Black Tennis Pros

Ladies' Singles 3rd Round

Serena Williams, USA (7) vs. Maria Kirilenko, RUS (26)


Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round

Gael Monfils, FRA vs. Lukasz Kubot, POL

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA (12) vs. Fernando Gonzalez, CHI


Ladies' Doubles - 1st Round

Heather Watson, GBR and Jocelyn Rae, GBR
vs.
Sophie Lefevre, FRA and Evgeniya Rodina, RUS


Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Heather Watson, GBR and Ross Hutchins, GBR
vs.
Rennae Stubbs, AUS and Marcelo Melo, BRA

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Wesley Moodie, RSA
vs.
Dominika Cibulkova, SVK and Lukas Dlouhy, CZE

Dustin Brown, GER and Vania King, USA
vs.
Elena Baltacha, GBR and Kenneth Skupski, GBR

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Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round

Venus Williams, USA (23) defeated Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, ESP
6-0, 6-2


Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round

Gael Monfils, FRA (9) vs. Lukasz Kubot, POL
Rain Delay


Ladies' Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
defeated
Johanna Larson, SWE and Jasmin Woehr, GER
7-5, 6-2

Heather Watson, GBR and Jocelyn Rae, GBR
vs

Sophie Lefevre, FRA and Evgeniya Rodina, RUS



Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Wesley Moodie, RSA
vs.

Doninika Cibulkova, SVK and Lukas Dlouhy, CZE

Dustin Brown, GER and Vania King, USA
vs.
Elena Baltacha, GBR and Kenneth Skupski, GBR
Rain Delay

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Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round

Venus Williams, USA (23) vs. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, ESP


Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round

Gael Monfils, FRA (9) vs. Lukasz Kubot, POL


Ladies' Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
vs.
Johanna Larson, SWE and Jasmin Woehr, GER

Heather Watson, GBR and Jocelyn Rae, GBR
vs.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS and Vera Zvonareva, RUS


Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Wesley Moodie, RSA
vs.
Doninika Cibulkova, SVK and Lukas Dlouhy, CZE

Dustin Brown, GER and Vania King, USA
vs.
Elena Baltacha, GBR and Kenneth Skupski, GBR

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Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round

Serena Williams, USA (7) defeated Simona Halep, ROU


Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA (12) defeated Grigor Dimitrov, BUL
6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(8)


Ladies' Doubles - 1st Round

Megan Moulton-Levy, USA and Lindsay Lee-Waters, USA
Marina Erakovic, NZL and Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA


Gentlemen's Doubles - 1st Round

Dustin Brown, GER and Michael Kohlmann, GER
Carsten Ball, AUS and Santiago Gonzales, MEX

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Germany's Dustin Brown

 It was already after 9 p.m. when Gael Monfils took the court for the first time in singles at the 19th Gerry Weber Open. It’s no surprise that the number 3 seed didn’t want to play a long match in his GWO debut. He made it short and sweet, beating his compatriot Florent Serra 6-4, 6-3 in just 57 minutes.

Serra had reached the main field in Halle through qualifiers but could not challenge Monfils’ impressive game, losing his service in the seventh game of the first set. The 24-year-old Monfils did what he wanted to with Serra in their second ATP meeting, breaking him in the first and final games of the second set to take the match. Monfils also beat Serra in Brisbane in 2010, and the world number 8 next faces Croatian Ivan Dodig in the second round. That match will not be played until Thursday as Monfils is playing on Wednesday doubles with Dustin Brown.

Sixth seed Florian Mayer withstood 20 aces from wildcard Dustin Brown to reach the second round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle on Wednesday.

Brown was clinical on serve but simply could not catch his fellow German, who triumphed 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 6-3 in 79 minutes to set up a second-round clash with Lu Yen-Hsun.

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Dustin Brown is one of those players who doesn't quite fit the mould. After recently playing under the Jamaican flag, the German world number 109 hired best friend and car-crash survivor Daniel Puttkammer to be his coach as he prepares for his first ever French Open appearance.

With his red vest and flying dreadlocks, 26-year-old Dustin Brown looks slightly out of place training out on court no.14. Complete with shaved head and baggy basketball shorts, Coach Daniel Puttkammer strikes an equally unorthodox figure, so it is hardly surprising the pair have built up a reputation on the tour for standing out from the crowd. Puttkammer admits the accusation: "It's true, but Dustin's the one who's really different. With the way he looks and plays on court, he's got something new. Dustin likes being a showman, not just for the fans, but for himself. He needs it. And tennis needs more people like him!"

The player with the huge talent, big attitude and frequent outbursts also goes by the nickname Dready, and he also pleads guilty as charged. "I like getting people worked up, I like feeling the energy from the stands. I feed off it. It's good, because I get the feeling that's what the French crowd likes."

After making it to the quarter-finals in Johannesburg and Newport, and defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in Munich this year, Brown, ranked world no.109, now feels he is ready to break through into the highest echelons of the game. It is even written on his website: "A man with the desire to do something… can do anything!"

"Dready" and his camping car

That has been Brown's motto from an early age, and the 26-year-old has shown remarkable determination on his path to the ATP circuit.

After learning the game in Jamaica, Brown criss-crossed Europe in a camping car for years in search of ranking points. According to his coach, who is also his best friend, "He had no support, no money. It was rough."

Puttkammer and Brown met at a tennis academy near Hanover. At the time, 18-year-old Puttkammer was one of the top 100 players in Germany, dreaming of a professional career. That dream was shattered one fateful day, when the youngster was involved in a terrible car crash, tore his spleen and ended up with three litres of blood in his stomach. "I nearly died. The doctors said it was a miracle," he explained. Three weeks of hospital and a year of physiotherapy later, he picked up his racket, but not where he left off...

A reunion of old friends

Meanwhile, Dready was making progress. After taking the Futures tournaments by storm in his camping car, he progressed to the Challengers and entered the top 100 with something approaching flamboyance. It was then, in September 2010, that he decided to put his prize money to good use and give his old friend Puttkammer a call. "I'd never had a coach before, and I thought maybe it was time to get one," recalls Dustin. "Who better to call than an old friend?"

Puttkammer's dream is now becoming reality - even if it is vicariously. "It's great to experience this with Dustin. And two pairs of eyes are better than one. I see things he doesn't see. He has so many strong points, it's easy to build an arsenal. No-one is faster than him when he hits off one of his cannonballs. He just needs to be more consistent."

Brown's racket speed is out of this world, and his volley more than acceptable. He has a feel for the game, and always gives it everything. Now he just needs to keep his focus, and with a tough match against Argentinean Leonardo Mayer on Monday, he will be put to the test. "After that, the draw is open - anything's possible," says Dready. For this very Jamaican German, it is about living up to his motto.

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Which player would you choose…


To share a good bottle of wine with?
(Thinks for a while) Mika Llodra, he knows his stuff.

To take to your favourite restaurant?
Kei Nishikori, because my favourite restaurant is Minori in Paris. It's a great Japanese restaurant. I'll show him that French sushi is better than Japanese sushi (laughs).


To accompany you to the Cannes film festival?
Ana Ivanovic. She would be great arm candy.


To play in a film with?
David Ferrer. He'd play Forrest in Forrest Gump, and I'd play Bubba, his shrimp fishing friend.

To go out on the town with in Las Vegas?
La Monf' (Gaël Monfils), no question about it.


To play in a band with?
Dustin Brown, that would be great. We'd make beautiful reggae.

As master of ceremonies for your wedding?
Novak Djokovic, he would be great at that.


To take to a football match?
Jurgen Melzer. I played football with him in the United States, and he's really good. He loves it.

To go and see stand-up comedy with?
Andy Roddick.


To take fishing?
Rafael Nadal.


To open a bar with?
Marat Safin. Once night falls he's the guy to hang around with.

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ROUND 1


WOMEN

Singles

Stephanie Foretz Gacon, FRA defeated by Heather Watson, GBR

Sloane Stephens, USA defeated by Elena Baltacha, GBR
5-7, 2-6

Doubles


Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
Kristina Barrois, GER and Johanna Larson, SWE


Stephanie Foretz Gacon, FRA and Claire Feuerstein, FRA
Yung-Jan Chan, TPE (13) and Monica Niculescu, ROU (13)
6-2, 4-6, 1-6



Singles

Gael Monfils(9), FRA defeated Bjorn Phau, GER

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(17), FRA defeated Jan Hajek, CZK

Dustin Brown, GER defeated by Leonardo Mayer, ARG




MEN


Singles

Gael Monfils(9), FRA defeated Guillaume Rufin, FRA

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(17), FRA defeated Igor Andreev, RUS



MEN


Singles

Gael Monfils(9), FRA defeated Steve Darcis, BEL
6-3, 6-4, 7-5

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(17), FRA defeated by Stanislas Wawrinka(14), SUI


MEN


Singles

Gael Monfils(9), FRA vs. David Ferrer(7), ESP

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While I was away from the office my favorite former Jamaican tennis player, Dustin Brown, returned to the place of his birth, Germany, the country that he will now represent on the ATP World Tour.

As I was posting the Australian Open 2011 draw, I was totally surprised when I saw "GER" attached to Dustin's name. While surprised at the news, given Dustin's tennis history in Jamaica, an alternative had to be on the horizon.

In 2008 I posted my "Conversations: Dustin Brown" article, at which time he shared the following:

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.

Dustin: No, I don't receive any sponsorship from Jamaican sources.

Apparently things had not improved over the last couple of years. Dustin played his first tournament under the German flag in November 2010.

Hopefully Dustin will receive much better support in Germany, and is able to advance his tennis career accordingly. I'll try to catch up with him and get an update.

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