Black Tennis Pros

Watching American Meghann Shaughnessy stand there as returned balls whizzed by her was as painful as a root canal! I can't count the number of times that I yelled, "what the hell are you doing?" I'm still shaking my head wondering who thought that this was a bright idea.

When is the last time that this woman won anything significant? Surely there had to be SOMEBODY else available who is at least seemingly on the upswing. And to make matters worse, she is returning from an injury. Oh good gracious.

Now, I realize that Hopman Cup isn't a tour tournament, but come on! Shaughnessy has lost each of her singles events and barely assisted in the mixed doubles events.

When Serena pulled out at the end of last year, I was definitely disappointed since she and Blake are former title holders and the USA is the defending champion, but I at least thought that someone with an ounce of game would be selected to replace her.

James Blake has literally been a one person Hopman Cup team...I wonder if that's a first, hmmm.

Yet, I continue to torcher myself by watching this madness nightly. Oh well...

Photos Getty Images

The hard charging Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his newly close cropped doo brought the pain to Argentine Agustin Calleri today during the first round of the Australian Open Series at the Brisbane International. Tsonga defeated Calleri 6-2, 7-5.

Post match, after learning that the no. 1 seed, Serbian Novak Djokovic, had been beaten by Latvian Ernests Gulbis, Tsonga wasn't very surprised. “For me it was not really a surprise. He is going to be the man who is going to make a surprise this year,” Tsonga said.

“Every match he played better and better. For me it was not a surprise to see this result.”

As one who seems to have a bit of Djokovic's number, Gulbis should take this compliment from Tsonga to heart.

HONG KONG (AP) — Despite watching some of her biggest rivals hang up their rackets in recent years, five-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams says she still has plenty of goals in tennis.

"I love my job. I love hitting balls, running, jumping, chasing after that ball. I love what I do, so that's what keeps me motivated," the 28-year-old said Tuesday in Hong Kong ahead of a tuneup exhibition tournament for the Australian Open.

While many of her contemporaries, like Belgians Justin Henin and Kim Clijsters, and Switzerland's Martina Hingis have left the WTA Tour, the elder of the two Williams sisters said she's still hungry for more.

Williams has won at Wimbledon five times and the U.S. Open twice, but has had less success at the two other Grand Slams. She reached the final at the French Open in 2002 and the Australian Open in 2003.

"I haven't won the French or the Australian (Opens), although I've come pretty close, so those are definitely on my list," Williams said, adding that reclaiming the No. 1 ranking this year is a realistic goal.

Williams, ranked No. 6, enjoyed a strong season in 2008 with wins at Wimbledon and the season-ending WTA Championship in Doha, Qatar and said she's feeling healthy after a four-week break from tennis.

"Nothing to complain about right now," Williams said.

The American is playing in Hong Kong starting Wednesday in her only preparation for the Australian Open, which begins Jan. 19.

She will captain the Americas squad in a team-format which also features Serbian and world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, Russians Vera Zvonareva and Anna Chakvetadze, Hungarian Agnes Szavay, China's Zheng Jie and India's Sania Mirza.

Williams also said she will sparingly use new WTA Tour rules that allow on-court coaching starting this year.

"I'll probably call the coach if my opponent calls the coach ... I'll be watching to see what she does," she said.

Slovakia stunned defending champions the United States at the Hopman Cup on Monday.

Dominik Hrbaty completed the surprise triumph with a three-set victory over James Blake after Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova had beaten Meghann Shaughnessy in the opening rubber.

Hrbaty and Cibulkova later completed a 3-0 whitewash of the US by winning the mixed doubles 6-4 7-6.

FEEL IT is one part of a global marketing overhaul for the ATP which also includes a full rebrand of the Tour, a new online approach and a global promotional campaign designed to better promote the sport globally and broaden the appeal of men’s professional tennis by making it easier for fans to follow. The changes have been made following two years of extensive and independent, global research of over 20,000 fans at all levels of tennis interest.

From January 2009 the Tour’s name and logo will change to ATP World Tour to reflect the unique, global nature of the men’s professional tennis circuit. In addition the tournament categories will be renamed to reflect the importance of the particular event. There will be three tiers of events:

• ATP World Tour Masters 1000
• ATP World Tour 500
• ATP World Tour 250

The new category names reflect the number of South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings points available to the tournament winner and at a stroke help fans better understand how tournaments relate to each other and to the ranking table.

At the end of the season the world’s top 8 ranked men’s singles players and 8 doubles teams, based on their performance throughout the year, will qualify to compete in the season’s climax - the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. To be held at London’s O2 arena, the event will officially crown the 2009 ATP World Tour Champion and determine the final 2009 player standings.

To support and communicate these exciting changes to players, sponsors, media and fans, the ATP has developed a new, strong and distinctive ATP World Tour approach that will bring all 63 tournaments in 31 countries under one, exciting and accessible overarching brand. The logo, along with the respective tournament category will, for the first time, be included on the net at every ATP World Tour event from early 2009 as an easy way for fans at home to understand the new brand.

Phil Anderton, ATP Chief Marketing Officer, said: “When over 60% of fans tell you that they do not understand how your Tour works, then changes are needed. We are the world’s most global sporting circuit, attracting millions of fans, but it is clear that we can still achieve much more for men’s professional tennis. The marketing strategy announced today will help us to do just that by establishing a new, simplified, tour structure that tells the best story of our global tour: the best players, playing in the best stadia in the best territories at the right time. The ATP World Tour is undergoing huge change from next season, but it is change that will help unlock the huge potential within men’s professional tennis.”

DOUBLES

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
defeated by
Julie Ditty, FRA and Carly Gullickson, USA
6-1, 6-3


SINGLES

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA vs. Agustin Calleri, ARG


DOUBLES

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA and Marc Gicquel, FRA
defeated
Mario Ancic, CRO and Paul Henri Mathieu, FRA
7-5, 4-6 [10/4]


SINGLES

Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Jan Hernych, CZE
6-2, 6-2


DOUBLES

Jeff Coetzee, RSA and Wesley Moodie, RSA
defeated
Igor Andreev, RUS and Jaroslav Levinsky,CZE
6-4, 2-6 [10/1]