Black Tennis Pros

In no less than two weeks, James Blake has secured a spot in yet another US Open Series final. After a fairly grueling match against the determined Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu that came down to a tie-break in the third set, Blake eventually prevailed with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. After Blake and Mathieu swapped sets, it was relatively toe-to-toe in the third. However, the set turned into a bit of a nail biter when Blake served for the match at 5-3 but was broken by Mathieu. Nevertheless, Blake shone through in the tie-break and that's all that matters. He now has an appointment with one of his best buds, Mardy Fish.

So, what's up next in New Haven you ask? Why a Saturday night fish fry of course! I love ya Mardy, but I'll be pulling for Blake tomorrow night.

Two Americans on American soil in a US Open Series final, what a weekend!

Venus just before her appearance on David Letterman.

Unfortunately tennis fans, one of our more exciting Black Tennis Pro's will not be playing in the 2007 US Open. Gael Monfils of France pulled out yesterday with a right hamstring injury. The 20-year old has a lot of US Opens in front of him, but I will miss his great presence at this one. Ce qui sera sera.

It took James Blake a little while to wake up earlier today, nearly to the brink of defeat at the racquet of Agustin Calleri. Blake was a bit sluggish for most of the first two sets of the match, but a bit tension between he and Calleri, his coach and the umpire woke blake up and uh oh. Calleri obviously didn't know good when he had it. At 1 set down and Calleri with three match points,the sleepy Harvard man awakened and once again caught fire moved into a tie-break at the end of the second set. Well it was vitually all over but the shouting at that point. The third set was shear Blake dominance. The final score was 3-6,7-6(2), 6-1.

"I was easily just one first serve away from being out of here and on my way to Flushing Meadows," Blake said. "Now that I'm still in it, I feel great and I feel like I'm kind of lucky to be still at the tournament and still alive." I could have been out of here a while ago," Blake told the crowd following the match. "But I'm excited to be coming back tonight."

During the press conference, when questioned about what was going on between he and Calleri on the court, Blake revealed that he thought that Calleri was receiving coaching from his coach and spoke to the coach about it. He attempted to smooth things out with Calleri at the end of the match but Calleri snatched his racquets, waved his hands, said something and walked off the court. But come on, we know that Blake is guy No. 1, he is definitely not the guy that's going to incite ignorance on the court. Get it together Calleri.

The J-Block was on hand in New Haven today providing big time support for Blake and annoyinig the hell out of Calleri, go for it J-Block!




I'M UP NOW, IT'S ON!: Blake Into Semi-Finals in New Haven

Both James Blake and Fernando Verdasco had tall orders of play today. Due to prior rain delays, they both had two matches to play. The third round and quarter final matches.

The wear and tear of day seems to have taken a greater toll on Verdasco than Blake. Perhaps because Blake rested through much of his first match -- HA! The other key seems to have been Blake winning first serve points. He won the match in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-2. Blake served 6 aces and only 1 double fault.

Blake's next opponent will be Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu. Mathieu beat countryman Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3. He has never played Blake, and knows he will be the underdog.

Not surprisingly, Venus Williams has been signed by Steve & Barry's and has agreed to create 'EleVen', an exclusive range of sports and loungwear for the US retailer. The 120-piece range will include a variety of sneakers, velour tracksuits, fleece jackets, graphic tees, sports socks, bras and accessories. Once again, all items will be priced $20 or less with Venus expected to preview her collection during next week's U.S. Open tournament. To preempt its official launch in November, Steve & Barry's is producing 100 pairs of EleVen court shoes ($14.98) which will be available this Friday from their Manhattan Mall on a first-come, first-serve basis. Steve & Barry’s unveiled EleVen at a promotion today at their Manhattan Mall store in New York, with Williams in attendance. Once launched, the line will have a dedicated EleVen section within Steve & Barry’s locations.

Venus will appear in marketing and make personal appearances; a dedicated web site will link from http://www.steveandbarrys.com/

Based upon the few pieces on display with Venus in the above photo, the line looks rather stylish to me and the price certainly is right. My only concern would be fabrics at such a low price. However, if fabrics are complimentary to the styles and with the low cost, Miss "V" and Steve & Barry's may have a hit on their hands.

The genesis of the brand name "EleVen?" It was selected for two reasons, Venus explained: Her childhood address in Compton, California included 11, plus the number means going beyond the classic "top ten. Eleven can be better than the best."

Venus has been preparing herself for just such a moment. Over time she has attended fashion classes. She's on track to receive a degree from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale at the end of the year. That education has positioned her for the development and vision of EleVen, she said. "It's helped me understand style, color, design history, putting seams in the right place."

In an interview Howard Schacter, Steve & Barry's chief partnerships officer stated, "Venus brings to us an ideal combination of characteristics that we know will result in a grand slam--pun intended. It was about an opportunity to tap into her fashion passion and education and apply it to a line of clothes which will also be affordably priced."

In tonight's match Donald Young went up against world No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko only to be stopped early in the tournament by a score of 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. As is evident though, the Young one put up a valiant fight to try and reach the third round. As a matter of fact, I'm rather impressed. I definitely did not expect this match to go three sets, nor the games to be so close. At 2-3 in the third set, Young broke Davydenko's serve with some beautiful shots, including a drop shot to go up 4-2. Unfortunately Davydenko broke right back. But good show Donald Young!

We all know that it's going to take some time to develop a consistent winning pattern, and that differs player to player (if at all), but the Young one is clearly sending out a message that he is now on the ATP Tour fellas. The apparent difference in the game was Davydenko's first serve percentage which was 66% over Young's 51%.

When asked what this match does for him, Young stated "it obvisously gives me a lot of confidence. It was awesome."



Gael Monfils Edged Out


First up, Gael Monfils. He found out that all the yelling in the world couldn't save him today. Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland defeated Monfils in a straight sets win by a score of 6-4, 7-6. Monfils had a 52% first serve rate, 6 aces and 0 double faults. With the exception of a modest difference in first serve points won, the stats were pretty even. I really wish that I had seen this game because it's difficult to know what the turning point was. Whatever they were, Monfils is out. He's so good. Monfils has really got to work on his consistency. Talk to Blake.

Yesterday's gloomy weather did not dampen the red hot game of James Blake. In pursuit of holding the New Haven title for a second time, he previously won it in 2005, the No. 3 seed followed a very successful week in Cincinnati by continuing his history of perfection over Arnaud Clement of France. In seven meetings Clement has been defeated every time. Blake won by a score of 6-4, 6-2, within which he hit 6 aces, 2 double faults, and had a 57% first serve rate. He also broke Clement's serve 6 times in a match that lasted only 1 hour 15 minutes.

Next up, Blake's third round opponent will be the winner of the match between American Robby Ginepri and Agustin Calleri of Argentina.



Rainy Day Stops Play

The matches to be played by Gael Monfils and Donald Young were washed out by east coast storms. Both are on tap for play today.

In action at the Pilot Pen Tournament today during the day matches will be American Donald Young vs. Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Frenchman Gael Monfils vs. Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland. And in the evening singles match, American James Blake vs. Arnaud Clement of France. Fantastic action, can't wait!