Black Tennis Pros

Celebrate Black History Month And Tennis with Charity Auction to Support Apollo Theater

In honor of Black History Month, Time Warner Cable, HBO and Target have teamed up for a one of a kind charity auction to benefit the historic Apollo Theatre in New York City. Exclusive VIP experiences and signed memorabilia are being auctioned off – with all proceeds benefiting the Apollo Theater Foundation, the non-profit organization helping to preserve and develop the legendary Apollo Theater. This is your chance to gets your hands on two tickets to the tennis event of the year – the Billie Jean King Cup! The upcoming March 2^nd event, which celebrates tennis legend Billie Jean King –will feature Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic for the inaugural BNP Paribas Showdown. Designed to honor King's place in tennis history and promote youth tennis as part of "Tennis Night in America", the Showdown will be broadcast live on HBO. Bid on VIP tickets for two for this tennis extravaganza, which even includes tickets the HBO Sports Sponsored VIP Reception! Can’t make it to the event? No problem, you can bid on two brand-new tennis balls signed by the Williams Sisters themselves, along with a racket signed exclusively by Serena! Check it out at www.ebay.com/supportapollo and show your support for the women of tennis!

VIP Tickets to the Billie Jean King Cup

Serena Williams Signed Tennis Racquet

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Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took it to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez defeating him 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 at the Marseille Open on Friday.

In doing so, Tsonga set up what is sure to be another fabulous match to watch against Serbian Novak Djokovic. Tsonga and Djokovic met four times last year with Tsonga winning three of those matches.

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In a little over two hours and a gripping toe-to-toe battle that ended in a tiebreak, American Venus Williams defeated younger sister Serena 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(3) to move into the final of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

Venus took the match to Serena full force from the very beginning. It looked as if there would be no stopping her... not so. Serena pulled it together in the second set and turned the beat around on Venus, at which time it appeared as if she would run away with the match... again, not so. Both ladies hit the ground running in the third set and it was a pure battle until the tiebreak when Venus took over and took the match. It was time well spent watching.

Post match Venus said "Obviously Serena is number one, but I think we are the best in the world."

I agree with Venus, now I can't wait to hear the dramatic statements that will flow from the commentators mouths in response.

"There are other great players but it would have been better if the two best are in the final. I would definitely be more pleased if it were a final. But I guess I will have to keep working on my ranking," continued Venus.

When asked about the difficulty of playing Serena Venus said, "you know I am always the big sister. I have to stay focused when I am out there. I can't worry too much whether she is okay. She's an unbelievable player. So I have two problems out there."

Before the match, Venus looks like she's hiding a surprise for baby sister.

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At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships both American super sisters Venus and Serena Williams will be slugging it out in the semifinals... against one another.

To set up this semifinal match the sisters first had to get by very able quarterfinal opponents. Serena took out Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4, and Venus knocked out defending champion Russian Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-3.

Of Ivanovic, Serena said, "she was really trying to hit hard. I think her goal was to go for broke. I was feeling a bit tired at the start of the second set, but wasn't too worried about her going 3-0 up as I knew I was just a break down. I knew I could pull it off."

On Dementieva's game Venus said, "she has been playing great this year and she is a great player. She likes to control the match, and I also like doing the same. So, I am pleased that I was able to do that."

With regard to the two of them meeting, Serena said "we are both the best players on the tour right now. Obviously, we both are also playing our best tennis right now, which definitely makes our matches more exciting."

I'm rollin' with Venus for the smackdown!!

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MIDLAND, Mich. -- Ahsha Rolle of Miami Shores, Fla., is seeking to regain the drive and motivation that led her to the third round of the US Open in 2007.

Travel and life on the road as a professional tennis player can be tough, and Rolle admitted during the Dow Corning Tennis Classic in Midland, Mich., that she is in need of a little pick-me-up.

She sat down with USTA.com and talked about her recent play.

USTA.com: You lost in the singles qualifying at Midland. How would you assess your game right now?

Ahsha Rolle: This is my third tournament of the year, and I made the singles and doubles in my first event and lost in the second round at Lutz, Fla. I don’t know. I’m not playing too good right now, and I don’t have much confidence. I don’t know why. It’s such a tough lifestyle. I’m just not feeling very inspired. I had two pretty big injuries last year that kept me off the court for about four months. I’ve just tried to come back and get in shape, but it hasn’t gone so well. It was a very tough year for me. I have to get in better shape and get my confidence up.

USTA.com: Who were some of your role models growing up?

Ahsha Rolle: I liked watching Venus and Serena play. Of course, they were very big role models for me. Lori McNeil, also.

USTA.com: What are your thoughts on February being Black History Month?

Ahsha Rolle: I definitely observe it. You always have to take time and remember the people who paved the way for you. We have a black president now, and that’s something I’m very excited about. It’s a great month.

USTA.com: Talk more about what having a black president of the United States means to you?

Ahsha Rolle: It’s really exciting because as an African-American you tell your kids you can become anything, but there was never a black president, so now you can really tell your kids you can be anything and mean it.

USTA.com: What about the inauguration?

Ahsha Rolle: It was an important day for me. I watched it with my dad. It was just really special -- something I’ll never forget. On election night we were at a tournament, and some of the girls watched it on TV with (USTA supervisor) Bunny (Williams) and (USTA referee) Missy (Malool). It was really nice.

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American James Blake slugged it out with Australian Lleyton Hewitt at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee on Wednesday. After more than two hours, Blake was defeated 6-3, 1-6, 4-6.

‘‘I didn’t take advantage of my chances and he did. In the first set, he didn’t come up with his best on break points. From then on he did. And from then on I didn’t.’’



Frenchman Gael Monfils became the first major upset of the Open 13 in Marseilles, France. Fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu defeated Monfils 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

"It was a rotten game, I didn't play," said Monfils.



At the Barclay's Dubai Tennis Championships American Venus Williams defeated Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6-3, 6-2.

"I made more errors than yesterday," Williams said. "I rushed a little bit in the first set and then realized it in the second and started pulling back a little bit on my shots."



At the same tournament as sister Venus, American Serena Williams defeated China's Jie Zheng for the third straight time 6-4, 6-2.

"I think the intensity was high today, but my first serve could have been better," Williams said. "I had to rely a lot on my second serve. I definitely could do better technically."



Also at the Open 13, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Kazakh Andrey Golubev 7-6 6-2.

"Last year, I lost in the first round to Mario Ancic. This time I'm still alive but I think Golubev lost all by himself because he served for the first set at 6-5 and failed to win important points."

Photos by AP/Getty Images

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(CNN) -- Venus Williams is most often seen wiping perspiration from her brow as she thunders around the court contesting championship tennis matches.

These photos show the world number six in a more reflective mood, posing for a 16-page fashion spread in the Italian edition of Marie Claire.

They were taken in Miami, Florida in December last year by her friend and photographer Koto Bolofo.

"I love working with Koto," Venus told CNN in an interview for "Revealed." "I think he's my biggest fan and he believes in me, I'm not sure why, but he does so I've got to accept that," she laughed.

They planned to shoot 20 outfits in one day, a hectic schedule that included one photo that had been two years in the making.

"I've got it pictured in my mind that she's going to be playing tennis underwater," Bolofo told CNN.

When the sun finally emerged from behind a cloud, Bolofo ordered Venus into her bathers.

"I'm excited it's my first underwater tennis venture, so I feel a little nervous, but I think I'll come through,"

"I want her smiling and making it look as if it's natural and it's not an effort," Bolofo explained. "It's going to be whimsical and fun. That's the fun part of the shoot."

Fashion is an important part of Venus Williams' life. She has her own clothing company, EleVen, which produces tennis outfits and casual clothing.

She sketches ideas, but says she's not the chief designer, by any stretch. "There are other people designing stuff. I couldn't do it on my own," she said, adding, "I don't do technical drawing, I hated it in school. I refuse to do this on the computer. I'd rather just do it by hand."

Venus' status in the ranks of the world's top tennis players gives her a unique position to be able to market her products and she often wears them on court.

Then there's her interior design company; Venus launched V Starr Interiors while still in her early twenties.

Despite her public business interests, Venus told CNN she's not interested in seizing the spotlight for any reason other than as one of the world's best tennis players.

"Fame has never been important to me. My goals have always been to excel in tennis, and to win championships. Fame has never been my focus and I don't really try to grow it at all," she said.

Venus' relaxed attitude has earned her respect beyond the world of tennis. Hip hop star Wyclef Jean released a song in her honor last August called "I'm Ready."

"[It's like] when a painter is inspired," Jean told CNN. "When I'm inspired by an individual I just write a song about them ... I said her name is Venus, ruler of the universe."

Venus was thrilled. "I've got it on my computer, all the different instrumentals, the different versions, the different cuts. I love it," she told CNN.

Venus Williams is back on court this week at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Naturally, she's hoping to win after a disappointing early exit from the Australian Open in January.

While tennis remains her prime obsession, Venus told CNN it's not the most important thing in her life.

"I would say definitely the most important thing in my life is growing spiritually. And doing what God requires of me -- that's always a learning experience day in and day out," she said.

Watch Venus Williams on Revealed this week at the times below:

ALL TIMES GMT
Wednesday, February 18: 0930, 1830
Saturday, February 21: 0830, 1900
Sunday, February 22: 0530, 1830
Monday, February 23: 0400

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In a fast 57 minutes, American Venus Williams polished off her first opponent to begin her run at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. After firing off seven aces and never facing a break point, Venus sent Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova off to consider her next tournament. The win came in at 6-0, 6-1.

Venus is scheduled to play Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in the next round.

Since arriving in Dubai, Venus has been asked about her thoughts on the state of drug testing in tennis, and in particular, whether she thinks the regulation which requires players to make it known where they will be available for one hour of every day places too much of a demand on the players.

Venus said, "if your match goes to one o'clock at night you don't know what's going to happen if you are focusing on recovery for the next day."

"You are not focusing on where you are going to be. You are trying to do what you have to do - even at home. First thing you do is wake up and go to play.

"There are some things in the system which need to be looked at. We want a system which works and then it's fair."

And then there was Serena... yes, she won her match too, but very differently. Serena's first opponent was Italy's Sara Errani who took the first set 4-6. In typical Serena fashion, she regrouped between sets and was then merciless to Errani, defeating her 6-2, 6-0.

When asked how her knee was holding up Serena said, "it held up well. I got off to a slow start ... just trying to get used to the conditions, and I did not really like the ball being used here.

"But I never doubted that I will win. Even when I was 4-0 down in the first set, I told myself I am just two breaks down and I can still win the set."

Therein lies the problem for anyone who stands across the net from Serena.


Photos of Venus and Serena In Dubai

Photos by Getty Images

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