Black Tennis Pros

American sisters Venus and World No. 1 Serena Williams have arrived in Stuttgard, Germany and are scheduled to play the the Porche Tennis Grand Prix this week, September 27 through October 5, 2008 . The ladies will play both singles and doubles.

This will be the first tournament that the sisters have played since the U.S. Open.

The tier II tournament will take place in the Porsche Arena, which is an indoor hard surface. The prize money at this tournament is $650,000, the singles winner can potentially collect $98,500. The winner can also snag the very elite and stylish Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabrio. The choice between the prize money or the Porsche sports car belongs to the winner. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Venus and Serena Williams in Stuttgard, Germany for Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Venus Williams and fan in Stuttgard, Germany for Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)—Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga set up a rematch of their Australian Open final by winning semifinals Saturday at the Thailand Open.

Djokovic beat Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-1, while the second-seeded Tsonga ousted fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-0, 6-3.

The third-ranked Djokovic won the first set when his shot tapped the net and fell into his opponent’s side. Berdych then double-faulted to lose his first service game of the second set, while a backhand error saw him go down 5-1. Djokovic closed the game out with a volley on his second match point.

“I felt as if I woke up from the dream in the second set. I felt sleepy in the first set,” the Serbian said. “But in the second set I broke him twice. He had bad service games and I took the opportunities.”

Tsonga benefited from a string of unforced errors by Monfils to race to a 4-0 lead. He faced a break point in the next game, but his powerful serve bailed him out and he went up 5-0. Tsonga set up a set point with a forehand down the line and took the set after Monfils’s forehand landed in the net.

Monfils hit an ace to level the second set at 1-1, but the more aggressive Tsonga broke again for a 4-2 lead with a passing shot. He sealed the victory with a service winner to wrap up the match in just 52 minutes.

“I hit the ball very well, but didn’t move well today,” Tsonga said. “I just hope to move better tomorrow.”

Oprah Winfrey has joined the voice cast of the upcoming Disney animated film "The Princess and the Frog." She will voice the mother of the princess.

At a Disney presentation in Hollywood on Wednesday, John Lasseter, the chief creative office at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, said that Winfrey will play the character of Eudora, the mother of the main character Princess Tiana, voiced by Anika Noni Rose.

The film, set for release in late 2009, is set in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Winfrey has lent her vocal talents to several other animated and fantasy films in the past: Most recently, she played Judge Bumbleton in "Bee Movie," and she also provided dialogue for Gussy the Goose in the live-action "Charlotte's Web."

Randy Newman has written six new songs for the film, it was also announced. One of the songs, "Down in New Orleans," was performed at the presentation by Dr. John.

On Friday Oprah Winfrey explained her decision not to have Sarah Palin on her show. Despite a public endorsement of Obama off of the show, she has never discussed it on her show. She reminded viewers that she has always said she would not use her show as a platform, and that the last time she interviewed Obama on air was 2006, before he declared himself as a candidate for president.

On a panel that was discussing current world events, Oprah chatted with best friend Gayle King, Ali Wentworth (tv personality and wife of George Stephanopoulos) and Mark Consuelos (an actor married to Kelly Ripa) and pointedly said they would not be discussing the election.

Oprah also says how, after Michelle Obama's DNC speech, she was encouraged by staff to invite her on the show. She refused. Oprah also agreed that if she had conducted the same interview as Katie Couric, she would have been hammered.

Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils

World No. 20 Tsonga hit 13 aces and won 81 per cent of service points to beat No. 8 seed Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-2 in just 61 minutes. The La Rippe, Switzerland resident, who improved to 21-9 on the season, takes his place in a fourth semifinal (or better).

"I was focused and I played very good tennis today."

World No. 30 Monfils earned a gutsy 7-6(6), 6-4 victory over Philipp Petzschner of Germany to take a place in his third ATP semifinal this year.

"It's great to be in the semifinals, it gives me confidence. I'm playing consistently, which makes me feel good."

Photos Getty Images

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Second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who took part in a Thai kick-boxing demonstration on Thursday, will meet eighth-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals. Tsonga has a 1-0 record against Melzer, after the Frenchman won their ATP Masters Series Miami meeting in March. Melzer knocked out last month's Washington finalist Viktor Troicki of Serbia with a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory in 86 minutes. This season's Kitzbuhel finalist (l. to del Potro) improved to 27-22 on the season, while World No. 65 Troicki dropped to a 17-16 mark.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France poses while kickboxing at Impact Arena on day three of the Thailand Open on September 25, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga poses with Thai kickboxing champion Somrak Khamsing.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga gives a kickboxing demostration.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France poses with Thai kickboxing champion Somrak Khamsing.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga gives a kickboxing demostration.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga poses with Thai kickboxing champion Somrak Khamsing.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga poses while kickboxing at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Photos Getty Images

Second-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who finished runner-up at the Australian Open final in January, earned a hard-fought 7-6(9), 3-6, 7-6(1), victory over qualifier Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic Wednesday for a place in the Thailand Open quarterfinals.

The 23-year-old Tsonga booked his place in a fourth ATP quarterfinal (or better) on the season after one hour and 59 minutes. The La Rippe, Swiss resident, hit 21 aces and converted two of four break point opportunities in a service-dominated match. The pair had previously met on the ATP Challenger circuit in Rennes two years ago.

Tsonga, who missed three months of the season due to knee surgery, is currently No. 18 in the ATP 2008 Race to Shanghai. He has a 20-9 record on the season, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic) and two semifinal exits at Adelaide (l. to Nieminen) and Casablanca (l. to Simon). The 25-year-old Dlouhy, who was contesting his third ATP singles event this year, has a 2-4 season record.

Another Frenchman, fourth seed Gael Monfils, who could move into the Top 20 of the ATP 2008 Race to Shanghai if he wins the title this week, knocked out American Robert Kendrick 6-4, 7-6(4) in 75 minutes. Monfils had a 5-7 start going into Roland Garros, before turning his season around by reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal (l. to Federer) at Roland Garros, followed by a semifinal run at Nottingham (l. to Karlovic), a quarterfinal at the Beijing Olympics (l. to Djokovic) and fourth round performance at the US Open (l. to Fish). The 22-year-old improved to 21-13 on the season, while World No. 102 Kendrick dropped to 3-8.