Black Tennis Pros

I'm loving the Korean attire that Venus and Maria are wearing. Very regal and festive.

Venus had to work hard for her money as she rallied to beat Russia's World No. 29 Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 and win the Korean Open on Sunday.

Williams, who hadn't lost a set this entire tournament heading into the final, was forced to work for her win for the first time at Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea, in a game that lasted 140 minutes.

Venus took the first set 6-3 in overcast conditions, but the Wimbledon champion suffered an early break in the second as she struggled with her serve, chalking up 11 double faults as No. 4 Kirilenko raced on to win the set.

Light rain delayed the match by about an hour, and when it began, Williams wasted little time in breaking Kirilenko's serve in the opening game.

Serving for the match at 5-4 up in the third set, Williams went down 0-40, and rallied to force deuce. She took the championship when Kirilenko's return went just out of the sideline to Williams' left. Venus came back to take the trophy and her third win in three meetings against the Russian.

Take it to the bank Venus!!

I've been tagged again by Jon at Chimeric Day Dreams. I like this tag. I think that it is definitely a community booster. Although we are all bloggers, we are also blog readers. This ought to tell each of us what we enjoy/dislike as we visit each others blogs.

The idea is to copy the list, star your favorite ones, add your own tip at the very end, and then pass it on.

1. Look, read, and learn.
2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other.
3. Don’t let money change ya!
4. Always reply to your comments.
*5. Blog about what you know & love.
6. Don’t use filthy language-buy a dictionary.
7. Blog about something educational.
8. Be yourself; others will follow.
9. Don’t have too many blogs that will become a chore to maintain.
*10. Keep it simple, user-friendly, interesting and organized!
11. Keep the blog simple and sweet!!!
12. Share with others your thoughts and don’t be shy!
13. Never ask for link exchange. Blog hop to increase traffic.
*14. Don’t clutter your blog with ads all over the place. IT’S IRRITATING.
15. Don’t comment for the sake of commenting. Some looked too fake and its a big turn off!
16. Share something interesting and you will gain more readers.
17. Show that we care to all bloggers, treat each other as friends.
18. Pictures say a million words. Keep them coming!
19. Blogging should be fun or you’ll get tired of it pretty soon.
*20. Don’t think people will come to your blog if you’re not willing to pay a visit to them.
21. Everyone loves read short posting and best, illustrated with a picture.
22. Try not to publish more than 5 posts in one blog a day. Even if it’s from feed reader, it’s quite hard to digest and catch up reading everything.
23. Blog: the other window to peek into people’s life, minus the trouble. Keep a certain level of privacy to yourself.
24. Never tell your readers that you are going on vacation. That’s basically telling them to not visit your blog for a week. Instead, write several posts, and take advantage of the timestamp feature.
*25. Try and write with people in mind that are “somewhat similar to you”. Allow your audience to identify with your blog and feel “at home”.
26. The key to a good article is a good introduction. A joke, a question or a picture does wonders.
27. If you are looking to earn an income blogging read StevePavlina.com and Problogger.net, you will be amazed at what you can learn.
28. Write for yourself first. Remember that it takes time, effort, patience…and above all, daring.
29. Use Google Alerts for immediate alerts of news and/or blog posts about topics you specify, clip those that interest you into Google Notebook (it also copies the URLS for reference). - Chimeric Day Dreams
30. Invite your reader to read and not to search/hunt your blog. Have some type of logic in the organization of your blog so that it flows for the reader and allows for easy navigation. Some blogs are so full of blog related minutiae that the actual posts are lost is the midst. - Black Tennis Pro's

I'd like to see blogging tips from:

Poetic Sista - A passionate writer, she truly blogs from the heart and soul.
Black In Business - JD is definitely a man who is supportive of others, he's professional and someone who looks to tomorrow.
Chessnoid - I truly enjoy the variety of this writer. From the everyday to the unexpected.
Electronic Village - Can there be blogging with more commitment than this blog? Passion, dedication, relevance, etc. Truly one of the best blogs.
Middle Zone Musings - A writer that appeals to the 'everydayness' of life, and to the whimsy of life. Very provocative.

American Venus Williams has moved into the finals of the Hansol Korea Open with a smack-down 6-2, 6-2 win over Flavia Pennetta of Italy.

Williams took the first set in 36 minutes, but her Italian opponent, the only unseeded player in the semi-finals, put some early pressure on the top seed.

Pennetta broke the Williams serve at the start of the match and had a chance to go up 2-0 up, leading 40-15 in the second game. But Williams came back with four straight points to break the Italian's serve.

Williams conceded the opening game of the second set, but promptly broke Pennetta's serve and did not look back.

Venus, serving as fast as 125 miles per hour, went on to take six of the last seven games to secure her berth in the final.

"My leg's not feeling great but it's getting better every day," Williams said. "I don't get to play in Seoul often, so I am trying my best. My goal all along has been to win the tournament."

The deflated Pennetta frequently shook her head and muttered to herself in disgust during the second set.

Venus's opponent in the final will be Maria Kirilenko of Russia who also, much to my surprise, victimized her semifinal opponent Eleni Daniliidou of Greece 7-5, 6-0. I thought that Daniilidou was on an unstoppable roll towards the final also. Oh well.

STUTTGART, Germany - Mercedes-Benz will end its sponsorship of the men's ATP tennis tour when the current three-year contract expires at the end of 2008.

The company has been one of the main sponsors of the ATP since 1996. The German carmaker said Friday it would shift focus to golf, equestrian and soccer, as well as fashion and lifestyle.

"Over the years, our partnership with the ATP has had a very high brand fit for Mercedes-Benz, but we are now adding a new angle to our revised brand positioning," said Olaf Goettgens, vice president of brand communications for Mercedes-Benz.

Richard Davies, the CEO of ATP Properties, thanked Mercedes for its support.

"Both the ATP and Mercedes-Benz have achieved great things in our time together," Davies said in the statement.

The Mercedes star symbol has been attached to tennis nets at more than 40 tournaments around the world. Mercedes also provides courtesy car services at tournaments.

Source -- AP

Frenchman Gael Monfils stars in a striking off-court feature in the September issue of French magazine, Sport & Style. Monfils features modeling a variety of designer clothing, ranging from Givenchy, Giorgio Armani, Alexander McQueen, Chanel, as well as his own sponsors, Nike and Head.

The article chronicles Monfils's rise to fame on the professional tennis circuit, highlighting his jump from No. 400 to No. 23 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. However, with his meteoric rise up the rankings having been tempered in the last 12 months following a series of injuries, Monfils, nicknamed 'Sliderman', says, "I need to find the right balance between style, showmanship, and effictiveness on the court.

"Monfils also comments on his passion for music and breakdancing. "I often organize freestyle 'battles' with my group of friends. I've been brought up under the MTV culture. Music and dance are my life."

Finally the Frenchman, who currently resides in Nyon, Switzerland, comments on the unique trajectory of each player's career, saying "Nadal is the best at the moment. But I also know that I'm capable of winning Roland Garros. It's not a race. Federer won his first Grand Slam at the age of 23. Noah as well. Each to their own."

Source - ATP Tour

TOKYO - Roger Federer pulled out of the Japan Open because he needs to rest after the U.S. Open and Davis Cup.

The top-ranked Swiss said his doctor told him he should not play in a tournament for at least 10 days to avoid the risk of serious injury.

"I'm so disappointed that I have to withdraw from the Japan Open," Federer said in a statement released by organizers Friday. "I have not physically recovered 100 percent from the U.S. Open and Davis Cup."

Federer won last year's Japan Open, defeating Tim Henman in the final. Federer won his fourth consecutive U.S. Open on Sept. 9, and competed for Switzerland last weekend in its loss to the Czech Republic.

The Japan Open begins Monday. David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet were added to the men's bracket and Venus Williams, who is playing in South Korea, to the women's bracket.

Source -- AP

American Raquel Kops-Jones wasn't able to make it out of the first round of the singles or doubles of the Guangzhou, China International Women's Open.

Kops-Jones was defeated in singles by Sun Tiantian of China in a toe-to-toe match 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-5.

In doubles, Kops-Jones and American teammate Julie Ditty were defeated by the doubles team of Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus and Anastasia Rodionova of Russia 6-4, 7-6(0).

SEOUL, South Korea - Venus Williams reached the Korea Open semifinals today by beating Marta Domachowska of Poland 6-2, 6-3.