Where I've Been

That deep blue on beneath the horizon is the Sea of Cortez

First off, it's immensely flattering that I've had a few people ask me where I've (or more to the point, Blackabel Tennis) been has over the past year or so.  To quote Serena Williams, it all comes down to this thing called "life."

US Open Shots of the Day

Hey guys, in addition to tweeting and actually trying to watch a few matches, I'm going to be posting a few  pictures from the Open on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BlacklabelTennis

Some of my favorites from days 2 and 3 are up, I'll go back and make some day 1 selections soon.  Here's a favorite from yesterday, a celebratory Jack Sock, moments before his first main draw US Open victory.

Blogging Advisory: Wimbledon (Twitter Watchers)

Every night during the majors and we plan to post a few thoughts from that day's action.

First, just a heads up.  The best and most immediate way to get my thoughts on the tennis is to follow me on Twitter @vblacklabel

Second, my posts and tweets will often be interrupted by my real life which consists of going to meetings and writing presentations that having nothing to do with tennis.  This means that on weekdays my posts, tweets, etc. will be sporadic.  If you have a serious tennis jones and my momentary check-ins via ESPN3 just aren't enough for you,  I'd highly suggest following one of the esteemed pros.

There are a number of solid tennis writers and I'm sure you can find your own favorites, but I'm particularly fond of:

• Montreal Gazette's Stephanie Myles ( @OpenCourt  ) 
• Matt Cronin ( @TennisReporters )
• Chris Oddo ( @TheFanChild ) 
• Tennis.com's own Federer and Nadal, Steve Tignor ( @SteveTignor ) and Pete Bodo ( @PTBodo )

First Serve

Hello, welcome to my new site, Blacklabel Tennis.  I've been writing about tennis over the last year for my buddy over at The Rally Cap and felt like it might be time to make more of a commitment.  It feels good to be writing again and hopefully you'll enjoy what I have to say.

For quick hits, follow me on Twitter @VBlacklabel.  Join our Facebook fan page and keep your eyes peeled.  We'll do some opinion pieces, some sparring (in a good way), some prognosticating, share some photos and if the powers that be comply, maybe even some interviews. There's a lot we want to accomplish with this blog, but it all starts here, today, with this post.

So you have an idea of what you're getting into and how I feel about the state of the current pro game, I've imported the posts I've written for the Rally Cap including my most recent entitled "Don't You Forget About Me" written in the immediate aftermath of this year's French Open.

That's it for now, but get involved, tell me what you think.  Let's talk some tennis.