Black Tennis Pros

By Kelly Carter, special for USA TODAY

Venus Williams, the two-time defending Wimbledon singles champion and reigning doubles champ, begins her quest for her sixth Wimbledon singles trophy and eighth Grand Slam singles title when the tournament gets underway June 22 at the All England Club. The world's third-ranked player circles the globe on an annual basis and shares her travel highlights and tips with USA TODAY.

Q: Where have you been recently that you liked or were surprised by?

A: I went to the (Florida) Keys to Little Palm Island. It's really quiet and there are no TVs so you really have to have your books ready. And you have to be ready to get into the water. It was cool. I did two dives there. I'm now a scuba diver. I had been taking classes but I never got a chance to dive. I've never gone on vacation before. Since I travel so much, I really just want to be at home.

Q: What's the best place you've ever visited?

A: The best place is when I go to the Olympics. I went to Sydney, Athens and Beijing. Those are the best times. The whole city is magical. Everybody is happy and really enjoying the city. Olympics transform a city. I don't have a chance to see much. In Athens I had just one or two days. I went to the Plaka and to see the Acropolis, which for me was probably one of the most impressive things I've seen. In Beijing the Bird's Nest was just awesome. Those two were my most impressive sights — and St. Basil's church in Moscow.

When I lost early in Moscow I went to Crete (in Greece). It was really cool. There are so many things you can see there like the ruins. I stayed at the Blue Palace and it was fantastic — plus they have tennis courts. Little did they know my dog was staying there too. He's a Havanese and his name is Harold. He's so quiet and I took him everywhere I went. I was fighting for him too. They were telling me I couldn't take him on the airplane. I paid them some money.

Q: What's the most surprising/unexpected place you're ever visited?

A: Slovenia. It's really beautiful. I went to Portoroz. It's right by the Italian border and really pretty. Every day I took walks. It's so strange when you go to these places. I'm walking down the street and people are honking their horns. I'm like, "I didn't think anybody cared about me in this part of the world" but they do. It was pretty funny. I was actually there playing but I only played on the weekends. During the week I went shopping and took walks. There's not a ton to see there but it's a nice seaside town that is really pretty and relaxed.

Q: What's your favorite vacation spot?

A: I like Kauai. I went there after the Keys on a fitness vacation. It was me, my two sisters, Lyndrea and Isha, and my mom. We did yoga in the morning and mat pilates then we went on hikes and went to the beach. We had the chef cook us meals. It was great that my family was there.

Q: Can you offer an insider tip or recommendation for your favorite vacation place?

A: Stay at the Acapulco Princess in Acapulco. I went this year but I was playing. It was really nice and really pretty. You're so happy every morning when you wake up. I was actually lying in bed and I thought, I need a vacation. And then I realized I'm in Acapulco. Everybody else is vacationing except for me.

In Hawaii I would recommend, if you can, to rent a house. And I would recommend going see the Waimea Canyon.

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LONDON (AP) — Andy Murray defeated James Blake 7-5, 6-4 Sunday to win the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club for his first grass-court title.

The top-seeded Murray became the first British player to win the tournament since Bunny Austin in 1938, who then went on to become the last Briton to reach the Wimbledon final.

"I was quite nervous," Murray said. "People were telling me that no (Briton) had won here for 70-odd years so that got the nerves going, especially when I was serving for the match."

Murray took an early lead with a break in the third game, but Blake immediately evened it with a forehand winner down the line. Both players then easily held serve until 5-5, when Blake missed a forehand on break point.



The second set was equally competitive until Murray broke for a decisive 4-3 lead when a fierce return forced Blake to net a backhand volley.

"I didn't quite know what to expect, but this is some of the best tennis I've played in my life," said Murray, who did not drop a set all week. "I'm a long way from winning Wimbledon, but I feel confident. I'll try and not get too far ahead of myself and focus on my first match there, but if I play my best like I did this week, I've got a chance."

Blake said he was beaten by a better player, but that he was pleased with preparation for Wimbledon, which starts June 22.

"I had a good week," Blake said. "Playing on the grass, I always have a lot of fun playing here. I feel great. I've been working with my coach and trainer, and I know I'm doing the best preparation possible for Wimbledon. I'll be ready to play and feel great about my chances."


It was Murray's fourth title of the year, following victories in Doha, Rotterdam and Miami.

The sixth-seeded Blake was playing his third grass-court final, after finishing runner-up here in 2006 to Lleyton Hewitt and losing the Newport final in 2002 to Taylor Dent. He was seeking his first title since August 2007.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal pulled out of the tournament to rest his knees ahead of Wimbledon.





On day seven of the AEGON Classic at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, England, Zimbabwean Cara Black and American Liezel Huber, the top seeds and No.1 pair in the world, won the doubles title in Edgbaston on Sunday afternoon.

Black and Huber retained the title they won together last year by defeating American No.4 seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-1 6-4 in under an hour.

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EL PASO -- Canadian Valerie Tetreault defeated American Mashona Washington 6-4, 6-3 on a hot, still Sunday morning to take home the title for the $25,000 Hunt Communities USTA Women's Pro Tennis Classic at Tennis West Sports and Racquet Club.

Washington, the 33-year-old from Houston, played well all week and played well Sunday morning. The first set was a wonderful duel with both players making special shots. Tetreault broke Washington at love with the set at 2-all and that one break was all it took. Tetreault, leading 5-3, had a set point but Washington stared it down with a pair of strong forehands and an ace out wide, cutting the lead to 5-4 and forcing Tetreault to serve out the set.

The 33-year-old Washington, who is trying to work her way toward the top again after a serious knee injury, said, "I just don't know if I was mentally ready in the beginning. I was kind of all over the place. She definitely made her shots. She played well. But it was a good tournament for me. It's been a while since I put a string of matches together. Obviously, I would have loved to have won but this was a good result for both of us. I think we both have a lot more tennis ahead of us this summer."

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American James Blake advanced to the championship match of the AEGON Championships at the Queen's Club in London when fellow American Andy Roddick retired from the match at 4-4 in the first set because of an ankle injury.

When asked about Roddick's injury Blake said, "I think he was hurt before, I saw him pull up."

"It was unfortunate, but Andy is such a great player and he doesn't want to endanger the injury anymore. He normally moves so well and you could tell this wasn't the same Andy Roddick."

For the title Blake will play Britain's Andy Murray. To a lot of crowd laughter and clapping Blake said, "I realize that the crowd probably won't be behind me, but I have to remind you that I'm half British."

When asked if he would ever consider a change Blake said, "I've been asked about that but they (Americans) have been so good to me, I can't turn my back on them."





In women's doubles at the AEGON Classic, Americans Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears defeated Italians Francesca Schiavone and Roberta Vinci to advance to the championship match where they will play Zimbabwe's Cara Black and American Liezel Huber for the title.

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American Mashona Washington will meet Canadian Valerie Tetreault in the championship match at the 2009 Hunt Communities USTA Pro Tennis Classic at the Tennis West Sports and Racquet Club in El Paso, Texas on Sunday.

Washington defeated Australian Monique Adamczak 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinals to reach the final.

"It was a little difficult in the beginning, I didn't have much rhythm and threw in some double faults. She had some double faults on the same side, so maybe it was the side. I sensed a little change in her attitude, in her demeanor. But she was still coming up with big shots. I just told myself, okay, that was just a good shot and not let it bother me, not let it create a domino effect."

She obviously overcame that sentiment.

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Las Vegas, Friday, June 12 -- The first class of graduates from the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy celebrated Friday night with a bold attack on critics of the public charter school, which primarily serves students from low-income areas.

“Some along the way have short-sightedly labeled us as at-risk,” salutatorian Simone Ruffin noted in her speech during Friday night’s commencement. “Well, we are at risk -- at risk of excellence, at risk of success,” she continued, drawing enthusiastic cheers from the audience.

“We are at risk of having a class where 100 percent of the students graduate and go to college,” she said.

The class of 2009 is prepared to do just that as all 34 graduates have been accepted to and plan on attending college in the fall.

The commencement of the first group of high school students is a major milestone for the school, which was founded by tennis legend Andre Agassi to serve what he called an “economically challenged” neighborhood.

“To have 100 percent of your seniors graduating is pretty exciting,” Agassi said in an interview earlier this week.



At Agassi Prep, 26 graduates plan to attend a four-year college next year, while the other eight will go to two-year schools, school officials said.

“Tomorrow we will no longer be the lions of high school, but the cubs of college,” said student body president Alexis Wallace. “But I’m OK with that because I would rather be a cub of college than a high school dropout.”



In his address to students during Friday’s festivities, Agassi emphasized how the students have been a success in what has been an experiment in education. As they move forward, they can look back on their experiences at the school for strength, he said.

“Tell yourself again the story of how you were a pioneer,” Agassi told the students. “How you proved all the naysayers wrong; how you defied the odds and made your parents and teachers and that one old tennis player very, very proud.”

Agassi said the graduation was a heart-wrenching time for those who have been involved with the students.

“It’s emotional … sad, in some respects, but in a good kind of way, like, I guess, watching your child go off to college,” he said. “But soon, summer will be over with and we’ll be back at it again because we’ve got future classes and future lives to look out for.”



The school’s achievement in sending the entire class to college is not the final marker of success, Agassi said.

“My hope for them (the graduates) ultimately is that they … come back home, come back here ideally, but to this community, to this neighborhood, to this city, and make a difference for future generations,” he said. “I think that’s ultimately how we are going to define success.”

Agassi Prep is different than most other county public schools. As a charter school, students are not charged for enrollment. The school receives a $6,530-per-pupil allocation from the state and Agassi’s charitable foundation supplements that with about $6,000 more per student.



With the extra support, the school provides an additional two hours of instruction each school day, plus an extra two weeks of school each year. Students can also choose to participate in after-school activities for free.

Chancellor Marsha Irvin, who came to the school after being a regional superintendent in the School District for eight years, said Agassi Prep has an advantage in preparing students for college because of the help of donors.

“Those kinds of resources and having small classes really does make a difference in terms of helping children identify what is going to be best for them,” she said. “The ratio is a lot smaller than in most schools and that just makes all the difference in the world.”



Thanks to help from donors, every graduate this year received at least one scholarship to help pay for college. All together, the 34 students received more than $257,000 to go toward higher education, the school said.

Agassi said the school has had a positive effect on the surrounding neighborhood.

“I think we’ve seen how this community has safeguarded this school; how they’ve protected it, how they’ve taken ownership of it,” he said. “In an area that’s economically challenged, we haven’t seen crime or graffiti or anything of that nature on this campus, which is a beautiful testament to the human spirit and what happens when people start to have hope in their lives.”



Ben Sayeski, president of the school’s governing board of directors, thanked the students for their help in testing what he called the school’s new model of education. He promised them it would spread to other schools.

“Much of the Agassi Prep model is based upon the fact that resources matter -- that two extra hours a day matter, that two extra weeks per year matter, that after-school opportunities matter,” Sayeski said during the commencement on Friday.

“With every single graduate attending college, you have more than done your part to make the case that resources matter,” he said. “But that’s not where it ends, because we’re going to take that message to the entire state. Every child in this state deserves the resources that you received and the outcomes that you got."

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First off, Frenchman Gael Monfils is going to get some of these guys killed thinking they can fly, lol.

In today's semifinals of the AEGON Championships at the Queens Club in London, American James Blake will face fellow American Andy Roddick. Blake defeated Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (5), 6-3 in 76 minutes in yesterday's quarterfinals.

Despite trailing their head-to-head 2-6, Blake has won his past two meetings with Roddick – including in the Queen’s Club semi-finals three years ago.





On the USTA Pro Circuit at the 2009 Hunt Communities USTA Pro Challenger El Paso, Texas, American Mashona Washington has advanced to the semifinals after defeating Canadian Heidi El Tabakh 6-1, 6-4 in Friday's quarterfinals.

Mashona will play Australian Monique Adamczak for a spot in the final.

At the same event in doubles, Americans Brittany Augustine and Jennifer Elie advanced to the semifinal round where their final hopes were halted by American Christina Fusano and India's Shikha Uberoi. They were defeated 6-3, 6-2.

At the 2009 Recoating West Inc. USTA Men's $15,000 Professional Tennis Tournament in Loomis, California, American Todd Paul, teamed with American Tim Smyczek, also advanced to the semifinal round but was defeated by Americans Austin Krajicek and Conor Pollock 6-1, 6-4.

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