Black Tennis Pros

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — Top seed Gael Monfils lost the toss and first two games before unleashing his service power to crush Dominik Hrbaty 6-2, 6-1 and reach the second round of the South African Open on Tuesday.

The 23-year Frenchman ranked 13 in the world was clearly stung by the early form of the veteran Slovak and lost just one of the remaining 13 games at the Montecasino entertainment centre in a leafy, upmarket northern suburb.

It was a floodlit match settled by serving with Monfils outstanding apart from an occasional double-fault blip while 32-year-old Hrbaty battled as his dream start swiftly transformed into a nightmare.

Long before the end of the first round tie the only issue was how long it would take Monfils to wrap up victory and the end came on 53 minutes and 36 seconds via a stinging first serve from the Switzerland-based Frenchman.

"I had a good game and hope to continue this form throughout the week as my ambition is to emulate compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and win the title," said Monfils.

"The altitude was not a big problem as I had two good days of practice and playing at night made it a little easier for me as there was less humidity," he added after a sweltering day in the South African financial capital.

Monfils, born in Paris to Caribbean parents and a huge fan of late American tennis great Arthur Ashe, has a second round date with compatriot Josselin Ouanna, who ousted Israeli Harel Levy in straight sets.

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Round 1

SINGLES

(1)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Dominik Hrbaty, SVK
6-2, 6-1

Josselin Ouanna, FRA defeated Harel Levy, ISR
7-6(4), 6-2

(WC)Raven Klaasen, RSA defeated David Guez, FRA
6-4, 6-3

Dustin Brown, JAM defeated Marco Chiudinelli, SUI
6-4, 3-6, 6-4

DOUBLES

Jeff Coetzee, RSA and Rogier Wassen, NED
defeated by
Raven Klaasen, RSA and Izak Van Der Merwe, RSA
6-4, 2-6 [8/10]


Round 2

SINGLES

Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Josselin Ouanna, FRA
6-4, 7-5

(WC)Raven Klaasen, RSA defeated by Yen-Hsun Lu, TPE
4-6, 5-7

Dustin Brown, JAM defeated Laurent Recouderc, FRA
6-4, 6-4


Round 3

SINGLES

Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Yen-Hsun Lu, TPE
6-1, 6-4

Dustin Brown, JAM defeated by Stephane Robert, FRA
6-7(5), 3-6


Quarterfinal Round

DOUBLES

Raven Klaasen, RSA and Izak Van Der Merwe, RSA
defeated by
Karol Beck, SVK and Harel Levy, ISR
4-6, 6-2 [8/10]


Semifinal Round

SINGLES

Gael Monfils, FRA vs. Feliciano Lopez, ESP


Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Julio Silva, BRA


Round 1

SINGLES

Angela Haynes, USA defeated Laura Siegemund, GER
6-1, 6-2

DOUBLES

(4)Angela Haynes, USA and Alina Jidkova, RUS
defeated
Shuko Aoyama, JPN and Miki Miyamura, JPN
6-4, 7-5

(WC)Brittany Augustine, USA and Courtney B. Dolehide, USA
defeated
Amanda Fink, USA and Elizabeth Lumpkin, USA
6-2, 6-2


Round 2

SINGLES

Angela Haynes, USA defeated Melanie South, GBR
6-2, 6-3


Quarterfinal Round

SINGLES

Angela Haynes, USA defeated by Tadeja Majeric, SLO
7-5, 2-6, 4-6

DOUBLES

(4)Angela Haynes, USA and Alina Jidkova, RUS
defeated by
Kimberly Couts, USA and Anastasia Pivovarova
4-6, 6-4 [6-10]

(WC)Brittany Augustine, USA and Courtney B. Dolehide, USA
defeated by
Lyudmyla Kichenok, UKR and Nadiya Kichenok, UKR
4-6, 2-6

Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Sloane Stephens, USA
Brittany Augustine, USA


Round 1

SINGLES

(Q)Nicholas Monroe, USA defeated by Ryan Sweeting, USA
1-6, 4-6

Scoville Jenkins, USA defeated by (WC)Michael McClune, USA
3-6, 3-6

DOUBLES

Scoville Jenkins, USA and Jesse Witten, USA
defeated
Alex Kuznetsov, USA and Igor Sijsling, NED
4-6, 6-2 [12/10]


Round 2

DOUBLES

Scoville Jenkins, USA and Jesse Witten, USA
defeated by
Vasek Pospisil, CAN and Adil Shamasdin
wo.


Round 1

SINGLES

Marcus Fugate, USA defeated (Q)Younes Rachidi, MAR
6-2, 6-3

Phillip Simmonds, USA defeated by Eric Nunez, USA
1-6, 2-6

DOUBLES

Marcus Fugate, USA and Gregory Ouellette, USA
vs.
Bye


Round 2

SINGLES

Marcus Fugate, USA defeated by Matej Bocko, SVK
4-6, 2-6


Quarterfinal Round

DOUBLES

Marcus Fugate, USA and Gregory Ouellette, USA
defeated by
Taylor Fogleman, USA and Benjamin Rogers, USA
4-6, 4-6

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World No. 13 Gael Monfils, the top seed at the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg, cast his eyes over South Africa’s 2010 FIFA World Cup preparations in a visit to the Soccer City stadium in Soweto on Monday.

The stadium, originally built in 1987, has been reconstructed into a 94,700 capacity stadium, dubbed the ‘Ring of Fire’ by the locals, that will host the opening and closing games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Monfils, travelled to Soweto via police escort, and was clearly relishing the opportunity to visit the world cup venue, updating his twitter page en route, writing, “I'm going to soccercity (sic) stadium in soweto (sic)”.

Upon arrival at the Stadium, Monfils and his entourage were met by Venue Director, Jacques Grobbelaar, who led the crew on a 45-minute guided tour of the stadium. During the tour, Grobbelaar explained that the venue, only 20 days away from completion, is based upon the iconic African pot known as the calabash.

The stadium is mainly filled with orange seats, but there are also lines of grey seats, representing the road to the FIFA World Cup, the direction towards the other FIFA World Cup venues around South Africa, and two separate lines representing Germany and Brazil, the venues of the 2006 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.Half way through the tour, Monfils and his team ventured down to the 12m Rand (US$1.5m) pitch to see exactly where the dreams of the 32 competing nations will be played out. The pitch is generally off limits to people visiting the stadium, however a special exemption was given to Monfils, who proved that he was just as adept with a football at his feet than with a racquet in his hand.

“I am a big fan of football, but I don’t have a favourite team, I prefer to watch the soccer players as they are so talented,” admitted Monfils. “I used to play football when I was young, but also my dad was a professional soccer player, so I used to play a lot.”

Monfils was clearly impressed with the stadium saying, “It is amazing, it’s gorgeous, its huge, it’s very huge. I have been in the Stade de France in Paris, and I think this one is a little bit bigger, and has an amazing feel. I would love to come back for the World Cup, but it depends on my schedule, I think it is during Wimbledon, but if I can for sure I will do it."

The Frenchman also didn’t miss the opportunity to keep his fans updated by uploading pictures and video from his visit to his Twitter page. Monfils also sent the pictures to members of the French national team boasting that he had beaten them to the stadium, locker room and onto the pitch.

Grobbelar also explained that the stadium was also the venue for Nelson Mandela’s first mass rally after he was released from prison in 1990. With that in mind Monfils headed to the suburb of Orlando West, in Soweto, to Mandela House, the place where Mandela raised his family from 1946 until his imprisonment in 1962.

The two bedroom house, located at 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, Soweto, today stands as a museum aimed at providing an effective and meaningful experience to all visitors about the context of Mandela’s home life and his life as a whole.

The Frenchman was shown around the small house and was clearly moved by the experience.

“When the lady came and explained Nelson Mandela’s life, to know all the little details and where he used to live,” said Monfils, “it’s an amazing experience. It gives you a lot of emotion, and seeing the writing on the wall and the pictures and the gifts people gave him, it was a very good experience for me.”

Reflecting after the visit, Monfils added, “tennis is a sport, but this is history. I do like the Nelson Mandela story and what he came from and what he made, so for me it was one of my biggest experiences in my small life, and I wish maybe one day I will come back with my parents to show them exactly this, because this is very good.”

The last word of course comes via his Twitter page, with Monfils tweeting on the ride back to hotel, “unbelievable experience to visit Nelson Mandela’s house”.

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga provided little more than a sparring session for Roger Federer before the Swiss turns his guns on Andy Murray – and the exciting young Frenchman does not think much of the Scot's chances.

Federer was so totally in control after a brief tussle at the start that the scoreline of 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 disguised his dominance. He outserved Tsonga, he toyed with him from deep and at the net, he found little challenge in any but his few brief attacks in the first set and, generally, left feeling as good about his game as it is possible for the world No1 to feel.

If he played like that in the final, Tsonga was asked, was there anyone who could beat him? "I think ... nobody," he said.

What could Murray do to stop Federer? Longish pause, then: "I don't know, I don't know."

Did he have any advice for Murray, then? "Advice? Be ready to run."

If that is not a depressing report card for Murray as he works out a game plan for Sunday, nothing is. It reflected reality, too.

Federer was, as the Australians say, awesome. And he barely got out of third gear. From the moment he broke Tsonga in the first set the match turned from contest to punishment. Tsonga developed a stitch or some sort of stomach complaint when he found himself stuck deep in the trenches, but Federer was not concerned about the quality of his opponent or his hunger for the fight. This was a result, pure and simple.

"I didn't expect something even close to this kind of scoreline," Federer said. "The crowd was rather on the quiet side towards the end because they were also a bit surprised how fast it went."

The great man was fed a couple of sycophantic lines, and bit. Yes, he agreed, that he might be at "Federer-plus" now. "I'm hitting the ball well. I'm not panicking. Jo is a talented player, with a lot of potential. I'm sure we're going to see much more of him in the future. This is probably the last easy match I have against him.

"[There was] no wasted energy, that's for sure. I was very surprised the way the match went. He's got great potential, but tonight maybe he let his head hang a bit."

What of his motivation, though? With a record 15 grand slam titles to his name, would it be an effort to get himself up for a 16th? "I spent three weeks here," he said, "and I don't want to just give away a match. So, I will make it as hard, as tough as possible, for my opponent. I'm really where I want to be. Being back in a grand slam final is always an amazing thrill for me."

En route, it provided a frisson for Tsonga, one that passed in the blinking of an eye as a genius blurred in front of him. Federer's is in phenomenal shape. He has struggled briefly earlier, but this semi-final fine-tuned his tennis to threatening levels of all-round competence. Murray has his work cut out.

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MELBOURNE — Venus and Serena Williams coasted to their 11th Grand Slam doubles title on Friday when they beat top seeds Cara Black of Zimbabwe and American Liezel Huber to be crowned Australian Open champions.

The American pair won 6-4, 6-3 for their second successive Australian title and their fourth overall in an 86-minute victory over the 2007 winners.

They also won here in 2001 and 2003.

Both pairs had almost identical winning records over the early rounds but the Williams sisters dominated the final, easing to a comfortable win.

However, the actual moment of the victory caught Venus by surprise, as she had not realised it was match point and was taken aback by Serena's sudden unbridled delight.

"I actually didn't know the score and I thought that it was 5-2," she said with a laugh. "I thought, she's really happy about this break.

"I thought, wow, I've never seen her this happy, but I'll go with it."

Serena, who plays Justine Henin in the singles final on Saturday, said their success as a doubles combination made them wish they had teamed up earlier.

"We were talking today about how we wished we had have played more when we were, you know, younger," she said.

"We still feel like we have so much we can win and just stay focused. We just love being out there and we love the competition.

"More than anything, we really have fun, we smile and we enjoy it."

The sisters are now the third most successful women's doubles partnership in the Open Era, after Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver (21 Grand Slam titles), and Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva (14).

They have now won four of the past six Grand Slam doubles titles.

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Press Release

New York, NY, December 2, 2008 – The top women in the world of tennis, including current World No. 1 player Serena Williams, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, 2009 US Open champion Kim Clijsters and 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, will face off in the one-night, single elimination $1.2 million “BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup” at Madison Square Garden on Monday, March 1, 2010.

Limited VIP tickets and additional tickets for $250.00, $125.00, $75.00, $50.00 and $25.00 went on sale TODAY and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.thegarden.com.

“At Madison Square Garden we strive to bring the biggest and best in sports and entertainment under our roof,” said Joel Fisher, executive vice president, MSG Sports. “We are thrilled that these women’s tennis champions will be plying their trade at the second annual BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup, and that our fans will get to witness a great, great night of tennis at The Garden.”

“We are looking forward to an exciting night of tennis with some potential interesting matchups including a rematch of the US Open semifinals between Serena and Kim,” said StarGames president Jerry Solomon, referring to the matches controversial ending. “With the return of great sponsors like BNP Paribas and the growth of our Tennis Night in America partnership with the USTA, the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup is emerging as a night that brings tennis fans around the country together to celebrate the sport. It is certainly a night that tennis fans should have on their annual calendar.”

The “BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup” is the featured element of the national “Tennis Night in America” promotion. Through “Tennis Night in America”, the USTA will continue its efforts to grow youth participation in the sport of tennis. “Tennis Night in America” is among the sports largest ever grass roots initiatives.

The USTA has made this event a major component for its Youth Registration Night, where youth from all over the country can begin signing up for spring and summer league play.

The caliber of players for the event is unparalleled, boasting three of 2009’s Grand Slam tournament winners, including defending champion Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters, who stunned the tennis world with her Cinderella-like U.S. Open victory only two years after retiring from the sport. The grouping also consists of 2009 French Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and seven-time Grand Slam Singles Champion, Venus Williams.

Serena Williams, the current top-ranked women’s player, captured two Grand Slam events this past year winning her 10^th and 11^th singles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She holds an astounding total of 52 titles (35 singles / 17 doubles) at Tour events. Serena, 28, defeated her sister, Venus, in this past summer’s Wimbledon singles’ finals, and the pair teamed up to once again win the doubles tournament.

Venus Williams, a 29-year-old former World No. 1, is currently ranked No. 6 and won the 2008 Wimbledon and Tour Championship titles. The Williams sisters paired up for patriotic pride to capture their second consecutive Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles.

Rounding out the field is defending French Open Champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Russian-born player is currently ranked No. 3 in the world and her Grand Slam title was her first since winning the US Open five years ago.

In this fast-paced no ad scoring format, each participant will compete in a one-set semi-final with the winners advancing to a best of three-set final for the Billie Jean King Cup.

Depending on the draw, which will be announced at a later date, a potential rematch of the 2009 US Open semifinal (Serena Williams vs. Kim Clijsters), Wimbledon finals (Williams vs. Williams) and French Open quarterfinal (Serena vs. Kuznetsova) could take place.

The “BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup” is produced by StarGames in association with Madison Square Garden.

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