Black Tennis Pros

Thunderous applause from the spectators in the Arthur Ashe Stadium could not compare to the leaps of joy by American Serena Williams when she defeated Russian Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-3, at the U.S. Open on Friday.

Serena is now into the Womens Single's final of the 2008 U.S. Open. It's been a while and it's a joy to see her in the upcoming final.

"It's so awesome," said Serena.

"You know, it's been just an awesome summer you know, I'm just happy to be, you know, finally back in the finals for once, you know, an American in the finals here, so...I'm really excited."

The former and potentially upcoming world no. 1 proved to be a seasoned pro. To accommodate a very windy day, Serena slowed down her power game and played a very controlled match. Safina, not quite so seasoned yet, seemed to want to play her regular game and consequently, with an assist from the wind, sprayed balls everywhere.

When asked about combating the wind and keeping her unforced errors to a minimum, Serena said, "I don't know, you know I thought okay, if it's so windy then I'm not gonna you know, go for as many winners and just stay out here and do what I can."

Marat Safin's younger sibling became very frustrated with her inability to play as she has been over the rest of the tournament. So much so, that when one of Serena's shots hit her in the chest, she appeared to call Serena a female canine. Serena attempted to apologize, but Safina wasn't trying to hear it at that point. But it was all good at the end of the match. Serena again apologized during their handshake at the net and Safina appeared to genuinely accept it. Phew! With the world no. 1 on the line a lady can get hostile!

No worries Safina, your day will come.

Serena is now set to play Serbian Jelena Jankovic in the final. When asked about the match up, Serena said, "you know I think she's playing really well and she's just having so much fun...she has nothing to lose, and neither do I, so it'll be a really good match."

Serena had friends and family in the stands supporting her, including quarterfinal opponent sister Venus Williams.

Top row-Star Jones, Middle Row-Hank Kuehne, Venus Williams, Bottom Row-Oracene Price, Isha Price

Venus Williams

Star Jones, Venus Williams, Isha Price

Richard Williams

My goodness! I do believe that Oracene and Richard's baby girl wanted to win this match. Though neither of the parents was on hand to watch the match, older sister Isha supported her younger siblings in much pain.

"I wasn't praying, I was so stressed," she said. "It is so difficult to watch them. At the end of the day, you want them to play a good match and for the best person to win."

In the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2008 U.S. Open, American Serena Williams returned, ran down and swung at just about everything that big sister Venus could throw at her...and that was a lot.

The match started up a bit slow, but by the end of the first set, the ladies had ramped it up to a genuine level of excitement. It appeared that Venus would take the first set, but the price of a few errors on her part was high, let alone the fact that Serena would just not let go.

Crank it up a few notches and the second set mirrored the first set with it appearing that Venus was going to prevail. But just like she dug her heels in at the end of the first set, Serena dug in harder as the second set progressed.

Serena saved ten, count 'em, ten set points to defeat Venus 7-6(8/6), 7-6(9/7), and advance to the semifinal round.

Post match Serena said, "I thought for sure we'd be in three sets, I thought, 'I'm going to go change my dress because I'm really sweaty and put a new one on.' And then I was like, 'Oh, maybe I won't have to do that."

"I feel like I should have a trophy now. Unfortunately I don't, and I got to go to the next round."

"She made a couple errors and it was really luck for me because she never makes those errors. I can't say that I was disappointed. I obviously want the best for her, but in that situation you want to win, too."

"I try not to look at her, because if I look at her, I might start feeling sorry," Serena told the crowd afterward.

Serena had to come back from being 5-3 down when Venus let the first set slip away, I thought surely she wouldn't let that happen in the second.

Venus said, "I felt like I was always in control, if it was someone else, I definitely feel like I would have won the match."

The potential drama surrounding the two American superstar sisters Venus and Serena Williams used to be palpable...but not anymore. If the sisters have shown us nothing else, they have shown us that they love each other first and foremost, and that they love tennis. Their familial relationship is foundational in their lives and no matter how many times they meet in competition on the courts, nothing changes between the two of them.

Their statements to that effect, as well as the joy that they have been able to share in earning doubles titles together, is sufficient evidence to for me to watch these ladies play without trepidation and simply enjoy their prowess.

Of their having to meet in the quarterfinals Venus said, "if I had a sister who wasn't good then it would be easier because I would just beat her. But obviously she is very good."

"We have to meet in the quarters but this would be a huge milestone for me to win this championship. That's how I see it, as trying to win the tournament."

Well, at least you can't say that American James Blake gives rotten gifts. What is a more gift for a professional tennis player friend than a ticket to the fourth round of a grand slam tournament...not much.

American Mardy Fish beat Blake 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open on Saturday. The good friends played until nearly midnight.

Post match Blake said, ``it's a tough feeling out there when you're the favorite, and you're expected, and you're not playing your best tennis, and can't summon your best tennis. There are some days you go out there and you feel like you can't quite string the points together that you need to, and can't make enough first serves and things don't seem to be going your way.''

Blake didn't try to cop out with the fact that he had just played in the Beijing Olympics. ``It wasn't Beijing, I don't think. It was Mardy playing some of his best tennis.''

Whatever the reason for his loss, he'll get to eat a good meal at the expense of Fish. Prior to the match Blake said that the winner had to buy the loser dinner, I don't think that Fish will mind forking up the cost of this meal.

Frenchman Gael Monfils brought the pain to Spaniard David Nalbandian at the U.S. Open today, defeating him 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Monfils was quite the athlete out there today running down pretty much anything that Nalbandian could send back across the net.

Alternatively, Nalbandian was open to taking a swipe at anything within three feet of him, but he wasn't the least bit interested in running much of anything else down.

To celebrate his victory Monfils did a very happy, happy dance. It must be in the French water, because Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was doing a victorious happy dance yesterday.

The best part of the happy dance was sportscaster Ian Eagle's remarks at the end of the broadcast. He said "...Gael Monfils, bringing the 'funkadelic'..." What the hell does that mean? Either he knows something that I don't, or he is woefully un-hip. Perhaps this is one of those cultural differences, whatever it is it's funny. For all of you unenlightened cats and kittens, Funkadelic was a group, not a dance or style (even though they definitely had their own). Remember Parliament/Funkadelic "Tear The Roof Off The Sucka?" That's my knowledge of Funkadelic. I don't know what he was talking about. He probably heard that word somewhere and has just been dying to use it.

Monfils awaits the American winner of the Pre-Wedding Buddy Match that will be played tonight, i.e. James Blake or Mardy Fish.

American Serena Williams advanced to the third round when she demolished Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-1. Serena's next opponent will be Ai Sugiyama of Japan.

Of Sugiyma, Serena said, "She is relentless, so I better be ready. That girl is a tough cookie."

American James Blake advanced to the third round when Belgian Steve Darcis retired in the third set with Blake leading 4-6, 6-3, 1-0. Blake's next opponent will be good friend and fellow American Mardy Fish.

"It's going to be fine, it's great. We're close enough friends that, no matter what happens, we're going to be friends afterwards."

With regard to Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama Blake said, "I'm proud of that Harvard man. Harvard graduate school, but we'll claim him."

American Venus Williams advanced to the third round and in doing so treated Rossana de los Rios of Paraguay to a good old fashioned beat down defeating her 6-0, 6-3.

"Whichever way the draw goes, whichever way the matches go, as long as hopefully it's a win for me, I'm pretty happy about it."

Frenchman Gael Monfils advanced to round 3 after defeating Russian Evgeny Korolev 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Monfils will celebrate his 22nd birthday this weekend.

Based upon American Donald Young's recent tournament history, it was my expectation that fellow American James Blake was going to come out and blow this kid off the court. By the time the first set was over and Blake had beaten Young 6-1, I knew that this match would be wrapping up quick fast and in a hurry. By no stretch of the imagination did I figure this would be a five setter. Talk about being wrong.

Over the course of five sets both Blake and Young gave one another as good as they got. One minute Blake was up and taking it to the Young one, then after a commercial break Young would be playing as if his life depended on it. After the third set you could tell that Olympic fatigue was creeping up on Blake. As with most champions though, he dug deep and found the strength somewhere.

When it was all said and done, the elder Blake sent the Young one packing to the tune of 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Earlier in the day, the very muscular Frenchman Gael Monfils advanced to the second round after defeating Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.

I purposely left the photos of the legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Earth, Wind and Fire out of the first set of U.S. Open Opening Ceremony photos because they are always in a class by themselves.

If you have a musical bone in your body I know that you were rocking, dancing, tapping or something when they dedicated "Shining Star" to all of the champions last night. I know that I was! Earth, Wind and Fire has always brought the house down whenever and wherever they were playing, and they did no less last night. The only thing missing was Maurice White doing that lil' dance he used to do. I am so glad to see them around, still in good musical form, still relevant and appearing at events like this.

I halfway expected Phillip Bailey to hit one of those sound-barrier-breaking notes of his and clear the stadium. He didn't do that, but he did deliver a beautiful rendition of "God Bless America."

“On behalf of the city of New York, welcome to the one and only U.S. Open,” said Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg.

This year’s Open celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the tournament and the first tournament of the Open Era. From 1881 until 1968, the U.S. National Championship was limited to amateurs. In 1968 the modern era of tennis was born when the US Open replaced the U.S. National Championship and opened its doors to all who qualified to compete.

Since 1968, Bloomberg said that the US Open is “the best attended annual sporting event in the world.”

The host of the evening's festivities was Oscar winning actor Forrest Whitaker, who spoke about the history of the tournament and the tumultuous year of 1968.

In 1968, the U.S. became even more embroiled in the Vietnam War, protests and social unrest erupted throughout the country, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed, and the highly politicized summer Olympic games took place in Mexico City. And in 1968 Arthur Ashe became the first ever men’s champion and the first ever African American Champion of the U.S. Open, which was held at West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York, for the first time, becoming one of the only bright spots during a difficult year for the country.

In honor of that special moment in tennis history, Whitaker introduced a procession of 25 past champions of the tournament including Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe and her daughter Camera Ashe as well as Virginia Wade, the first women’s singles US Open champion.

Widow and daughter of Arthur Ashe, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe and Camera Ashe

Venus Williams

Serena Williams

Billie Jean King

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Forest Whitaker

Martina Navratilova, Gabriela Sabatini, John McEnroe

Boris Becker

Gabriela Sabatini

Monica Seles

Marat Safin

Roger Federer

Forest and Keisha Whitaker

Oscar de la Renta

Martha Stewart

Anna Wintour, Editor of Vogue