Black Tennis Pros

I had the utmost pleasure of interviewing Donald Young Jr. and his parents Donald Young Sr. and Illona Young. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with both. Among other things, I took the opportunity to talk with Donald about that great first round U.S. Open match between he and James Blake, and his thoughts in the aftermath.

In talking with Donald Sr. and Illona Young, I was able to get their perspectives on being parent coaches and all that it brings. I also got their insight on their dual role in Donald's life, and a number of other subjects as well.

I will post the Conversations interview with Donald on Monday September 22, and my interview with Donald, Sr. and Illona will post for the Wednesday Coaches Corner on October 1.

Stay Tuned!

SINGLES

Round 1

Alexandra Stevenson, USA defeated by R. De Los Rios (PAR)
6-7(4), 4-6

Ahsha Rolle, USA defeated by Mary Gambale, USA
1-6, 6-1, 3-6

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA vs. Chanelle Schneepers, RSA

Angela Haynes, USA defeated Julia Cohen, USA
6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3


DOUBLES

Round 1

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
vs.
Liga Dekmeijere, LAT and Jelena Pandzic, CRO

Angela Haynes, USA and Ahsha Rolle, USA
vs.
Georgie Stoop, GBR and Story Tweedie-Yates, USA

Tiya Rolle, USA and Brittany Augustine, USA
defeated by
Soledad Esperon ARG and Chanelle Scheepers, RSA
4-6, 5-7



SINGLES

Round 1

Phillip Simmonds defeated Kevin Kim, USA
7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4

Raven Klaasen, RSA defeated Shane LaPorte, USA
6-2, 6-3

Nicholas Monroe, USA defeated Rajeev Ram, USA
6-2, 1-6, 6-3


DOUBLES

Round 1

Raven Klaasen, RSA and Jonathan Marray, GBR
defeated by
Alex Bogomolov, Jr., USA and Dusan Vemic, SRB
0-6, 2-6

Phillip Simmonds, USA and Greg Ouellette, USA
defeated
Lester Cook, USA and Shane LaPorte, USA
7-5-6-4

Nicholas Monroe, USA and Alberto Francis, USA
defeated
Stephen Amritraj, IND and Peter Polansky, CAN
6-4, 3-6 (11/9)



SINGLES

Round 1

Marcus Fugate, USA vs. Andreas, Siljestrom, SWE


DOUBLES

Round 1

Marcus Fugate, USA and Nima Roshan, USA
defeated
Nicholas Edlefsen, USA and Tommy Garrison, USA
6-4, 6-7(5), (10/3)

John Hoyes, USA and Benjamin Rogers, USA
defeated
Sahr Timothy Kpulun, SLE and Logan McKenzie, NZL
6-3, 1-6, (10/4)

Over the past few days I have been presented with several awards. These fellow bloggers have treated me to the beginning of a very wonderful week and I am grateful to each one.

Fitness Diva at Confessions Of A Fitness Diva presented me with the Brillante Weblog Award;









The Happy Go Lucky Bachelor Mike presented me with the Blogging Star Award;










and, both Hagar's Daughter at Hagar's Daughters, and Iriegal of Darkchild presented me with the Honest Blogger Award.












I will fulfill the rules of these awards and make my award selections a little later.

Press Release

Local Author signs book at US Open tennis event.

Author, Bernard A. Chavis, signed copies of his book “The Games of Tennis” An African American Journey at this year’s US Open tennis event.



September 9, 2008: Local Philadelphia area resident Bernard A. Chavis had a successful book signing at this year’s US Open Championships. This event is the largest attended sports event in the United States. Held annually in September at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on the grounds of the 1964 New York World’s Fair, the event draws an access of 500,000 tennis enthusiast during the two week event. Mr. Chavis’s book chronicles his journey of breaking racial and cultural barriers in the sport of tennis. The book goes into the inner workings of the administrative side of the game and the obstacles and resistance to leveling the playing field of diversity in this “sport for a life time.” Mr. Chavis has held many administrative positions at the local, regional, and national levels of the USTA and tennis industry related organizations, including the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) and the Tennis Industry Association (TIA). He resides in the northwest suburb of Philadelphia in Meadowbrook, PA.

NEW YORK (AP) — A memoir by Serena Williams will be released in 2009 by Grand Central Publishing, which beat out a handful of other publishers bidding for the life story of the No. 1 ranked women's tennis player.

"Serena Williams is one of the world's most remarkable athletes," Grand Central editor Karen Kosztolnyik said Tuesday in a statement. "We've watched her rise to No. 1 despite physical and emotional setbacks, and her hard work and determination have inspired legions of fans young and old. Serena will give her memoir a strong motivational slant."

Financial terms for the book, currently untitled, were not disclosed, although a publishing official with knowledge of the negotiations said bidding reached at least $1.3 million. The official, citing the confidentiality of the negotiations, declined to be identified.

Williams, 26, has won nine Grand Slam titles and, with sister Venus Williams, won a gold medal in women's doubles at the recent Olympics in Beijing.

Grand Central Publishing is a division of the Hachette Book Group.

Source

The sisters are seriously working the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! I don't think that we have seen this much of them off court in a very long time. I'm loving all of the hair and clothes styles. One more day to go.

Serena Williams attends the Calvin Klein Spring 2009 fashion show today at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Serena Williams and Talk Show Host and Producer Tyra Banks