club. The McAllen Futures provides him with a chance to get some much-needed match play.

"I haven't been playing that many matches on the tour," said Young, who was born in Chicago and lives in Atlanta. "You win two matches, you're in the quarters. You don't get that many (matches) because you're playing a lot of high-level players. I need to get some confidence, so I come down and play where I can win some matches."

McAllen Country Club pro Arturo Czerwiak, the event's main organizer, said that it's nice to have a player of Young's caliber in the tournament.

"It's an honor for us and the tournament and the USTA in McAllen," Czerwiak said. "It's an honor and we're proud to have him here."

After defeating Houston native Henry Fowler 6-4, 6-2 in Sunday's second round, Young beat China's Yu Chang 6-3, 6-2 on Monday to advance to the qualifiers round of eight. Despite losing in straight sets, Chang gave Young a good workout, forcing the pro to sprint end to end on a few points.

"He had nothing to lose and he came out," Young said of Chang. "I don't get to see these players too much, so this is where all the good players come from anyway. You have to start at somewhere, so this is where they're starting."

Before turning pro, Young was one of the world's best junior players, winning the Australian Open junior tournament in 2005 and the Wimbledon junior event in 2007. In 2005, he became the youngest year-end world No. 1 junior player at 16 years, five months, as well as the first African American male to hold that honor.

So far in 2009, Young's best showing was in late January when he lost to fellow-American Vincent Spadea in the quarterfinals of an ATP Challenger Tour event in Carson, Calif. Young hopes that the match play he gets at the McAllen Futures will help him prepare for the BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event running March 12 through 23 at Indian Wells, Calif.

"This year I want to break top 50 ATP and just keep playing well and get better," he said. "I guess I want to improve - that's the biggest thing."

The McAllen Futures started this past Saturday and runs through Sunday. There is no admission for rounds through Friday. Tickets for Saturday's semifinals and Sunday's finals are $10. The weekend package is $15.

Stephen K. Lee covers sports for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442.

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