Black Tennis Pros

(ABN AMRO) Gaël Monfils has become the winner of the 46th edition of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. The 32-year-old Frenchman beat his good friend Stan Wawrinka in the final: 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. It was the eighth ATP title for the Paris-born showman.

Gaël Monfils (32) and Stan Wawrinka (33) are two superstars of a generation that slowly vanishes from the scene. But audience favorite Monfils and triple Grand Slam winner Stan the Man have never played a final match.

"It was a separate race," said Monfils, who was nicknamed the "Flying Frenchman" in Rotterdam. "We have been training together all winter and have known each other for so long. In fact, the battle plan was 'who could take care of the biggest surprise?' Of course I was tired during the final, but I did not show anything. My physio did a great job during the tournament week, because in the first round I had fallen on my wrist. "

Gaël Monfils, who returned to the top 30 in the world rankings with his tournament win, had lost a final 21 times. "I am always happy to be in a finale, in a few finals I was the big favorite, but I lost when I was young, I was in finals against Roger Federer, Ivan Ljubicic and Andy Roddick. absolute world top. "

Gaël Monfils was happy to see his name on the champion ring as well as Arthur Ashe. "Ashe has done a lot for the black community in the States, I have read a lot about him and also seen many of Ashe's statues, this is the tournament I won, as did Arthur Ashe."

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Win, lose or draw tonight, Madison Keys has loudly announced to the world that "she got game." It has been a thing a beauty to watch this 19-year-old young woman fearlessly come into her own before our very eyes.  Bravo Madison!!

Now, the reality for most of us was that, no matter how incredible a run Madison has "had," that brick wall otherwise known as World No. 1 Serena Williams, would not be moved. To the tune of 7(7)-6, 6-2, Serena brought Madison's exciting run to a screeching halt.

It was more than evident that Serena is still suffering from what she says is more than likely a virus that has been floating among the players; she was definitely slower than usual, and her serve was not the flawless weapon of destruction that it is typically known to be. But the true grit of the woman that has mesmerized us for so many years now was definitely employed.

Serena has gained a much more serene resolve in the face of these court tests. Where she once would automatically become outwardly frustrated, she very visibly now stills herself and moves forward to the next opportunity to win.

So with a tight first set that ended in a tie-break, to a lot of match points going out the window in the first game of the second set, the Queen has prevailed and positioned herself for a sixth - count 'em - sixth trophy down under.

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Americans Angela Haynes and Mashona Washington have teamed together to play good game at the Regions Morgan Keegen Tennis Championships in Memphis, Tennessee. The doubles team defeated American Varvara Lepchenko and Russian Evgeniya Rodina 6-3, 6-1.

Haynes and Washington have their work cut out for them tomorrow. Their opponents are none other than fellow Americans Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Raymond. Get some rest tonight ladies, you're gonna need it!

On the men's side of the same tournament, the Young one made it to the quarterfinal round, but did not pack enough punch to finish off Swede Jonas Bjorkman. Bjorkman defeated American Donald Young 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(6).

Young had match point on Bjorkman at 5-6 in the tiebreaker, but the veteran played very smart on the next few big points, and it was Young who would finish himself off by hitting a backhand into the net. Of course Young took the cause of the error out on the usual culprit, his racket.

When asked about the possibility of being in the semifinal and whether that was on his mind, Young said "I was definitely thinking about it ...... how could you not? .... But I still had to play and win the point. He wasn't going to give it to me. He took it."

That's okay Donald, you dramatically improved your match play in this tournament. Keep it going!

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American Venus Williams and Russia's Maria Sharapova have advanced to the finals of the JB Group Classic exhibition tennis tournament in Hong Kong.

Williams, a six-time Grand Slam tournament winner, beat Russia's Elena Dementieva in straight sets Friday, 6-3, 6-3. The American scored her sixth win over the Russian against only one loss all-time.

Sharapova scored a 6-4, 6-2 victory over compatriot Anna Chakvetadze. Both players lost their opening service games, but Sharapova took advantage of Chakvetadze's mistakes, and broke her compatriot in the fifth and seventh games of the second set.

Against Williams, Sharapova is 3-2, including three wins on hard courts. The matches were the semifinals for the Gold Group, made up of winners early in the tournament.

The silver group is for players who lost in the earlier rounds. There will be a JB Gold Group and a JB Silver Group champion.

The tournament is also one of several events that players are using to hone their skills before the first major of the year, the Australian Open, starts January 14th in Melbourne.

Technorati Tags: Sports Tennis Venus Williams
Australian Open

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