Black Tennis Pros

Way to go Donald... great performance!

American Donald Young persevered in a four-set match with Belgium's Christophe Rochus that saw him down a set from the jump. Donald put it in gear though and took the next three sets with a win coming in at 1-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4.

Donald said “If he would have played the whole match the way he did that first set, he would have got me again. He couldn’t miss.”

After having come through the qualifying event to enter the main draw he states, “When I’m feeling good about myself, I play better, when I’m down I don’t play as well.”

American Venus Williams cruised past Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic easily, defeating her her 6-2, 6-2. Post match Venus said, "I feel like I have so much left in my strings to accomplish, I love playing. I want to win each tournament I play. I want to win the majors, play doubles, and be in the Olympics."

Always being asked about age and retirement as she approaches 30 this year, of playing younger players Venus says, "To be honest, when you're on the court, age doesn't matter. So far, I'm fast and strong and maintaining that is great."


Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has continued his love affair with the Australian Open, sailing through to the second round after a straight-sets win over Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky on Hisense Arena on Tuesday.

The Frenchman, seeded No. 10, put on a powerful and athletic display that entertained the sizeable crowd. Showing no signs of the wrist injury that afflicted him in the lead-up to the tournament, he prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 51 minutes.

American James Blake continues to look like a man on a mission in his 7-5, 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Frenchman Arnaud Clement. Blake seems so much more poised and focused as he begins his 2010 campaign - impressive.

Blake himself is pleased with his current serve execution, “I only got broken once in three sets against a guy who puts so many returns in the court … a good feeling - got a few free points and served at a high percentage for me. I am pretty proud of the work we did on my serve in the off-season.

American Serena Williams made quick work of her first opponent, Poland's Urszula Radwanska who also has a big sister on the tour (Agnieszka). Serena pummled Radwanswka for a little over an hour to arrive at a decisive 6-2, 6-1 victory.

“I was happy to get through,” Serena said. “The scoreline seemed to be easy, but there were tough points. So I was just happy to get it over with.

“She plays really well. I think her game has definitely come on. I feel like she's more consistent. You know, it's a different score than Wimbledon, but still I think that she's more consistent and a little better ‑ a lot better.”


Frenchman Gael Monfils completed his rain-delayed match against Australian Matthew Ebden, winning the match 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.


American Shenay Perry was unable to find a solution for her match with Serbian Ana Ivanovic. She was defeated 2-6, 3-6.