Black Tennis Pros

CARSON, Calif. -- It was about time. That’s what Mashona Washington said was working for her following her hard-fought, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over fellow American Kimberly Couts in the second round of the East West Bank Classic USTA Women’s $50,000 Pro Challenger Thursday at the Home Depot Center.

“It was just time,” said Washington, who upset the tournament’s top seed and her doubles partner Angela Haynes Wednesday. “That’s what was working for me. I’ve been through so many tournaments that lasted two matches, two matches, two matches. Now, finally I get a third match. Everything is a bonus from here on out. It feels great.”

Washington is coming back from injuries and had to work her way through qualifying here. Her current world ranking is 573. The brother of 1996 Wimbledon finalist MaliVai, Washington finished ranked in the top 50 in the world in 2004, the same year she beat her first top-10 player, Maria Sharapova, at New Haven, Conn.

In fact, it was two years ago that Washington almost beat Sharapova again in the first round of the French Open. She served for the match at 5–2 but could not hold serve. At 5-4 in the third set, she held match points before the then-world No. 4 broke back and won the final set, 7-5.

Washington meets wild-card entry Jamie Hampton in the quarterfinals.