Black Tennis Pros

If I had not seen the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships final, I would have been extremely disappointed that American James Blake lost what appeared to be "his" final. Blake was defeated by an 18-year old qualifier from Japan who is playing only his sixth ATP event.

However, after witnessing the brilliant flash of play from Kei Nishikori, I'm not the least bit disappointed in Blake, just happy for Nishikori. He played beautifully, and quite honestly I don't know what else Blake could have done to defend his game. Nishikori defeated Blake 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. I think that Blake may have been just as surprised as Nishikoro was at his very sophisticated level of play.

Nishikoro was all over the court and hitting shots that would have zoomed by whomever was on the other side of that net. It was really something to see. And while Nishikori seemed completely at ease, he said "I was nervous in the first set." He obviously got those nerves in check in sets two and three.

On the final point, when Nishikori realized that he'd won the tournament, he was simply stunned. He was a bit apprehensive in receiving his trophy, as if it wasn't his, but he raised it in victory immediately.

Though it was hard to lower the trophy, Japanese player Kei Nishikori finally responded when the announcer said "Okay, Kei, here. Your fans want to hear from you. With total glee and the sweetest smile, the young man from Japan said, "Ummmm, I still can't believe it, I won this tournament. And ahhh, still can't believe it, I beat James Blake, I just see him on the, on the TV." Nishikori was genuinely amazed at his accomplishment. As the crowd laughed, even Blake had to smile.

"Thank you, this city, Delray Beach and the, all the tournament directors,....the ball kids,.....this is my best tournament. Ever, in my life." The crowd gave Nishikori a big applause.

"Thank you all the fans, cheering me this week. I'm just so happy right now, thank you."

You can't help but love a guy who is that genuinely grateful and surprised at his own prowess.

Nishikori will make a huge jump in the rankings come Monday. He will rise from No. 244 to No. 131 in the ATP rankings.

After receiving his trophy Blake said, "Thanks everyone for coming out, First of all, I want to congratulate Kei, his first ATP title of many to come, I think. Ahhhh,very impressive performance today, all week,.....this kid's got a very bright future."

"I can't seem to get that winner's trophy, so I guess I'll have to keep coming back until I do."

Kei Nishikori? Yes, that is the name of American James Blake's basically unknown 18-year old opponent from Japan in tomorrow's Del Ray Beach, Florida's International Tennis Championships final.

In what I had no doubt would be a hard hitting speedy display of power semifinal today, good buds Blake and fellow American Robby Ginepri ran each other ragged to the finish. It was enjoyable to watch though. I like it when Americans go at it tooth and nail.

Blake started a bit rough, making unforced errors and serving poorly in the beginning of the first set allowing Ginepri to break his serve, but he slowly but surely turned things around to Ginepri's dismay. By the end of the first set, Blake had begun to display that self assured play that we have been seeing since that beautiful win in December's Davis Cup championship.

In the second set, Ginepri broke serve in the third game for a 2-1 lead. Ginepri held until losing serve again in the eighth game. Blake closed out the just over an hour match defeating Ginepri 6-4, 6-4.

Of his friendship with Ginepri Blake stated, "There is going to be no hard feelings no matter what happens on the court."

Of his opponent in tomorrow's final Blake said, "I have a lot of respect for him and to be in an ATP final at 18 years old and to beat Sam (Querry) here today is pretty impressive. At 18 I was trying to pass freshman econ"

Top-seeded James Blake advanced to the semifinals in the International Tennis Championships in Delray Beach for the second straight year Friday night, beating Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 6-2, 6-4.

Blake will face Robby Ginepri on Saturday, while third-seeded Sam Querrey will play 18-year-old qualifier Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese player to reach an ATP semifinal since Shuzo Matsuoka at Beijing in October 1995.

"I definitely feel each match I'm playing better and better," said Blake, who lost to Xavier Malisse in the final last year. "It will be an all-American battle tomorrow. I just hope the crowd a little bit favors me."

The 169th-ranked Ginepri, playing in his first ATP main draw of the year, beat eighth-seeded Mardy Fish 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Querrey reached his second career tour semifinal, beating fellow American Vince Spadea 6-2, 6-4. The 224-ranked Nishikori advanced to his first career semifinal with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over American Bobby Reynolds.

Blake, who has yet to lose a set all week, fell behind 2-0 in the opening set, but quickly picked up the pace to take control, Ginepri, a 2005 U.S. Open semifinalist and once ranked as high as No. 15, is struggling to find consistency to his game.

"When you're losing so much you get into a routine of losing out there," said Ginepri, last in a semifinal in Indianapolis in 2006. "I didn't remember how good it feels out there to win. It's addictive."

Serena Williams appears to be on the mend. She posted this message on her site:

"Hey guys!

I hope everyone out there is doing great! The flu has been going around. It has been completely insane how many of my friends were and are sick. I even have a friend in Germany who has the flu. It makes me wonder "is something being put into the air from pharmaceutical companies that make everyone get sick the same time of year?"

Well as u may have heard I had to have emergency gum surgery. I was super ill for a looooong time. The only good thing is I ended up losing a bit of weight. I am just now getting better. I am just beginning to train and get back in the flow of things. It really sucks that I have to miss a few tourneys, but I have never felt too bad in my life.
I would wake up (actually I could not even sleep the pain was so bad) and just cry because I was in so much pain. Being an athlete I have learned to build up my pain tolerance. And also in the past I have had a knee surgery so I know how some pain feels, but I have never experienced anything like this. It was crazy!! I have never cried for pain. I felt hopeless. My Mom came to the rescue. She was with me every second I needed her. What a great woman.

I am finally feeling better and able to write blogs again. I hope to be in action soon on the tennis courts again. I can't really tell when I will be back but I am just training and playing it by ear. Stay tuned!!!

Serena"

The ATP unveiled its dramatic new advertising campaign - ‘FEEL IT’ - on the eve of the BNP Paribas Masters. The multi-million dollar campaign, featuring ATP stars including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and James Blake, showcases the sport’s core values as a one-on-one gladiatorial battle, full of intensity and passion. Developed following extensive consumer research, ‘FEEL IT’ pre-launched at the BNP Paribas Masters and will be rolled out globally throughout 2008.

The hunk also known as "Mind of Marcus" hit me with this one.

Here are the simple rules: Tag five [5] other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. This is classic viral linking and the benefits of viral linking: a jump in your Technorati authorities and and an increase in your Google PageRank fast. So get that new traffic to your blog, build your community and make new blog friends!

It's Not Easy Being Queen On The Black Hand Side The Views of The All Seeing Eye A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah We Need To Stop 5th Times A Charm, All Tayo, Black Tennis Pro's, BlogXilla, Colored Girls Who Have....., Dark Brotha, 'Dat' Curious, Drewry Online, Fresh and Fab, IDKWhat2say, JV's Loop, Kreative Talk, Lisa C Writes, Mrs. Grapevine, My So-Called Fabulous Life, Necole Bitchie, O Hell Nawl, Opinionated Black Woman, Over Analyze It, Planet Saedel, Rag-Tag Believer, Real Stars Don't Struggle To Shyne, Sincere Thoughts, That's Not Hott, The Chocl8t Diaries, The Old Black Church, The Quick Catch Up, TrueDustLynn, Trying To Live Life Right, You Better Recognize.

For this tag I've added and am hitting:

It's Not Easy Being Queen
On The Black Hand Side
The Views Of The All Seeing Eye
A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah
We Need To Stop

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The beautiful Lisa at "Lisa C Writes" hit me with this one.

The rules for this one are pretty much the same. Simply tag 5 other bloggers to add to the list of already existing list. Do not replace the list, just keep adding to it.

The Strategist Notebook, Link Addiction, Ardour Of The Heart, When Life Becomes A Book, The Malaysian Life, Yogatta.com, What goes Under The Sun, Roshidan's Cyber Station, Sasha Says, Arts Of Physics, And The Legend Lives, My View, My Life, A Simple Life, What women REALLY Think, Not Much More Than This, Jayedee, Jenn, Beth,Christie, Marla, Cailin, Simone, Flip Flop Mom, Katrina, Gill's Jottings, Work Of A Poet, Wakela, Modern Day Goddess, Livin With Me, A Simple Life,Verb, Random Thoughts, I'm Running To Win Two, Regina's Family Seasons, Lifesong, The Laughs Will Go On, Military Mom, The Vasquez 3, Brik-See-Us, Five Dollar Shake, My Three Wisemans, You Betta Recognize, Miscellaneous Matters, Opinionated Black Woman, The Happy Go Lucky Bachelor, Slausin-Ass Slausin, Word On The Street, Invisible Woman, Dark Brotha, The Black Actor, The Happy Go Lucky Bachelor, The People Who Could Fly Project, The Luscious Librarian, Sincere Thoughts, That Hotness, Celeb Blitz, Lisa C Writes, Mind Of Marcus, Raw Dawg Buffalo, Kreative Talk, Real Stars Don't Struggle To Shine, Black Tennis Pro's, Ebony Mommy, Mrs. Grapevine, Over Analyze It, Our Happy Happenings

For this tag I've added and am hitting:

Wonderland Or Not
The Old Black Church
Strictly Fabulous Style
Duane Francis
Cook, Eat, Drink, Blog