Candids From Mashona Washington
Monday, April 13, 2009
Fabulous shots from the camera and tour stops of Mashona Washington.
Mashona at the Sky Tower - Auckland, New Zealand.
Mashona's precious pooch Colby, too cute!
Great shot of three hard working women of tennis. Ahsha Rolle, Angela Haynes and Mashona take a break at Jax Beach.
(l-r) Mashona, Raquel Kops-Jones, Ahsha Rolle, MaliVai Washington, Jill Craybas, Shenay Perry, Abigail Spears and Melanie Oudin.Mashona and fellow ladies of tennis pop in on big brother MaliVai Washington (c) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Raquel Kops-Jones, Abigail Spears and Mashona in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.Photos printed with permission of Mashona Washington
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From Semi To Qualify, Angela Haynes Works Hard For The Money
Sunday, April 12, 2009
I'm tired and energized for her!
American Angela Haynes was unable to compete on Saturday for day one of qualifying at the Family Circle Cup, Charleston, South Carolina because she was in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida playing a doubles semifinal match.
Haynes and doubles partner Liga Dekmeijere of Latvia were knocked out of the MPS Group Championships by the team of Sania Mirza and Chia-Jung Chuang 6-4 6-3.
So what does Haynes do next? She make her way to Charleston, South Carolina where she has to play two rounds of qualifying on Sunday, and of course win both, for a potential slot in the main draw.
And damn it, she does it!
Haynes will meet Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round.
American Shenay Perry also prevailed in the qualifying rounds to secure a spot in the main draw. Ahsha Rolle, Danielle Mills, and Mashona Washington were all eliminated.
Photo by Chris Smith
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Have A Happy And Blessed Easter!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Posted by Shelia Labels: Easter, Holiday Email this post
Family Circle Cup Qualifying Underway
Sunday Preview
Seven of the eight qualifier-reserved spots in the Family Circle Cup main draw could potentially go to Americans, as the qualifying wraps up at the $1-million tournament on Sunday.
Melanie Oudin, Abigail Spears, Madison Brengle, Lilia Osterloh, Shenay Perry and Mashona Washington are all one win away from the main draw, having won their first round qualifying matches on Saturday.
In the second round on Sunday the Americans will have their work cut out for them however, with only one of them being the on-paper favorite to win their match: Brengle, seeded No.16 this weekend, plays unseeded Catalina Castano. No.10 seed Oudin faces No.5 seed Anna Tatishvili; No.15 seed Spears faces No.3 seed Betina Jozami; unseeded Osterloh plays No.4 seed Lenka Wienerova; Perry, also unseeded, plays No.9 seed Kristina Kucova; and Washington will play Marie-Eve Pelletier in a battle of unseeded players.
Angela Haynes, the No.2 seed, also has a shot at the main draw, but will have to win two matches in one day, as she and Liga Dekmeijere weren't able to play on Saturday on account of contesting the doubles semifinals in Ponte Vedra Beach. Haynes will play Ekaterina Afinogenova early on Sunday and, should she win that, would then play either No.13 seed Chan Chin-Wei or Dekmeijere in the second round.
QUALIFYING SINGLES
Round 1
Angela Haynes, USA defeated Ekaterina Afinogenova, RUS
6-3, 6-2
Ahsha Rolle, USA defeated by Lenka Wienerova, SVK
2-6, 2-6
Danielle Mills, USA defeated by Melanie Oudin, USA
0-6, 2-6
Mashona Washington, USA defeated Tetiana Luzhanska UKR
6-3, 6-4
Shenay Perry, USA defeated Ekaterina Bychkova, RUS
6-3, 6-3
Round 2
Angela Haynes, USA defeated Chin-Wei Chan TPE
6-2, 6-2
Mashona Washington, USA defeated by Marie-Eve Pelletier, CAN
4-6, 4-6
Shenay Perry, USA defeated Kristina Kucova, SVK
7-5, 6-2
Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open... Soweto Open?
Phillip Muhlwa of Zimbabwe slams a shot against Justin Bower (not pictured) during the Soweto Tennis Open Qualifying Tournament in Soweto on April 11, 2009 at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Complex.
Could the big four international grand slams someday become the big five? The Soweto Open in South Africa certainly would like to make that happen. The famous township, a symbol of the anti-apartheid fight where Nelson Mandela lived, has started its own.
Hopefuls Get Chance To Play In Soweto Open
The South African Tennis Association (Sata) has announced a pre-qualifying tournament for the upcoming Soweto Open men's and women's events for players from previously disadvantaged communities.
The tournament will be played at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Complex in Jabavu, Soweto, from April 3-5. Finalists will earn wildcard spots in the qualifying draw of the Open with the losing semi-finalists playing out for third and fourth place.
Following his controversial decision to play in the SA Open at Ellis Park in the 1970's, the legendary Arthur Ashe sponsored the tennis complex in Soweto in order to assist budding young black tennis players.
Sata chief executive Ian Smith said: "This is one way of making sure that the late Arthur's dream becomes a reality. We are calling out to all those interested to register for the event.
| Selection will be in accordance with current national rankings |
To participate, players must be 14 or older. Selection will be in accordance with current national rankings in open and age categories. A R10 fee is payable at the registration desk at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Complex between 8am and 9am on Friday.
The Soweto Open will be the first major international tennis tournament to be staged in South Africa's most populous and renowned township.
For more information on the pre-qualifying tournament contact the South African Tennis Association on 011-442-0500 during office hours.
Soweto Deals Four Wildcards
Three South African tennis players and a Frenchman have been given wildcards into the Soweto Open beginning at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday.
Fabrice Santoro, who was forced to withdraw from the recent SA Open at Montecasino for personal reasons, was keen to make up for that by playing in this event.
However, according to ATP World Tour regulations, a player ranked in the top 50 may not enter directly into a Challenger and has to be given a wildcard in order to participate. Santoro, ranked exactly at number 50, fell into that category.
The three South Africans who have been given direct entry into the tournament are Izak van der Merwe, Raven Klaasen and Andrew Anderson.
Van der Merwe, ranked 271st in the world, narrowly missed out on making the main draw directly. He is a member of the South African Davis Cup team and won both of his matches in the recent 5-0 clean sweep over Macedonia.
Klaasen, ranked 338, reached the second round of the SA Open after beating Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, but then lost to former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-3, 7-5.
Anderson qualified for the SA Open and also went down to Baghdatis, in his case in the opening round.
Fritz Wolmarans, who has been plagued by a string of injuries lately, will need to go through the qualifying process in order to get into the main draw.
"Fritz has not played much due to injury. He needs match practice and playing in the qualifiers will benefit him if he goes through,'' said SA Tennis Association chief executive Ian Smith.
"It is great for us to have a player of Santoro's stature at this event, especially in his final year on the tour.
"It should also benefit Izak, Raven and Andrew to get the chance to improve their rankings at an event in their own country.''
The Soweto Open is the first ATP World Tour tournament to be staged in this sprawling township and is sponsored by the City of Johannesburg.
Entrance is free and the qualifier for the event will be played on Saturday and Sunday.
Photo by Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images
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Serena Williams Withdraws From Family Circle Cup
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Defending champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Family Circle Cup because of an injury to her left leg.
The world's No. 1 player announced in a statement Tuesday that she still plans to attend some tournament events.
Williams said she originally hurt her leg at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka earlier this month.
Azarenka withdrew from the Family Circle Cup on Tuesday because of an injured right shoulder.
Williams' sister Venus and No. 3-ranked Elena Dementieva are among those slated to play in the tournament.
Qualifying play begins Saturday.
Photo by Getty Images
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Bryan, Bryan, Blake and Fish - Sounds Like A Law Firm
No, not a law firm, but a significant doubles match between four Americans.
Top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan survived a match tie-break against close friends James Blake and Mardy Fish before advancing Friday night to the final of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston. The Bryans rallied from a break down in the second set to force a tie-break, but ultimately had to go the distance to close out a 5-7, 7-6(5), 10-4 win after saving six of seven break points.
The Bryans improved to a 25-3 match record on the year and now are one win away from their fourth title of the year and their second title in Houston (2007).
The twins improved to 3-0 lifetime against their countrymen and now will play the first all-American doubles final in Houston since 2004 against Jesse Levine and Ryan Sweeting, who defeated Australians Ashley Fisher and Jordan Kerr 3-6, 6-3, 10-4.
Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/ROCC
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