Blake finds new motivation to win

James Blake will be the first to admit that his first round victory at the BB&T Atlanta Open was match that he was supposed to lose. The 32 year old tour veteran out lasted 20 year old Ryan Harrison for a 3 set win that delighted the crowd at the Atlantic Station venue.

 On paper it didn't seem close..Harrison is 20 years old, ranked 43rd and bound for London for the 2012 Olympics. Blake, at 32, has seen his ranking slip out of the top 100 to 110. "I'm starting to play guys who grew up watching me", said a smiling Blake after the match.

Blake is no considered a threat to win ATP titles, but he remains a crowd favorite and on this night he showed that his wisdom, remaining skills and even couple of friendly bounces off the top of the net can result in victory..

Health has been an issue for James, who talked about his knee surgery back in November..He looked to be moving well..His serve was not as crisp as nis fans would remember. That is due to a shoulder injury that he continues to play through..

But after the match he told me about his new inspiration to play good tennis, the recent birth of his daughter. Blake said" This is the first match that I have won since she was born. Tonight her daddy is a winner".

 Great playing "Pops".. You did your baby girl proud...

Questions to be answered in Atlanta

As the courtain goes up on the BB&T Atlanta Open, the questions that come rushing forward seem too numerous to count..First there is a tournament field that includes the top ranked American Mens players in the world, four of which will head back to the All-England Club for the Olympics in two weeks.
  The early commitment from Andy Roddick was big for the image of this event. Roddick won his first career ATP title in Atlanta and remains popular despite a recent drop in rankings. A-Rod is looking to ramp up his game before heading back to England.
  Mardy Fish is two-time defending champion of this event, and after dealing with health matters in the spirng, looks to be ready to go for a threepeat. Fish passed on a spot on the Olympic team and is expected to play at Washington instead. Atlanta will be he most talented field he will face until after the Olympics.
 Then there is John Isner.The UGA alum and two-time runner up here is coming to town on the heels of a strong showing at Newport. A great week in front of a supportive crowd could give him the boosted he needs headed back to the scene of a disappointing early exit at Wimbledon.

 There are still more questions than answers about  players like Ryan Harrison. The first time Olympian is coming off a semi-final run at Newport.. Donald Young is bound for London too, but is in the throws of a 13 match losing streak. Perhaps playing before the home crowd will help he regain the form that made him a hit at the US Open last year. The more interesting story coming to the Atlanta tournament for me has to be Brian Baker, who at this time last year was ranked #752 in the world. The one time junior phenom is now an overnight sensation at age 27 and ranked 76 in the world.Look for a few folks to drive down from Music City to see Baker play in Hotlanta.

 But the biggest question may be the new venue for Atlanta's ATP event. Atlantic Station is a shopping, entertainment and residential development in the heart of the city. It is an idea that is so fresh and outside of the box that some are wondering how the traditional tennis community will treat  it.With over 150 thousand card carrying league tennis players in the metro Atlanta area, this is a city that has long been know for chosing to play rather than watch. Let's see if they will accept and embrace a new approach to professional tennis, not just for Atlanta but for the entire nation. Instead of Tennis Anyone it time to say Tennis Everyone...Enjoy the tournament Ya'll !!!!

College Tennis Coach needs a Player

Hello,

My name is Scott Howard and I am the Head Women's Tennis Coach at Holy Names University in Oakland, CA. I was wondering if you can post something trying to help those junior players that are still searching for a college to attend this fall. Your section might have a player that is still looking at this late date, and Holy Names University is hoping to add one more player for the fall semester.

Scott Howard
Head Women's Tennis Coach
Holy Names University
USPTA Pro 1
Vice President Nor Cal USPTA
Director of Tennis/Golden Gate Park Tennis Academy
(650) 281-3680

Townsend adds Wimbledon title

Stockbridge,Georgia resident Taylor Townsend has added yet another major title to her impressive resume. Today Taylor and Canadian Eugenie Bouchard won the Girls' Doubles Championship at Wimbledon. Townsend and Bouchard downed the team of Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh in straight set scores 6-4, 6-3..It is Townsend's third grand slam title for 2012. Taylor won both Girls' Singles and Doubles titles at the Australian Open in January. This Spring Taylor won the Easter Bowl tournament in California  and assumed the top spot in the world, among junior girls players.

 Now 16, Taylor will return to the United States to compete in several professional futures tournaments before going to New York for the US Open, where last year she competed in both the Juniors tournament and in the Women's Doubles. Then comes to question of turning pro full time. My guess is that if Taylor is still the top ranked junior girl when the season ends,she will play the pro tour in 2013..

Peterson Tennis Celebrates

There is big news at the Peterson School of Tennis.The USTA and American Express have teamed up to resurface Burdett Tennis Center in College Park, GA. The facility now includes six 36 foot tennis courts or youth courts. The new "kiddie" courts are part of the USTA's effort to get more children involved in the game. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony July 16th at 10am. The USTA and local officials will be in attendance as well as rising tennis pro Ryan Harrison.

The USTA's grant comes through USTA Serves, the National Charitable Foundation of the Unites States tennis Association. USTA Serves has awarded some 44 community and educational oraganzations grants that total more than $400,000.

Peterson School of Tennis, has also received a grant through Fresh Courts, a joint effort between American Express and he USTA to refurbish existing courts.

Xavier Tennis teams advance to NAIA Nationals

Xavier University of Louisiana's Amber Brown defeated Martin Methodist's Maria Charrys 6-3, 6-1 Saturday to clinch a 5-2 dual match victory for the Gold Nuggets in the championship of an NAIA unaffiliated group women's tennis tournament at Racquet Club of the South.
Brown is a sophomore from Decatur. She was home-schooled before attending Xavier.
Xavier entered the tournament 4-21 but won all three of its duals to earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship on May 15-19 at Mobile, Ala. Brown won all three of her No. 3 singles matches and dropped a collective five games. Her three-set loss to Charrys clinched Martin Methodist's 5-4 victory March 9.
"I just wanted to go out there and get revenge for last time," Brown said. "I told myself that I wasn't going to lose to her. I knew that I needed to win for my team to get to nationals."
Martin Methodist is ranked 17th and was the defending champion of this event.
Xavier's eighth-ranked men defeated 16th-ranked Cumberland 5-0 to win the championship for the second consecutive year. The Gold Rush (17-7) took a 2-0 lead when seniors Steffen Giles-Osborn and Sean Richarson defeated Devin Crotzer and Na'im Azhar 8-6 at No. 2 doubles. Giles-Osborn (Atlanta resident, Westlake High School graduate) is 15-0 and Richardson (Ellenwood resident, Stockbridge High) is 12-0 in four seasons of conference/group tournaments.
Xavier's men qualified for the national tournament for the fourth consecutive year, and the women qualified for the sixth time in eight seasons.

Taylor Townsend is tops among juniors

Taylor Townsend, a 16-year-old from Stockbridge, Ga., who trains full-time at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., became the top-ranked junior in the ITF World Junior Rankings (for players 18 and younger) on Monday, making her the first American girl to earn the No. 1 ranking since the ITF combined singles and doubles rankings in 2004.

Donald Young was the last American to reach No. 1 in the boys’ rankings in 2005. Coincidentally, Young’s parents were Townsend’s first tennis coaches.

In January, Townsend swept the girls’ singles and doubles titles at the Australian Open, becoming the first American to sweep the junior singles and doubles titles at a Grand Slam event since Lindsay Davenport at the 1992 US Open. In addition, Townsend captured the prestigious Easter Bowl title earlier this month in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where she also reached the doubles final, and she owns a 19-2 singles record in ITF World Junior Competition in 2012.

Townsend is representing the United States this week at the Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas North/Central American and Caribbean Championships, held in Merida, Mexico, April 26-28. The team is coached by USTA Lead National Coach Kathy Rinaldi, who works with Taylor in Boca Raton.