Black Tennis Pros

Bob and Mike Bryan became the first team to win at least 10 titles in a season since 1996 - when Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde captured 12 titles – at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors on Sunday.

The top-seeded Americans overwhelmed the first-time pairing of James Blake and Mark Knowles 6-1, 6-1 in just 43 minutes.

It was their third title in Basel, following victories in 2002 (d. Knowles-Nestor) and 2004 (d. Arnold Ker-Hood).

The Bryans didn’t allow their opponents any chance to establish themselves in the final. The pair ran through the first set in 21 minutes, with breaks of serve in the fourth and sixth games.

It was a similar story in the second set, as Blake and Knowles dropped their serve in the first, fifth and seventh games. The Bryans won all 12-service points in the second set - and 28 of 35 points overall.

The Stanford ATP Doubles Race winners have a 72-9-season record, which includes titles at the Australian Open, Las Vegas, Houston, Los Angeles, Washington and ATP Masters Series events in Miami, Monte-Carlo, Hamburg and Madrid.

The Bryan brothers are at No. 5 among all-time doubles title leaders with 43 trophies, after Woodbridge/Woodforde (61), Peter Fleming/John McEnroe and Bob Hewitt/Frew McMillan (57) and Sergio Casal/Emilio Sanchez (44).

Blake drops to 5-2 lifetime in ATP doubles finals, while Knowles falls to 46-34 in title-matches.

The Bryans earned the first prize of €45,750, while Blake and Knowles split €26,900 in prize money.

Source - ATP

Technorati Tags: Sports Tennis James Blake
Mark Knowles Bob BryanMike Bryan
Davidoff Swiss Indoors Doubles

A small bit of food for the soul this Sunday morning while you're making your blog rounds:

"The third spiritual law of success is the Law of Karma. "Karma" is both action and the consequence of that action; it is cause and effect simultaneously, because every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. There is nothing unfamiliar about the Law of Karma. Everyone has heard the expression, "What you sow is what you reap." Obviously, if you want to create happiness in our lives, we must learn to sow the seeds of happiness. Therefore, karma implies the action of conscious choice-making."

Deepak Chopra
"The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success"
A Practical Guide to The Fulfillment of Your Dreams


Joy Walk

One of the best ways to practice daily affirmations is to incorporate them into a joy walk. As you enjoy the outdoors and observe nature, you can insert some words or phrases of affirmation. Feel joy as you say them.

After you have enjoyed the silence of the outdoors, begin to chant your new words and phrases of joy. A melody may come to mind. Sing it to yourself if others are around. Put your intense desires and highest spiritual needs to the melody. Time it in rhythm to your step!

You will want to sing your joy walk song during your walk, when you are driving, or when you are at home. After the song becomes automatic, your unconscious will be ready to help manifest that which you desire.

Mary Dean Atwood
"Spirit Healing"
How To Make Your Life Work

Technorati Tags: Spirituality Sunday Sunrise Sustenance

Tennis phenomenon Venus Williams stood at the front of First Presbyterian Church on Tuesday before a full house.

The four-time Wimbledon winner and Olympic gold medalist was stylishly dressed in a crisp white shirt and new tan boots that added a few inches to her already tall 6-foot-2 inch frame.

"I've got my heels on today," she joked as she towered over the podium's microphone. "So I think that makes me about 6-4."

Williams' demeanor remained light throughout her speech as she interwove stories of her family life and career conversationally for the audience composed of mostly women, with a few dozen men peppered into the crowd.

Williams was the 11th speaker to visit Mary Baldwin through the Smyth Leadership Lecture Series, founded by Mary Baldwin College trustee H. Gordon Smyth and his wife Mary Beth Reed Smyth, a 1947 graduate of the college. The series was created to provide Mary Baldwin students and the community with access to inspirational female leaders.

Type rest of the post here"Eleven is a lucky number for me," said Williams. It is the name of her new clothing line, EleVen by Venus Williams, set to debut on Nov. 15 at Steve & Barry's. It is also a part of the name of a band she loved growing up: 311.

"I eventually grew out of that," she said, smiling.

J.K. Bailey was one of the men in the crowd. He had come to the lecture with his daughter who attends Mary Baldwin.

"With so many athletes today taking hits on their personal lives, it's good to see someone with a positive attitude," Bailey said.

Attitude, said Williams, is everything.

"In life you have to know that you're a winner," she said. "Take that with you — really nurture it and go for the win."

Williams spoke at length about her upbringing in Compton, Calif., and on the family dynamics she says shaped her into the woman she is today.

She recalled the daily practice sessions she and younger sister Serena would work through with their father, crediting the hard work she put in as a youth and the encouragement from her family for her success today.

"We worked very hard," she said. "It definitely is a lot of hard work and dedication to do what you want. It isn't easy."

Williams advised the young audience members of the crowd to make a list of goals and stick to them.

"If you don't have a plan, how do you know where you're going?" she asked. "It's important to identify your dreams and for after them. And once you see your dream is a reality — go for more."

Mary Baldwin alumna Courtney Martin Jackson sat with her daughter Madeline, 6, and friends April St. John and her daughter Dara, 6.

Dara held a tennis racket, zipped inside a case depicting Venus and Serena on the front. She also held a bunch of flowers she and Madeline planned to give to Williams after the lecture.

"I try to hit the ball hard and beat my mom," said Dara, who has been playing tennis for a year.

"She's very serious about this," said St. John.

St. John said the two of them love to watch the matches and that she brought her daughter to see the tennis star because she wanted Dara to see what determination and hard work can do, she said.

"It's about being able to dominate in a field where you're expected not to," she said.

Williams touched upon that very same concept in her speech. "It's important to live life on your own terms and not how someone sees you," she said.

"We all have the same heart and it all beats the same way."

Source - The News Leader

Technorati Tags: Sports Tennis Venus Williams

James Blake and Mark Knowles needed an astonishing 13 match points before finally upsetting second seeds Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett 7-5, 6-7(5), 12-10 (Match TB) in the semifinals of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel. In Sunday's final they will play top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan.

In the second set Blake and Knowles squandered three match points at 5-4 and two more at 6-5. In the third set Match TB they had six consecutive match points at 9-3 and another at 10-9 before converting their 13th at 11-10.

"Today was a fantastic, thrilling match," Knowles said. "We had a lot of match points early and it took us a long time to close it out but I think that's a credit to how good the other guys are under pressure.

"I've been playing for so long I figured that I'd seen everything. But that's definitely the most match points I've ever taken to close out a match. But the important thing is we won the last one and got the job done.

"I'm having so much fun playing with James and to play the No. 1 team in the world makes for an exciting final.

Source - ATP

Technorati Tags: Sports Tennis James Blake
Mark Knowles Paul HanleyKevin Ullyett
Davidoff Swiss Indoors Doubles

THE BAD NEWS FIRST: Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's winning ways were brought to a halt today by countryman Sebastien Grosjean. Earlier today in a semifinal match in the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, Grosjean defeated Tsonga 6-1, 6-2.

THE GOOD NEWS: Tsonga and Grosjean are teammates in the doubles draw of this same event, and they defeated the doubles pairing of fellow Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Nicolas Mahut 6-2, 6-7(4), 10-4.

Well, Halloween is coming, it's time for weird things.


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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Sebastien GrosjeanDoubles
Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is doing just fine at home. After knocking fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet out of the competition yesterday, Tsonga returned today to further eliminate those in his path. This afternoon Olivier Rochus of Belgium was defeated by Tsonga 6-3, 6-2.

Next up in the quarterfinals for Tsonga will be the winner of the Grosjean, Benneteau Match.

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Tennis
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Olivier Rochus
Richard GasquetGrand Prix de Tennis de Lyon

American James Blake went down in defeat in the singles draw yesterday, but he and teammate Bahamian Mark Knowles are still alive in doubles. Today they defeated the doubles team of Swede Robert Lindstedt and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-4, 7-5.

Next up in the quarterfinals for the duo is Australian Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe.

Technorati Tags: Sports Tennis James Blake
Mark Knowles Robert Lindstedt
Paul HanleyKevin Ullyett
Davidoff Swiss Indoors
Jarkko Nieminen Doubles