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WOW, what a day! I photographed a lot of stars today. But imagine my surprise when I step on court to photograph the match between Patty Schnyder and Shuai Peng…and notice Michael Chang sitting RIGHT behind me! A former tennis star himself, and French Open champion, he was one of my idols as a tennis player in college. So that was a THRILL! One new change to tennis rules this year is that players are allowed to request their coach for on-court advice. This shot shows the young Chinese phenom getting advice from Chang after the first set before turning the match around and upsetting the sixth seed and local favorite, Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, in three sets.

Since I’m normally a doubles PLAYER, I thought tonight I’d post an image of some doubles action. 🙂 Here’s Vera Zvonareva returning a serve while her doubles partner, Nathalie Dechy, protects the net. Interestingly, earlier in the tournament Vera beat Nathalie in the singles draw! How awkward is THAT???

This morning I had the privilege of photographing something VERY special! A few of the BEST tennis players in the world including (left to right) Patty Schnyder (SUI), Nicole Vaidisova (CZE), and Corinna Morariu (USA) lent a helping hand to cheer up some brave young cancer patients at the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital. Here they are with one of their girls, showing off their colorful palms all covered in wet paint after doing some palm imprints together. It was really neat to see how these top athletes with perfectly tuned bodies were willing to help encourage and lift the spirits of a few young people who’s bodies were broken and hurting. I special significance is that Corinna is a cancer survivor herself, having won her battle against Leukemia!

I had a really FUN day photographing the last round of qualifying matches at the Family Circle Cup today! The main draw begins tomorrow. Aside from some AWESOME tennis, one of today’s highlights included meeting the Easter Bunny. :0) Believe it or not, the guy inside the outfit is none other than Murphy Jensen!!! Murphy and his brother, Luke, are former winners of the French Open doubles championships. Murphy also had a cameo in the movie Wimbledon, starring Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany. Anyway, here he is hanging out in the stands with one of the player’s coaching staff. Check out the photo gallery on the Family Circle Cup website for more of my images from today’s excitement. HAPPY EASTER everyone!!!

A tour veteran, Nathalie Dechy is one of my favorite players to photograph. She’s always in peak physical condition. She plays every match with passion and poise. And her movement around the court has a fluidity and a flare that’s fun to watch. Her singles ranking has been slipping as of late. But I’m happy that she’s tasted renewed success in doubles with her partner Vera Zvonareva.

Now that I’m back from covering the Amelia Island Championships, it’s time to Kick off the Family Circle Cup. Keep checking back for more images of this GREAT tournament!

This week I’m here in CHARMING Amelia Island photographing the Bausch & Lomb Championships professional women’s tennis tournament. Amelia Island is only about 3.5 hours from Charleston. Yet in all the years I’ve been photographing professional tennis, this is the first time I’ve made it down to this tournament.

This image was taken of Yaroslava Shvedova as she contemplates another lost point during her 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Alona Bondarenko.

I have to say, the “flavor” of this tournament is TOTALLY different from our tournament in Charleston. The venue is much more intimate and the staff is much more laid back. It’s a WONDERFUL atmosphere. Sandy Kavanaugh (the Media Manager) and Melinda Phillips (the Tournament Photographer) have been friendly, kind, welcoming, and WONDERFUL to work with.

If you want some idea on how laid back this tournament is…it’s not uncommon to find a famous player wondering around the grounds, practicing on a side court, or just hanging out with her friends. After an earlier win over Iveta Benesova, Jelena Jankovic found her way to the “big tent” where she helped the bartender’s serve up some Heineken! If you ever get a chance, I HIGHLY recommend attending this tournament!

After a rather shaky start, Venus Williams finally found enough punch to put away one of my favorite players – Patty Schnyder. Venus and Patty are two of the stars that will be playing at the Family Circle Cup I’ll be photographing in Charleston next week.

I had a REALLY fun wedding this weekend with Jessica & Josh. Their wedding was at Blessed Sacrament Church and their reception was at the James Island Yacht Club. Through photographing their engagement session and Jessica’s bridal session, it’s been neat to get to know these two. They are both so FULL of life and energy. Obviously from this humerous photo of the groomsmen in their kilts, there’s some Scottish history here. In fact, both Jessica & Josh travel all over to compete in the Scottish Games! Check out the rest of their photos.

After the wedding Jessica & Josh jumped in their stretch limo to head over to the reception and I grabbed this shot with their reflections in the ceiling.

When Jessica told me they were handing out cigars at the reception, she said “there’s nothing sexier than a handsome man with a cigar.” Well, Jessica…here’s FIVE handsome men saluting you with their cigars silhouetted in the sunset! (Never mind that their all wearing skirts!) 😉