Black Tennis Pros

Tell me something good, because I'm listening. The momentary absence is over. Look for new content this evening and the activity here at Black Tennis Pro's to get back to rockin'.

It's all good!

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You all know that I am extremely tied up right now (not in the way that I would like to be), and won't be back to Black Tennis Pro's on a regular basis until Monday, May 19. If you want to feed your writing jones, put something together and email it to me.

You all are as well informed as I am, give the folks a different perspective. You'll have full credit for your post and a backlink if you're a blogger.

Get 'cha write on!

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Author Prelude

Today is the first segment of the Wednesday Coaches Corner. I am very excited about it. Loving what we see transpire on the courts is inevitably a direct correlation to the coaches that train, mentor and advise the players.

Even so, it was never my intention to delve into the lives and activities of the coaches, primarily because that is not an experience that I am familiar with. However, my first profile, Morris King, Jr., contacted me a short while ago and questioned my not covering the Black coaches who are indeed Black tennis professionals themselves. It took me a minute to come around, but he eventually made his point.

Since Morris is the impetus for this new feature, it is only proper that he would be the first coach profiled. His interview will take place over two installments. I don't know that this will be the standard framework for these interviews, but Morris brings a lot to the table and I want to share as much of him as is reasonably possible.

On Thursday, May 8, 2008, I began interviewing a world class private tennis coach. Within five minutes we were laughing as if we had known one another for years. By Friday, May 9, I was interviewing a friend, the point at which this interview took on a life of its own.

This man with with the deep voice, personality to spare, depth of thought to share and an honest streak that could cause fear, was very open, and allowed me the freedom to probe his life as much as I chose. He responded elaborately in some areas and minutely in others.

Whatever the result of my inquiry, I could not have spent better days engulfed in some of the most intriguing, entertaining one-on-one conversation that I have enjoyed in a long time.

I was speaking with someone who's life's pursuits have taken him from substitute teaching, to banking, to even running for a seat on the city council. By no means is Morris King, Jr. going to be bored with the story that his life tells when it is all said and done.

For those of you who do not know this Jacksonville, Florida native, it is my intention to simply introduce you to him and peak your interest in him as a coach. The second half of this interview will take you deep inside the coaching world of Morris King, Jr.

Morris King Jr.’s Opening Statement

“White players hire White coaches, Hispanic players hire Hispanic coaches, Japanese players hire Japanese coaches, Chinese players, hire Chinese coaches; Black players hire White coaches (except where the coach is the parent, of course).

But also, Black players that don’t have money allow the USTA (the United States Tennis Association, the national governing body of tennis) to come in, finance them and ruin their chance of becoming a champion as a result of the USTA’s pitiful coaching.

However, the bright side of the story is that, at least, the Black player is now able to travel all over the world at the USTA’s expense, and NEVER be properly coached to win a championship or to become one of the top players in the world.“

I was completely floored when Morris concluded his statement. It was very frank, and it immediately allowed me to look behind the curtain of Morris’ perspective on a number of issues.

I honestly did not know where to direct my interview due to the severity of this statement. I wanted to further consider and make inquiry of his very strong words. I wondererd to myself "what is the validity of this statement? what is it's purpose? do I want to print it?"

Eyebrows raised in contemplation, I was literally locked in thought, but we moved on.

Morris is a smart man, an educated man committed to excellence, community and tomorrow. It is readily evident in his conversation and the body of actions over his lifetime. His dedication to the growth and prosperity of the youth that he comes into contact with is heartwarming.

He has that ability to consistently massage and apply his knowledge into a conversation in a comparative and analytical sense. I admire people who can do that. It's a strong factor of foundation and belief in one's self.

After learning of these aspects of Morris King, Jr. the world class tennis coach, I became even more enthralled with the man that aspired to this point. What was, and is this man seeking, and in that quest, how did becoming a private tennis coach present itself?

Here are a few critical points of growth in Morris’ life:

• achieved a bachelor’s degree in Public/Business Administration from the University of Florida, after having completed the first two years of college at the Ivy League Columbia University in New York City on academic scholarship;
• formerly a city official in Jacksonville, Florida;
• formerly a financial analyst at a former leading Florida bank;
• formerly a personal/professional manager of entertainers, models and athletes as a private businessman;
• formerly involved in international affairs consulting with third world countries;
• has been a board member of a renowned civil/human rights advocacy organization; and
• is a paralegal, among other accomplishments and affiliations.
  

I found each of these events interesting as I listened for what exactly caused his evolution into a tennis coach. Whenever I would ask for a direct statement to that effect, Morris would always say “I didn’t pick tennis, tennis picked me.” I definitely understand such a path. Sometimes each of our paths in life evolves differently from how we originally envision it.

Morris eventually shared with me that he began playing tennis at 14 years of age, and that his game was self-taught from reading books and watching television. "Learning to play like this enabled me to later sharpen my analytical ability to fix problems inside of the game of others. I became a stickler for 'technical purity.'

Of course the most significant point of Morris’ evolution as a tennis coach occurred when he was approached by Richard Williams to inject his brand and philosophy of tennis into the development of the now superstar sisters, Venus and Serena.

Today Morris operates Magian World Class Tennis, among other business endeavors. Magian World Class Tennis specializes in highly competitive individualized training utilizing the patented and unstoppable “Magian Style.”

Before this segment is over and you begin waiting for next week's installment of my interview with Morris , I concluded this portion of the interview with him as I do with anyone else that I interview - Fun Facts! I like to know what makes people tick personally, what cracks them up, what music they groove to, etc.

When Morris and I began to talk about those things that relax or bring him pleasure, it was uncanny how much we had in common. At the pinnacle of that commonality is his love of my favorite style of music, jazz. I truly enjoyed hearing him share the artists that he listens to, that his father enjoyed, the problem with a lot of current day jazz artists, etc. Yet another elongated conversation.

Next in line, the brotha is a trekkie. How satisfying was that for me? Very. He could do no wrong in my eyes after I found that out. I was now in deep interest. I don’t meet many trekkies, so when I do, I take note. Of course we had to discuss which Star Trek we considered the best, what it was that Benjamin Sisqo (Avery Brooks) brought to the franchise as the first and only Black captain, and of course how James Tiberious Kirk will always be THE captain of the franchise.

While we didn’t seem to enjoy any of the same authors to date, he too is a voracious reader. Morris is currently reading Confessions of an Economic Hitman, The Wizards of Langley: Inside the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, and Dope, Inc.: The Book That Drove Henry Kissinger Crazy.

His all-time favorite books? The Autobiography of Malcolm-X, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and Behold a Pale Horse.

I then asked Morris if he had any favorite vacation spots, his response, “What is a vacation? Explain that to me.” Okay, guess not.

"Well, foods, tell me what type of foods are your favorite, and don’t say chicken." Morris took a few moments to set up his disdain and outrage at my disparagement of what he so lovingly calls, “the negro national bird.” He then began to very humorously, basically preach and praise the hallowed and mighty fowl. I laughed with my mouth wide open. Morris has consistently caused me to give up my cool all throughout this interview. I did not like it initially, those of you who know me know that I’m a control FREAK! However, I have had such a good time getting to know him that after time passed, I just did not care anymore.

He finally admitted that he loves seafood.

Morris has a funky list of beverages that he loves, with Pepsi (the “elixir of life") heading the list. Closely followed by Mountain Dew and Earl Grey Tea (and why not, it is Picard’s favorite brew).

Lastly, I asked him about marriage and relationships, the short and long answer is the same, "I am a single heterosexual male - looking."

In part II of this interview, while I will primarily explore Morris' life as a tennis coach, I will continue to share aspects of him that I find interesting, uncommon, endearing and even perplexing.

There is much more to Morris King, Jr. Meet me back here on May 21 to find out what that is.

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As I traveled across the country on Wednesday, a calamity of errors gathered together and prevented the Wednesday Coaches Corner from appearing in a timely fashion.

I appreciate the fact that many of you are looking forward to this new aspect of Black Tennis Pro's and wrote me today wondering what had occurred.

Without going into extreme detail, suffice it to say that after a day like no other I've had in the recent past, the first part of my interview with Morris King, Jr. will be up shortly.

Thank you for your continued interest and support of Black Tennis Pro's. I'm working as hard and as quickly as possible to resolve these issues.

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Round 1 - Singles

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated Nicolas Mahut, FRA
0-6, 7-6(5), 6-2

James Blake, USA vs. BYE


Round - 1 Doubles

James Blake, USA and Mardy Fish, USA
defeated
Igor Andreev, RUS and Mikhail Youzhny, RUS
6-1, 6-4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA and Gilles Simon, FRA
defeated by
Rainer Schuettler, GER and Alexander Waske, GER
6-3, 6-4


Qualifying Rounds

Julio Silva, BRA eliminated in round 1 by Kristof Vliegen
6-4, 7-5



Round 1 - Singles

Venus Williams, USA vs. BYE

Serena Williams, USA vs. BYE

Final Qualifying Round

Alexis Gordon, USA and Theresa Logar, USA




Round 1 - Singles

Marcus Fugate, USA vs. Thomas Schoeck, GER


Round 1 - Doubles

Marcus Fugate, USA and Lance Vodicka, USA
vs.
(WC) Robert Gates, USA and Jeff Zenisek, USA




Round 1 - Doubles

Phillip Simmonds, USA and Tim Smyczek, USA
vs.
Ryler De Heart, USA and Todd Widom, USA

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The USTA, ESPN and Tennis Channel today announced a groundbreaking television and multi-platform partnership creating a summer-long “Open Season” for tennis featuring more than 400 national television hours for the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series -- an increase of nearly 100 hours. Commencing in 2009, ESPN and Tennis Channel will join CBS and become the US Open cable television broadcasters for the first time.

Under the new deal, the US Open will receive 200 hours of total coverage, an increase of over 50 hours -- the most in US Open history. This marks the first time that the Series and the US Open will be carried by the same cable broadcast partner -- creating a more consistent TV package for the sport. For 2008, USA Network will remain the US Open’s exclusive cable broadcaster.

For 2009 and beyond, ESPN2 will become the lead cable broadcaster for the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series, broadcasting nearly 200 hours of tennis coverage during the eight-week North American summer tennis season. Tennis Channel, which continues as a Series broadcaster with nearly 150 hours of Series coverage, will now also broadcast more than 60 hours of live US Open coverage. For the first time, Tennis Channel also will broadcast daily US Open preview and highlight shows. CBS Sports will continue to broadcast nearly 40 hours of live US Open coverage, bringing the overall national coverage of tennis during the summer season to more than 400 hours.

The six-year deal will also deliver the US Open across multiple platforms including ESPN, ESPN2, Tennis Channel, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN International, ESPN360 broadband programming, ESPN.com, TennisChannel.com and ESPN Mobile Properties. In addition, USOpen.org retains all rights to live streaming of US Open matches.

“This completes a five-year process of reinventing the television and digital landscape for the sport of tennis in North America,” said Arlen Kantarian, CEO Pro Tennis, USTA. “Tennis will now be prominently featured for eight straight weeks on ESPN -- the premiere destination in sports; Tennis Channel -- our sport’s namesake network; and CBS -- our longtime network partner. This new partnership will provide more tennis, to more people, in more ways than ever before.”

"Tennis has provided many memorable moments in ESPN history, and to finally acquire the excitement and drama of the US Open is a crowning achievement," said John Skipper, ESPN Executive Vice President, Content. "The sport is a perfect fit for our growing digital businesses, and fans will know to find the best tennis action all year on ESPN2 and on ESPN360.com."

“Tennis Channel is proud to now become a long-term partner in one of the greatest spectacles in all of sports,” said Ken Solomon, Chairman and CEO, Tennis Channel. “For us, the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series that leads up to it each summer go far beyond sports, as collectively the ‘Open Season’ represents an unprecedented eight weeks of the best mass-appeal content in the world. Our multi-platform broadcast and marketing partnership with the USTA and ESPN, coupled with CBS’ world-class coverage will create significantly greater awareness of professional tennis in the years to come.”

US Open Television Coverage

ESPN’s US Open coverage will include approximately 100 hours, including weekday afternoon coverage and exclusive weekday primetime broadcasts. Tennis Channel will broadcast more than 60 live hours from the US Open, including exclusive primetime broadcasts on Saturday and Sunday evenings of Labor Day weekend. Below is a summary of the schedule:

First Week

• ESPN2: Live every weekday from 1-6 p.m. and primetime from 7-11 p.m.
• Tennis Channel: Live every weekday from 11-2 p.m.; live outer-court coverage from 2-6 p.m.; daily preview show from 10-11 a.m.; nightly highlights show at 11 p.m., followed by encore of matches until 10 a.m. the next morning.

Labor Day Weekend

• CBS: Live coverage from 11-6 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
• ESPN2: Live coverage on Monday from 7-11 p.m.
• Tennis Channel: Live coverage on Saturday and Sunday from 7-11 p.m.; nightly highlights show at 11 p.m., followed by encore of matches until 10 a.m. the next morning.

Second Week/Quarterfinals

• ESPN2: Live Tuesday - Thursday from 11-6 p.m. and live primetime quarterfinals from 7-11 p.m.
• Tennis Channel: Live outer-court coverage from 11-6 p.m; daily preview show from 10-11 a.m.; nightly highlights show at 11 p.m., followed by encore of matches until 10 a.m. the next morning.

Finals Weekend

• CBS: Live coverage during finals weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, including the men’s doubles final, the men’s and women’s Semifinals, the women’s primetime final on Saturday night and the men’s final on Sunday.
• ESPN2: Live coverage of women’s doubles final at 1 p.m. Sunday; US Open wrap-up show from 8-10 p.m.

US Open Digital and Extended Platforms

The components of this multi-platform deal include cable television, broadband, mobile properties and Spanish language distribution via ESPN Deportes. Highlights include:

• ESPN360.com, ESPN’s signature broadband network, can present action from all TV courts during ESPN2 windows, plus simulcasts of ESPN2’s coverage, totaling more than 300 hours.
• ESPN.com will provide blanket coverage of the US Open, with the latest news and scores, as well as commentary, photos and daily video news and summaries from ESPN commentators.
• ESPN Mobile Properties will present live action, press conferences and highlights.
• ESPN has the right to display a multi-court mosaic platform during its TV windows.
• Tennischannel.com will have rights to stream live match action on a non-exclusive basis.
• ESPN International, which has been a US Open broadcast partner for several years, will continue to provide US Open broadcasts to Latin America and sub-Sahara Africa.
• USOpen.org also plans to stream US Open matches and will continue to feature exclusive live scoring.

Olympus US Open Series TV Coverage

• ESPN2 will remain the lead broadcaster of the Series and provide nearly 100 hours of consistent live weekly coverage, including back-to-back men’s and women’s finals on Sundays from 3-7 p.m.
• Tennis Channel will continue to provide nearly 150 hours of Series coverage and weekly encore telecasts of semifinals and finals.
• CBS will continue to provide live finals coverage from select Series events.
• Since its launch four years ago, the Series has doubled television viewership, increased event attendance and generated new corporate partners for the sport.
• In 2008, Olympus became the first Series title sponsor, with the Series renamed the “Olympus US Open Series.”
• In total, the 2007 Olympus US Open Series -- including the US Open -- generated a record 1.7 million attendees, more than 120 million TV viewers and over 32 million website visits in the eight-week period.

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I set aside my very valuable time to watch Bryant Gumbel interview Venus Williams on Real Sports, a show that I typically do not watch. At this moment I am seriously considering placing a monetary value on that time and billing it to Bryant Gumbel. What a crock!

We learned nothing new, we saw nothing new and Bryant Gumbel must consider his viewers new fools if he thinks that interview passed for anything other than a ratings gimmick to bring those that support Venus Williams to Real Sports.

I am royally pissed!

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Final Round - Doubles

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
defeated by
Madison Brengle, USA and Kristy Frilling, USA
2-6, 6-4, 10/7

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