Black Tennis Pros

American Shenay Perry, a qualifier, upset 15th-seeded Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-1 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina.

At the same tournament, 'can't stop won't stop' American Angela Haynes had her marathon of tennis halted by Russian Alla Kudryavtseva 6-4, 5-7, 6-0.

This is usually not a good thing, but in Haynes' case, the opportunity to rest just might be.

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Newly coiffed Frenchman Gael Monfils may be stylishly ready for summer, but he definitely wasn't ready for the red clay courts of the Masters Series Monte Carlo Tennis Tournament today.

For the man who reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2008, you would never have known that Monfils can find comfort in playing on clay. He appeared to be totally ill at ease with the surface. Additionally, Monfils had both knees taped.

Monfils' opponent, Serb Janko Tipsarevic, appeared to be much more prepared and took Monfils to task. In little more than an hour Tipsarevic defeated Monfils 6-3, 6-1.

With regard to his bandaged knees, Monfils told reporters "No (I was not bothered by the bandages). I'm playing with it and I'm getting used to it,"

"They keep my knees very tight. I have pain when I take them off. In fact, my knees hurt when I climb the stairs."

Well, looks like you've got plenty of time to rest them now.

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(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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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.

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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

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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

"One of the South African Tennis Association's main objectives is to develop tennis players in communities that were previously disadvantaged"

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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