Black Tennis Pros

ROME (AP) — Venus Williams needed three sets to win her opening match at the Italian Open on Monday, beating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

"I was OK with the match being a little longer," Williams said. "I just I want to hit balls. In a way it's not too bad to go three sets. "

She appeared to take control of the clay-court match in the first set, firing eight aces and as many winners in 28 minutes.

However, the American's service levels dropped and Safarova started playing her powerful groundstrokes deeper in the second set. Williams was broken in the third game and was unable to break back with Safarova serving out to win the set.

In the deciding set, the fourth-seeded Williams held serve in a crucial third game after saving four break points. She went on to break in the following game, as a forehand by the 22-year-old Czech went wide, and then again to close out the match.

Both players had 22 winners, but Safarova had 33 unforced errors, seven more than Williams.

"We both played aggressive," Williams said. "She's just going for every shot, for the lines."

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(foto Costantini)

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ROME, May 3 (Reuters) - The Williams sisters hope to represent the United States in November's Fed Cup final against Italy after missing the first round and semi-final wins over Argentina and the Czech Republic.

"Serena and I would both love to play," Venus Williams told a news conference on the opening day of the Italian Open in Rome. "We talked about it and we just have to stay healthy. I really hope we can both play. It'll be great for the U.S."

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American Megan Moulton-Levy has turned her world travels as a professional tennis player into an opportunity to get in some spectacular photography. Recently Megan's tournaments have taken her to the African and European continents. While there she visited various historic sites in Rome, Italy, the Giza Plateau, home to the Great Pyramids of Egypt, and a South African Lion Park among other places.

The former College of William and Mary student's photographic documentation of her travels is just incredible. When I asked her for permission to share some of the photos she said, "I really had a blast taking these pictures. I think photography will be my next profession after tennis!" When you look at the photos, you'll understand why that might be a future option. This is but a very few of the photos, it was so difficult to pick those to post, but you get the total gist of her trip as you view them.

Megan is now off to Romania, it must be nice.

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Former tennis professional Bill Davis has given me the true pleasure of sharing his wonderfully inspirational personal story. He very eloquently voices his experience in tennis and the relevance that it has had throughout his life.

I'm sure you will find that the strength, integrity and spirit contained within are well worth the read.

I grew up in Harlem, which was an unlikely place to find a private Black tennis club. In 1940 at the age of ten, while walking past the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club at 149th street and Convent Avenue, a voice in the doorway said, "Hey kid, want to run balls for this match?". My answer was an immediate "Yes", for I had always wanted to see what was on the other side of that fence. It so happens that the American Tennis Association (ATA) was conducting their annual National Championships at the club. Once inside, it was like Alice In Wonderland to me. They had a club house, five red clay courts and a junior program. That's the day I fell in love with the world of tennis.

As I ran around the court picking up the balls, I noticed that the players would shake hands at the end of the match, even though they had been fierce competitors a moment before. I understood later that good competition and sportsmanship was not just about who won and who lost, but also had to do with the quality and determination of how each played the game. Did they give it their all and play near their full potential? Were their calls honest, even on important points? Did they learn something about themselves as well as their game? This would be only the first of many lessons tennis, and it’s environment would teach me. Finding the answers to these questions would be an invaluable lesson in the years to come.

My eagerness and desire to learn the game eventually earned me a membership in the club. As I got to know the members, many of whom I considered the Black middle-class of the day, and listened in on their conversations, their words and stories, indicated that there were no short cuts to success, either in tennis or in life. They talked of the importance of getting a good education if you wanted a job with a career. They said that tennis was a game for honest people because you had to continually execute the basic techniques of the game, such as watching the ball on contact or making sure you completed your follow-through on your ground strokes. Respect for those who came before you also was essential, they said, because they had both seniority and experience over you. I over-heard them say that discipline came from hard work and diligence, and that with each act you perform you are putting your own signature on it. As I look back now, I realize that a blueprint for living was beginning to take shape in my mind.

As my game improved I became aware that tennis was not only a game of sets and matches, but in reality a game of points, with each point having it's own scenario and meaning. Although speed and strength may have its own merits, competitive tennis is at least 50% mental. Fortunately, for me many of my matches were to be won on my ability to concentrate for the entire time it took for the match. A fire-cracker could go off next to the courts and it wouldn't bother me. But my biggest mental weapon however, was my determination to win. Being down a set just made me more determined to hang in. Later on I would find this attitude indispensable in the world of business for too many people limit their challenges instead of challenging their limits .

As a result of my accomplishments in tennis I got a scholarship to Tennessee State University, where I had to manage the dual roles of athlete and student. Remembering the sage words of getting a good education in order to get a meaningful job, I managed to graduate with a 3.5 average, and in 1955 get selected to "Who's Who In American Colleges and Universities". The experience of traveling, both for the team and on my own after graduation, gave me a special kind of enrichment.

Fortunately, tennis took me all over the world. From the ATA Championships in Wilberforce, Ohio where I was fortunate to win it’s Championships a grand total of 11 times, to the US Grass Court Championships at Forest Hills, the All Bermuda Tournament, Wimbledon, and the British Hard Court Championships in England, the German Nationals in Wolfsberg Germany where they made the Volkswagon car. Tennis became my passion, and opened up the whole world to me. There's no experience like seeing different lands and meeting people of diverse backgrounds and cultures. Tennis taught me never to change a winning game, and experiencing people of diverse backgrounds taught me what a great value there is in respecting each other's differences. After all, where would the world be if we all thought or acted alike?

The long arms of tennis once again caressed me when a tennis contact of mine arranged a job interview for me with IBM. I would stay with them for the next 27 years as a systems engineer and education producer. After an early retirement from IBM, I was fortunate enough to be appointed an Assistant Commissioner in the NYC Parks Department during the Dinkins administration. As you can see so many of the lessons and contacts that I received from tennis transcended into the world of business. The matches I won because I refused to give up, or the patience to focus for an entire match had all prepared me for this other competitive world. Patricia, my beautiful and loving wife, who I had met earlier in my tennis days at a tournament in New Haven, but didn’t meet again for some 30 plus years, was another wonderful blessing of tennis. That's why I feel so strongly that the many experiences, lessons, and contacts we encounter in sports can go a long way in filling out that blueprint called life.

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WASHINGTON, DC – The Kastles, who will be coached by Murphy Jensen, drafted Leander Paes, Angela Haynes, Coco Vandeweghe and Scott “Boom Boom” Oudsema during the league’s Roster Draft in Miami.

The four players will join Serena Williams, who is returning for her second season as a Washington Kastle. Williams makes her only home appearance for the Kastles on July 14 against the Newport Beach Breakers.

With their second pick in the draft, the Kastles selected Haynes, hailing from Compton, California, and previously ranked in the world’s top 100 in both singles and doubles competition.

She is currently ranked 137 in singles and 112 in doubles in the world.

Haynes reached the third round of the BNP Paribas tournament at Indian Wells in March 2009, and won the 2007 ITF Hilton Head championship.

Washington Kastles owner Mark Ein said, “We have a great schedule of world-class tennis stars coming to the nation’s capital this July and we can’t wait for the season to begin. We are grateful for the amazing fan support last year and for all the anticipation about the upcoming season.”

With the fourth overall pick, the Washington Kastles selected Paes, the world’s fifth-ranked doubles player and an eight-time Grand Slam champion.

Battling against the Kastles in DC this season are Venus Williams of the Philadelphia Freedoms (July 7), Anna Kournikova of the St. Louis Aces (July 8) and John McEnroe of the New York Sportimes (July 16). The July 7 match marks Venus Williams’ DC tennis debut.

The full schedule and more information about the Kastles and World Team Tennis can be found at www.washingtonkastles.com.

The Washington Kastles begin their second season of Advanta World TeamTennis (WTT) in July 2009. The Kastles, owned by Ein, a local entrepreneur, will be led by 10-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams.

The 34^th season of World Team Tennis, founded in 1974 by tennis legend Billie Jean King, runs from July 2-26 and concludes with the Advanta WTT Championship Weekend.

Throughout the season, the Kastles will actively work with local charities and community organizations to share the mission of WTT and bring the game of tennis to the broader community.

For more information about the Kastles or to purchase tickets, visit www.washingtonkastles.com or call 202-4TENNIS/483-6647.

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FINAL RESULTS: Advanta WTT Roster Draft – March 31 – Miami, Florida


Round 1

New York Buzz - Sloane Stephens

Round 2

Washington Kastles - Angela Haynes

Boston Lobsters - Stephanie Foretz

Round 3

Philadelphia Freedoms - Madison Keys

(Joins Venus Williams)

Kansas City Explorers - Milagros Sequera

New york Buzz - Evan King

Round 4

Springfield Lasers - Raven Klaasen

Boston Lobsters - Raquel Kops-Jones (protection)

About Advanta WTT Pro League:

WTT is well known for introducing innovative elements to tennis including instant replay, co-ed format, multi-colored courts, cumulative and no-ad scoring, on-court coaching, Supertiebreakers and player names on back of their shirts.

Team matches consist of five events, with one set each of men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. The first team to reach five games wins each set. A nine-point tiebreaker is played if a set reaches four-all. One point is awarded for each game won. If necessary, Overtime and a Supertiebreaker are played to determine the winner of the match.

Advanta is the title sponsor of the Advanta WTT Pro League and the official business credit card of WTT. Official Advanta WTT Pro League sponsors for the 2009 season include FirmGreen Energy, GEICO and Wilson Racquet Sports.

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The 2009 French Open isn't until the end of May, but qualifying has officially begun in Boca Raton this week.

Eight U.S. men and 11 women are competing for a wild card spot into the main draw as part of a reciprocal agreement with the French tennis federation in which two Americans get slots at Roland Garros and two French players get spots in the U.S. Open.

Jesse Levine, a 21-year-old from Boca Raton, is giving his friends and family plenty to cheer about as he reached Thursday's final against top seed John Isner. Levine, the No. 2 seed, beat Donald Young 6-1, 6-3 in Wednesday's semifinal and Isner knocked out Scoville Jenkins 6-3, 7-6 (7-1). The matches are being played on the clay at the Boca West Country Club.

Levine reached the final of this playoff last year before losing to Weston's Wayne Odesnik. He is determined to clinch the spot this time around, but realizes it won't be easy against 6-9 Isner, who is ranked 17 spots ahead of Levine at No. 113. The two players are friends off the court and know each other's games well, dating to their college days.

Levine played one season for the University of Florida in the spring of 2007 and snapped Isner's 46-match winning streak at the University of Georgia. They have played three times since turning pro, and Levine leads 2-1. Isner won their last meeting. Both players plan to compete at the French Open regardless of the result of the playoff match, but one will have the advantage of a main draw spot while the other has to go through the qualifying rounds there.

''John's serve is unbelievable,'' Levine said. ``He could have games where he serves four aces, so you have to focus on the things you can control against him. I'm very excited because I've played main draw of the three other Slams, but never made it at the French.''

The other four men who competed for the men's wild card were Evan King, 17, of Chicago; Michael McClune, 19, of Irvine, Calif.; Nathan Pasha, 16, of Atlanta, and Rhyne Williams, 18, of Knoxville, Tenn.

Eleven women are vying for a wild card: Kristie Ahn, 16, of Upper Saddle River, N.J.; Gail Brodsky, 17, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Beatrice Capra, 17, of Ellicott City, Md.; Lauren Embree, 18, of Marco Island; Nicole Gibbs, 16, of Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Madison Keys, 14, of Boca Raton; Christine McHale, 16, of Englewood Cliffs, N.J.; Asia Muhammad, 18, of Henderson, Nev.; Sloane Stephens, 16, of Fresno, Calif.; Stacey Tan, 17, of Lakewood, Calif., and CoCo Vandeweghe, 17, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

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