Black Tennis Pros

Americans James Blake and Serena Williams make a stop in Newport News, Virginia to spend time and play tennis with students from An Achievable Dream Academy. Following that event the two of them went to Norfolk, Virginia to the Fifth Annual All-Star tennis event AnthemLIVE! at ODU (Old Dominion University), Ted Constant Convocation Center. The event is presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia and James Blake .

Tennis Greats James Blake and Serena Williams to Headline 2007 AnthemLIVE!

Fifth annual all-star tennis event returns to ODU' s (Old Dominion University) Ted Constant Convocation Center. As part of their ongoing commitment to support cancer research, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia and James Blake are pleased to present the fifth annual AnthemLIVE! Joining Blake this year will be eight-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams, and tennis stars Mardy Fish and Tatiana Golovin.

Since its inception, AnthemLIVE! has raised more than $2.2 million for cancer research, including more than $450,000 in 2006. This year s event will again benefit groundbreaking cancer research at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Virginia Commonwealth University s Massey Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

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Serena Williams

Serena Williams attends the Los Angeles Lakers vs Orlando Magic game at the Staples Center on December 2, 2007, in Los Angeles, California.

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Many of tennis' brightest young stars, including Gael Monfils, Benjamin Becker and Sam Querrey, can now call themselves graduates of ATP University following the conclusion of the three-day session held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. A total of 36 players attended ATP University, held from November 27-30.

Administered by the ATP's Player Relations department, the ATP University featured classroom presentations made by ATP staff members and outside experts specializing in the fields of communications, finance, and medicine. The workshop covered topics including the history of the ATP, how to control personal finances, and the importance of the media and promoting the sport.

The players, who also had the opportunity to explore the Magic Kingdom after class, had high praise for ATP University.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lauded it as "a great opportunity to learn a lot of things," and Croat Marin Cilic agreed, saying: "The ATP is introducing new stuff to us, including media, rules and regulations, anti-corruption...We had a lot of questions and the ATP explained to us how it's going and now we're better informed about that. I also had doubts about some things and now most of them are quite clear."

While many players pinpointed media training as their favorite session, Dutchman Robin Haase said: "The financial session for me was really important because I live in a country where I pay a lot of taxes, so that was really interesting and a lot of help. It's good to be here. It's educational and it's fun also with all the other tennis players here to have the feeling that we're doing it together."

"It's been great," said American Sam Querrey. "Really fun, really educational, it's nice to see these guy, the hotel's nice, the weather's nice. No complaints."

Source--ATP Tour

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga