Schedule Reminder

Classes are cancelled beginning December 22- January 3, 2009 and
will resume with a normal schedule on January 5, 2009.

Anthony wishes all a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season.

BTP City Leauge H Team - Captain's Corner

From Sue Jensen; captain of H Team at PAC --

The season thus far....

9/9/08 Mac Club strolls in and notices our ‘new’ uniform. Feeling suddenly nervous, they proceed to fall like a deck of cards. We win 11-4.
9/30 Club Green Meadows offers mazes of halls leading to nowhere, until we finally arrive at the courts, exhausted, and too tired to impose our will completely. They win 9-6.
10/14/08 Mac Club waits for us with usual greedy hopes. Kempton is left out of the match, as the club provides no helmets. We lose our nerves and the match, 9-6
10/28/08 LO- Pretending to be really nice, they take us to the woodshed- 9-5
11/4/08 Jazzy Sunset tries to distract us with their new lobby and catered food, but it doesn’t work. We win 10-6.
11/11/08- Mountain Park tries to discomfort us by moving to the uncomfortable side of the club. ..oops- we liked it better. We get 9 points to their 5.

Hey, team, we’re having a great year. Kudos to our Singles players, no losses at all!!
Our doubles teams have worked super hard and the whole team is ‘seasoning’ well. This looks like a trend. And, correct me if I’m wrong, we are really having a great time.

Things to work on to kick even more butt:

Commitment: make practice a high priority. Anthony wants us to come together in practice to work on drills and techniques more, as a team.

Play More: if you are playing only 2x a week, try to add one more. If you are playing 5x a week, get some rest!

Health: Stretch. Those sinews aren’t going to flatten out by themselves. Don’t step on rocks. Eat your vegetables and your protein.

Technique development: get together and work on certain shots and drills, take a lesson-- think,when you hit that ball, what would Venus or Roger do? Visualize. Look at the letters on the ball. Improve your mini-steps.

That’s all for now. In closing, do as I say, not as I do!

Sue Jensen

BTP 2003

Giving it up to old and continuing students from Anthony's 3.5 Men's group class.
Mitsuru, Hoover Li, Dave G, Jeff Ruby and Anthony himself.

Mitsuru was a former student from Japan who won a Nike singles tournament. Mitsuru is a physician who resides in Japan. He was taking lessons from Anthony, while spending time in Portland conducting medical research at OHSU.

TENNIS LOGIC

Stroke Production

1. Consistency
2. Ball Depth
3. Ball Placement
4. Power

You're stroke must possess each of the prior steps before your shot can truly be effective.

Djokvic wins Masters Cup

BIG win! Sunday, November 16, Novak Djokvic of Serbia creamed Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 7-5 in the Masters Cup. Djokovic earned $1.24 million, moving to 10 ranking points of Roger Federer.

Jelena Jankovic

The documentary movie of "Jelena's World" was released on 11/12. The movie depicts the life of Jelena and professional tennis. It shows the fight and achievements of Jelena's world. Right now, only airing in Serbia...hopefully will be distributed world wide.

Future BTP Student

Welcome baby Cameron James Fagan! Son of students Ashe and Pete Fagen, as well as grandma Tobey Spitzer. Hmmm...perhaps this means baby Cameron will be third generation BTP student...

2008 Davis Cup Teams

The teams have been decided! The 2008 Davis Cup final between Argentina and Spain is scheduled for November 21-23. The teams will play on an indoor court in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Playing for Argentina:
Juan Martin Del Potro
David Nalbandian
Jose Acasuso
Agustin Calleri
Captian - Alberto Mancini

Playing for Spain:
David Ferrer
Fernando Verdasco
Feliciano Lopez
Marcel Granollers
Captain - Emilio Sanchez

Men in....Gray

Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novack Djovic at the Master Cup in Shanghai. Nov. 2008.

BTP Serve

Student Hoover, using his serve lessons in a match. 1, 2, 3 and 4!

7.0 USTA League Match

BTP students Jeff Ruby, Beth Kempton, Rochelle Hart and Conrad Eutis (not pictured) played in the 7.0 USTA league match on 11.9.08 at the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation Center.

Jeff and Beth lost 2-6, 3-6
Rochelle and Conrad won 6-3, 4-6, 1-0

Great play from both teams! Way to go!

TENNIS LOGIC

Remember the four elements to stroking a ball

1: Body Position
2: Footwork
3: Mental Decisions
4: Stroke Technique

BTP Student...Sporting BTP

Student Irene Henderson was sporting her BTP t-shirt during her Wednesday evening lesson on the court. 

BTP Welcomes New Students

Anthony Blackburn would like to welcome and thank new clients:

Mariela Bastias: Mariela is and exchange student from Chile attending U.S Grant high school.

Tammy Bucy and Jodi Wilkins: Tammy and Jodi are adult beginners taking semi-private lessons and progressing quickly.

Natalie Norris and Molly Larid: Both high school freshman started with BTP at the Nike campus and are continuing at the Portland Athletic Club. Both girls are taking semi-private lessons and are playing really well.

Cassie Looker: Back in the saddle after taking a lengthy break from college tennis. She is an advanced player and is looking forward to tournaments and team tennis.

Dan Shull: Dan is an advanced beginner taking up the tennis game again. Dan is doing well and we would like to keep him in the game this time around. We expect Dan to play individual and team competition come summer 09'.

Chrissy Jeter: Chrissy is a Jr. beginner and loves the game of tennis. She is a joy to teach and has a lot of fun during her lessons. We hope to have her play on PAC's Jr USTA team tennis by this coming summer.

BTP Client's Taking 1st Place...

UPSTA Womens Tennis- 

BTP student Monica Geyer and her women's team won 1st place in the Sunriver Tennis Tournament. Way to go ladies.

Off The Court

Student Gemo Wong breaks a sweat on the court...and then hits the turn table to try and get others to break a sweat on the dance floor. 

Chanel...

For the super fabulous...

Ever thought you might need or want a Chanel tennis raquet?

You never know....perhaps it will improve your tennis game....or maybe your opponent won't be able to take his/her eyes off and you win! 

A Must Read

Learn from the Best- Marion Blackburn writes about The Best Tennis Lesson You Ever Had. This book will improve your tennis skills and give an added boost of inspiration.

Clay Tennis Courts in the Swiss Alps

Student Jeff Ruby was fortunate enough to vacation to the beautiful Swiss Alps in 2007. 4,100 feet up, Jeff visited the winter ski resort and host of the Lauberhom world cup downhill ski race in Wengen, Switzerland.

Sharapova

For the Maria fans...

September 2008 - In New York City, Maria was out and involved in many of the events for Fashion Week.

Nike Federer Workout Clinic X BTP

Roger Federer and Blackburn Tennis Productions welcomed over 200 attendees at The Bo Jackson Sports and Fitness Center (Nike World Campus) for an extreme workout clinic. Federer and BTP shared tips on technique and inspired many players on their tennis game. Once again- another successful event.

Davis Cup @ Portland Rose Garden

USA vs. Russia at the Portland Rose Garden

BTP Davis Cup Clinic

Davis Cup Clinic @ St. Johns Racquet Club with training pro's Jonathan Stark and Brad Gilbert, ex-coach of Andre Agassi.

BTP Welcomes Chiquitos

Anthony loves to support and give back to the community.

Chiquitos School (Spanish Immersion Program) received lessons from BTP.

BTP Student Match Records

Hoover's Latest Match Records:

Vancouver Tennis Center Grand Slam Tournament (Wimbledon)

7.19.08 - 3.5 Singles Main Draw: 3-6, 5-7

Slow start...

7.19.08 - 3.5 Singles Consolation Qtrs: 6-3, 5-7, 1-0

Played well early in the game and later played conservatively after up 1 set

World Team Tennis League (Playoff Round 1)

8.13.08 - 3.5 Singles: 6-0

Groundstroke and approach shot hit well

8.13.08 - 3.5 Doubles: 6-4

Serve and groundstrokes were good. Lots of floaters while at the net

Keep doing your thing Hoover!

BTP Student...@ the US Open

Student Kelsey Thompson witnessed the wins of Nadal and Serena,
while only four rows back at this years US Open.

" It was amazing to see such great tennis that close up!"

Proud Parents...Proud Students

"With Anthony's guidance, our kids are more confident players

and now are winning Jr. USTA tournaments!"

D&C Hill parents of Brandie and Brianna

"Anthony is sooo cool, I love my lessons! He teaches me to be aggressive!"
Brianna Hill, Age 9

Siblings Brianna and Brandie Hill are students who have improved their technique, talent, and confidence while working with Anthony. A few stats below to show how their hard work and dedication has paid off. Way to go girls!

Brianna Hill, Age 9
* 08' West Hills Tournament : 1st place, consolation

Brandie Hill, Age 14
* 08' Sunset Athletic Club : 1st place, consolation & 1st place doubles
*08' Mt. Park Athletic Club : 1st place, consolation
* 08' Irvington Tennis Center : 2nd place singles, 1st place doubles
*08' The Racquet Club : 1st place singles
* 08' West Hills Racquet Club : 1st place singles

BTP August Kids Camp

For the youth 7-17, August 25-29 from 11am-4pm

Blackburn Tennis Productions will provide age and level specific drills, on court teaching, F.A.B workout, and more. Lock your spot! Contact 503.593.8009 or 503.292.2649 for space availability.

US Open

The 2008 US open will be celebrating 40 years of Open Era.
August 25- September 7 in New York

Williams Sisters in Beijing

In Beijing Venus and Serena Williams win their second Olympic doubles gold medal (6-2, 6-0). Dismissing Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, of Spain. Their first gold doubles were at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games.

BTP Member Appreciation

Champagne Night...
Thursday August 21 at the Portland Athletic Club.
Blackburn Tennis Productions enjoyed a relaxing evening,
engaged in great conversations with it's members.
Thank you all who made this evening successful.

BTP Junior Academy Summer Camp

The perfect way to spend a week in the summer.
Kids Summer Camp with age and level specific drills and on court coaching.
Summer Tennis Camp was a big hit this year.

Portland Athletic Club
Coming Again Summer '09