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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Crushes Rafael Nadal in Australian Open

Some news from the Australian Open, which should be of interest to tennis fans such as Mad Professah and Jasmyne: The unseeded French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pulled off a stunning upset over the second-seeded Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semi-finals. The score was 6-2 6-3 6-2.

Who is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and how was he able to crush the world's No. 2 ranked men's tennis player? Some answers and photos couresy of Steph & Alek at Oh La La: "Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Petsonga is just 22 years old, he was born in Le Mans, France, from a French mother and Congolese father. He had a successful junior career, winning the U.S. Open Juniors title in 2003."

Mad Professah offers another photo gallery and a history lesson: " Tsonga is the great story of the 2008 Australian Open. He is an unseeded player who has made it as far as the final 4 players and is within one match of a historic Grand Slam final. Tsonga makes history as the first Black male player to be in the semi-final of a major since American MaliVai Washington did it at Wimbledon in 1996."

Tsonga is now ranked 38th in the world. "It is like a dream and nothing could stop me today," the tennis phenom told reporters. "I am just so happy. It was my tactic to hit every ball and everything was in, so what more can I say? Every day for me is like a dream, I can’t believe it is true."

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James Blake in "Men's Vogue"

Earlier this week we gave you the heads up on Barack Obama's cover of the fall Men's Vogue. Walk and don't run for your copy because there are several other goodies inside, such as tennis phenom James Blake featured in a stunning 11-page profile. Internationally-renown fashion photographer Walter Chin lenses the feature and the editorial is styled to the usual impeccable Condé Nast standards. Blake's warmth and charisma is outstanding, almost infectious. Styled in Hermés and Lanvin ... he is just brilliant.

It's amazing that Blake is playing today. In the past year, he lost his father, broke his neck and dropped off the radar. Yesterday, in Cincinnati, another devastating loss. The top ranked tennis player suffered his third straigh defeat at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters to Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero. Blake is now ranked ninth in the world. Not to suggest that he's giving up—it's only a minor setback. In the Men's Vogue interview, the athlete says that he inherited his drive from his recently-deceased father, whom he called a "relentless self-improver."

If only more of us had that gene.

Blake Suffers Another Setback (News Enquirer)

Previously:

Blake is Top (Rod 2.0) Morning Goods: James Blake (Queerty) Quincy Jones for Jimmy Choo (Rod 2.0) First Look: Pharrell for Louis Vuitton (Rod 2.0) Obama Strikes a Pose (Rod 2.0) Obama '08? (Rod 2.0)

News: James Blake, Wisconsin Marriage, Gays and Baseball

James Blake is now the top-ranked male American tennis player.

· For the first time ever, the anti-gay Focus on the Family has promoted an event for Major League Baseball. On July 27, the conservative Christian ministry co-sponsored "Faith Days" at Turner Field for the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately, the team lost 6-1 to the Florida Marlins.

· Northern Ireland plans to end all discrimination against gays. Meanwhile, two young Albanian men are beaten in Belfast's most popular gay bar—one has a broken jaw, the other has 16 stitches. Friends say the attack was racially motivated.

· Labor unions become the latest to fight the proposed ban on gay marriage and civil unions in Wisconsin. Unions are concerned the amendment would strip their ability to bargain for benefits like health insurance for the domestic partners of gay and straight employees. Gay activists are trying to make Wisconsin the first state to defeat a referendum banning gay marriage. So far, 19 states have approved such amendments and five others will vote on them this year.