Black Tennis Pros

American Davis Cup teammates James Blake and Andy Roddick advanced to the doubles semifinal round of the Brisbane International after defeating the Brazilian doubles team of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares 7-6(3), 6-4.

Blake and Roddick will now face Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Marc Giquel for a shot at the final.

Big Davis Cup news on theses two here...

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BRISBANE, Australia — Gael Monfils produced tennis of the highest quality to see off an equally impressive James Blake in the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International on Thursday.

Playing with his right shoulder heavily strapped, the mercurial Frenchman broke Blake at a crucial stage of the third set to clinch a thrilling match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.


The two men duelled for one and three quarter hours, serving powerfully and producing some crunching groundstrokes, and for a long time it was hard to see who would finish on top.

But at 3-3 in the final set the 30-year-old Blake faltered slightly and with the game poised at 30-40, Monfils struck a beautiful backhand passing shot to leave the American stranded.

Blake refused to concede and he had a chance to break back immediately, but Monfils clung on and eventually wrapped up the quarter-final on his fourth match point, celebrating by beating his chest with his fist in sheer delight.

"He had a good start and was hitting the ball well," Monfils said.

"I started with the wrong tactic -- I was hitting the ball to his forehand and James just didn't miss.

"But I think James began to spray it more and he gave me a chance to get more aggressive and try a few more shots, and I think that was the key to the match."

He also said there was no problem with his shoulder, despite the heavy strapping.

"Today was a bit better (than in the second round) because I found a good way to tape it ... tomorrow will be a lot better for sure."


Monfils will now play Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in the semi-finals after the second seed kept alive his hopes of defending his title with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 win over Wayne Odesnik of the U.S.

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Herald Sun (Australia) - Former world No. 4 James Blake today continued his tennis revival, fighting from three match points down to grab a quarter-final berth at the Brisbane International.

Blake, who finished out of the year-end top 25 for the first time in five years, escaped with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8) win over France's Marc Gicquel in a second round match at Pat Rafter Arena.

The American will play another Frenchman for a place in the semi-finals, either third seed Gael Monfils or Florent Serra.

Blake, who is currently ranked 40 places lower than his career best, kept the match points against him in the third set tiebreak tight and Gicquel made errors on each of the three points.

Then the Frenchman made another groundstroke error when trying to keep the ball in play on Blake's first match point at 9-8.

"I was not going to let him beat me," Blake said afterwards. "You play your best when you have a clear mindset. I would prefer to win in two and two but it is good to get some tough match-ups in the lead up to a Grand Slam."




BRISBANE - Third seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils overcame a shoulder injury and a tenacious Florent Serra to make his way into the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International on Wednesday.

Serra played some inspired tennis to push Monfils right to the limit, before appearing to tire in the decider and allow his higher-ranked countryman to run away with the match 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.

Monfils was forced to call for the trainer at the end of the first set and had his shoulder heavily strapped during the time-out.

The injury seemed to take its toll as Serra opened up a 3-0 lead at the start of the second, but Monfils fought back and took the set to a tiebreak, before running away with the third.

"I pulled my muscle a bit last week," he said of his shoulder injury.

"Last week I did a lot of weights and it's been hurting me for some time.

"I decided today to come on the court without tape and I think that was a mistake."

Monfils said he was happy with how he had served despite the pain.

"Two, three shots after the serve it hurt a little bit," he said.

"I will take some anti-inflammatories or painkillers, work on it, ice it, and hopefully tomorrow it will be much better.

He will now play American James Blake in the quarter-finals after the veteran American outlasted another Frenchman, Marc Gicquel, earlier in the day.

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Press Release

LOS ANGELES - The New Year is here and the Venus and Serena Williams Tennis Academy has announced the dates for its upcoming Adult Group Tennis Classes. There has never been a time to learn the art of playing tennis while losing weight and getting fit.

Located at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center of L.A., home of the award-winning Rancho Cienega Tennis Club, the Academy will begin its next 8-week adult group tennis classes on January 11 through March 5. Each 8-week session includes one class per week on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and cost $11 per class, $88 total. Adults of all levels are encouraged to come out. Instruction is provided by master tennis instructor Le George Mauldin (as seen on KNBC-TV Channel 4), and all classes will take place at the Rancho Cienega Sports Complex’s Arthur Ashe Tennis Courts located at 5001 Rodeo Boulevard in Los Angeles. Limited space is available. For more information or to register, please visit www.tenniswithlegeorge.com or call Le George Mauldin at (323) 392-6864.

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