Black Tennis Pros

Read the rest of this post...........

 

Read the rest of this post...........

Philipp Kohlschreiber

Unseeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber upset third-seeded Gael Monfils of France in straight sets Saturday to reach the final of the Gerry Weber Open.

The 49th-ranked Kohlschreiber returned to the Halle final for the first time since losing to Roger Federer in 2008 by cruising past Monfils 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour, 17 minutes.

Monfils, ranked a career-high No. 8 coming into the tournament, had not dropped a single set at the Wimbledon warmup event before running into Kohlschreiber.

In Sunday's final, Kohlschreiber will take on 2007 Gerry Weber champion Tomas Berdych or fellow unseeded German Philipp Petzschner, who were playing later Saturday.

Read the rest of this post...........

James Ward

Frenchman Jo Wilfried Tsonga set up a meeting with Britain's own Andy Murray in the final of the AEGON Championships on Sunday at the Queen's Club when he beat British No. 2 James Ward in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(7).


After Ward failed to convert a couple of break points of his own, Tsonga was able to serve out the set. Even when Ward had a chance to level the match after breaking for a 4-2 lead in the second set, Tsonga broke back to force a tie-break.


Both players had chances in the breaker, but it was Tsonga who came through as Ward missed a passing shot on the Frenchman's second match point.

Read the rest of this post...........

Serena Williams looked relaxed at Eastbourne as she prepared to play her first competitive tennis since winning the Wimbledon crown last year.

Her hair streaked with Wimbledon purple and wearing a striking pair of stripy leggings, Serena and sister Venus brought excitement to a normally sedate tournament on the south coast.

When the sisters compete in the AEGON International next week, it will also be Venus's first competitive tennis since the Australian Open in January.

The pair hit for an hour each on an outside court at Devonshire Park. Venus was up first before then taking pictures of her sister on her phone and signing autographs for the dozen or so people watching.

Serena looked in particularly good form, amazing for someone who had emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from her lung in March.

Both looked in decent physical shape as they were coached by father Richard, though Venus, with a strapped right wrist, took a tumble on the damp grass.

The venue will take some getting used to for the world stars, with the changing rooms' basic facilities in some old squash courts and rain forecast for much of next week.
Eastbourne was alerted about the sisters' participation by a confidential email which arrived in the middle of the night last Saturday.

Read the rest of this post...........

Read the rest of this post...........

A weary Rafa Nadal had his Wimbledon warm-up cut short when he was beaten 6-7 6-4 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Queen's Club championships by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday.

The Spanish world number one, who claimed a record-equalling sixth French Open title on Sunday, looked on course for the semi-final when he took an opening set tiebreak but appeared to run out of steam as fifth seed Tsonga seized control.

A full-length diving volley helped Tsonga earn two break points at 4-4 in the second set and, when Nadal hit long, the match began to slide away in the evening sunshine.
Tsonga broke Wimbledon champion Nadal's serve at the start of the deciding set and for once there was nothing left as he slumped to defeat.

Tsonga will play British wildcard James Ward or fellow Frenchman Adrian Mannarino for a place in Sunday's final.

Read the rest of this post...........

Germany's Dustin Brown

 It was already after 9 p.m. when Gael Monfils took the court for the first time in singles at the 19th Gerry Weber Open. It’s no surprise that the number 3 seed didn’t want to play a long match in his GWO debut. He made it short and sweet, beating his compatriot Florent Serra 6-4, 6-3 in just 57 minutes.

Serra had reached the main field in Halle through qualifiers but could not challenge Monfils’ impressive game, losing his service in the seventh game of the first set. The 24-year-old Monfils did what he wanted to with Serra in their second ATP meeting, breaking him in the first and final games of the second set to take the match. Monfils also beat Serra in Brisbane in 2010, and the world number 8 next faces Croatian Ivan Dodig in the second round. That match will not be played until Thursday as Monfils is playing on Wednesday doubles with Dustin Brown.

Sixth seed Florian Mayer withstood 20 aces from wildcard Dustin Brown to reach the second round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle on Wednesday.

Brown was clinical on serve but simply could not catch his fellow German, who triumphed 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 6-3 in 79 minutes to set up a second-round clash with Lu Yen-Hsun.

Read the rest of this post...........