Black Tennis Pros

Awwww man! I was really hoping that the all-American final vibe would also translate to the men's doubles with Bob and Mike Bryan vs. Mardy Fish and James Blake. Unfortunately Canadian Daniel Nestor and Serb Nenad Zimonjic had other plans.

I thought that it was over when Nestor and Zimonjic lost the first two sets to Blake and Fish. However, as the night began to fall, Nestor and Zimonjic held strong through the next three sets and defeated Blake and Fish 5-7, 3-6, 6-2, 7⁷-6³, 10-8.

Nice run though!

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Seeded seventh in the Wimbledon Girls Juniors, sixteen-year old American Sloane Stephens was stopped in the quarterfinals today as she was defeated by the girls no. 1 seed Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-1, 6-0.

Post match Stephens said, "she was serving, really big, she made a lot, a lot of first serves, and she was playing really, really well."

“I think she’s gonna win the tournament because there’s no one else that can really challenge her in any way.”

“No one can really hit the ball back, like at her pace, I don’t think she’ll have any more trouble the rest of the tournament. I think she’ll win it pretty easily.”

“From the first game, she was playing, she was after me for sure, she hit her serves, she was serving like 120-125 the whole match.”

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What can you say? What is there to be said?

Americans Venus and Serena Williams epitomize the ability to persevere. These ladies are just something else!

Up first today Serena had a literal battle of wills against Russian Elena Dementieva. Of course if you're going will power to will power against Serena, you're pretty much going to lose. Nonetheless, Dementieva came to play. Dementieva served like I have never seen her serve before. We all know that she has one hell of a fierce ground game, and that alone has given Serena headaches previously, but to add a good service game to that presents a different equation.

In a toe-to-toe battle in which Serena had to save a match point, the ladies put on a war of a ground game that could not have been scripted... with Dementieva actually having the upper hand for a large part of the three-set match.

Yet it had to end, and after 2 hours and 48 minutes Serena finally edged Dementieva out 6⁴-7⁷, 7-5, 8-6.

At the end Serena said, “Elena played so well. We gave the crowd a wonderful match.”

“The more we play, the better it gets. When we play our match on Saturday, you know, it’s for everything. This is what we dreamed of when we were growing up in Compton 20-something years ago. So, you know, this is what we worked for, and this is what we want. Like I wanted her to win today, and she wanted me to win today. It’s all come down to this.”

And Then Came Venus

Not so much drama between Venus and Russian Dinara Safina... more like pure ugliness. Venus put her foot on the gas and did not stop until she reached the finish line. The match looked like Venus was on automatic pilot.

In 51 minutes Venus just demolished Safina 6-1, 6-0.

Afterwards Venus said, “I was out there and really able to stay focused; I have so much experience on this court.”

To say the least...

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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — James Blake is joining Andy Roddick and the Bryan brothers on the U.S. Davis Cup team that will play Croatia in next month's quarterfinals.

U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe has picked Blake over Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish.

Blake lost in the first round at Wimbledon last week. Fish reached the third round, Querrey the second.

This is the 12th time in the last 13 Davis Cup contests that McEnroe is using the same quartet of players.

The best-of-five quarterfinal will be July 10-12 on an indoor clay court in Porec, Croatia.

Croatia has beaten the U.S. both times the countries have played in Davis Cup — the only country that has a winning record against the Americans.

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I apologize for the delays in accessing Black Tennis Pro's. My file hosts server is down. Hope to be running smoothly soon.

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(CNN) -- Entertainer Michael Jackson has died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, according to multiple reports including the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. CNN has not confirmed his death.

Jackson, 50, had been in a coma at the hospital, sources told CNN.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he was told by brother Randy Jackson that Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles, California, Thursday morning.

Family members were told of the situation and were either at the hospital or en route, Oxman said.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m.

Ruda said Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center.

Asked specifics of the patient's condition, he said he could not discuss them because of federal privacy laws.

The music icon from Gary, Indiana, is known as the "King of Pop." Jackson had many No. 1 hits and his "Thriller" is the best-selling album of all time. Video Jackson "as big as it gets" »

Jackson is the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family. He has three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying.

A large crowd was also gathering outside the hospital, according to video footage.

Outside Jackson's Bel Air home, police arrived on motorcycles. The road in front of the home was closed in an attempt to hold traffic back, but several people were gathered outside the home.

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WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Five-time champion Venus Williams recovered from an early stumble in her opening match at Wimbledon on Tuesday to beat Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland 6-3, 6-2.

It was Williams' first appearance on Centre Court since the 2008 final, when she beat sister Serena for her second Wimbledon title in a row.

Venus slipped five points into the match, one of several wobbly moments as she began her bid for a three-peat. She double-faulted in the opening game and had to erase two break points. She was passed the first two times she reached the net. She slipped and nearly fell a second time.

Then Williams found her footing, winning 14 consecutive points to help her take a 5-1 lead. She had another spurt in the second set after losing serve for 2-all, and swept the final four games.

Williams improved to 51-4 at the All England Club since 2000, when she won the title for the first time. She's seeded third but is the tournament favorite with London bookmakers.

The new retractable roof again worked as a deterrent for rain, with dry weather for a second successive day. Play began on a cloudless afternoon, prompting an official on the club's public-address system to urge that fans use sun block.

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