Black Tennis Pros

(As of Friday, September 9, at 6:00 p.m. ET)
This is a reminder and update regarding the schedule changes for the remaining sessions of the 2011 US Open.*

MEN’S SINGLES SEMIFINALS (SESSION #24)
The Men’s Semifinals (Session #24) remain as scheduled for Saturday day, September 10, with gates opening at 10 a.m. ET. The tickets from this original session #24 remain valid and are the only valid tickets for this session.

WOMEN’S SINGLES SEMIFINALS (SESSION #23)
The Women’s Semifinals (Session #23) originally scheduled for Friday, September 9, are rescheduled to Saturday night, September 10, with gates opening at 5:30 p.m. ET. Tickets for day session #23 are now valid for Saturday evening only.
The schedule of play will be as follows:

•    Women’s Singles Semifinal featuring Samantha Stosur vs. Angelique Kerber with a start time of 6 p.m. ET in Grandstand.
•    Women’s Singles Semifinal featuring Serena Williams vs. Caroline Wozniacki with a start time of 8 p.m. ET in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Pre-match ceremonies begin at 7 p.m. ET.

WOMEN’S SINGLES FINAL (SESSION #25)
The Women’s Final (Session #25) is rescheduled for Sunday, September 11, at 4 p.m. ET with gates opening at 11 a.m. ET. The Women's Singles Final will be preceded by the Women's Doubles Final at 1 p.m. ET. Tickets for the original Saturday evening Women's Final (session #25) are valid for Sunday only.

MEN’S SINGLES FINAL (SESSION #26)
The Men’s Final (Session #26) is rescheduled for Monday, September 12, at 4 p.m. ET with gates opening at 1 p.m. ET. TIckets for the Sunday Men’s final (session #26) are valid for Monday only.

Match (Session #)	New Date	Gates Open
Men's Singles Quarterfinals (Session #20)	Friday, Sept. 9	10 a.m. ET
Men's Singles Semifinals (Session #24)	Saturday, Sept. 10	10 a.m. ET
Women's Singles Semifinals (Session #23)	Saturday, Sept. 10	5:30 p.m. ET
Women's Singles Final (Session #25)	Sunday, Sept. 11	11 a.m. ET
Men's Singles Final (Session #26)	Monday, Sept. 12	1 p.m. ET

*Subject to change.

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Billie Jean King

Rain couldn’t wash away the crowds as the ICON Awards honored trailblazers in the world of tennis and beyond.

The annual reception – hosted by CBS anchor Betty Nguyen and MSNBC host Toure, celebrated its third anniversary inside the Chase Center, on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The gala has become one of the signature events at the Open, leveraging the international stage of one of America’s greatest sports and entertainment spectaculars to recognize and celebrate individual and institutional contributions in diversity and inclusion.

This year honorees included the Sportsmen's Tennis & Enrichment Center (formerly Sportsmen’s Tennis Club) of Boston, Mass., along with Rick Welts, President and CEO f the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. To cap off the night, a teary-eyed Billie Jean King introduced Legacy Award winner David N. Dinkins, 106th Mayor of New York City and longtime member of the USTA Board of Directors.

As the national governing body for tennis, the USTA is committed to the principles of fairness and equality. From supporting tennis programs in local communities to staging the crown jewel of the professional game—the US Open—the organization adheres to a simple statement that sums up a vital objective: "Grow tennis and make it look like America."


Toni Wiley, Executive Director of Sportsmen’s, stepped to the podium and thanked the members of the Boston community – including host Toure, who was a member of the Dorchester-area club as a child – for supporting the tennis haven for 50 years. It is the oldest African American-owned tennis facility in the United States.

“Its amazing that for 50 years, this club has been fighting to create a place in a Boston community for young people to learn a sport,” said Wiley. “For many families, that didn’t seem possible when the facility was first built.”

Welts was next introduced with a sharp video package featuring endorsements from the likes of NBA Commissioner David Stern, Hall-of-Fame Boston Celtics center and coach Bill Russell and Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo. Welts made headlines in May 2011 by publicly revealing his homosexuality in an interview with the New York Times.


As one of the few openly gay executives in professional sports, Welts speaks out against the silence that envelops the subject of homosexuality in men’s team sports and serves as a mentor to gay individuals who harbor doubts about a sports career, whether on the court or in the front office.

“In men’s team sports, there’s a level of discomfort along all lines – we don’t like talking about sexual orientation, its uncomfortable,” said Welts. “I hoped that my story would resonate with young people who may be found themselves at some point in their life in the same situation as I was and wondered if they could ever follow their passion – that they’d be prevented from following a dream because of who they were.”

King then was introduced, to a standing ovation, and remarked that without Dinkins – who signed into legislation a 99-year lease to keep the US Open in Flushing Meadows – as the person most chiefly responsible enhancing the sport of tennis in New York City.

“Events like today’s ICON Awards tell us that we have made great strides in the right direction,” said Dinkins. “The leaps ahead have most often been sparked by heroic individuals and tennis has certainly had its share. Among them were my personal heroes Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe… had the misguided prevailed in barring Althea, Arthur and countless others from competition, we might not have known them. That would have been tragic. Were it not for their struggles and triumphs, we might not have ever experienced the genius of so many great champions in tennis.

“I’m personally gratified that the USTA embraces the goal of enabling everyone to enjoy the benefits of tennis, regardless of economic status, age, social class, disability, gender or sexual orientation,” added Dinkins.

“(Total inclusion) is a goal, but not yet a reality – we have some distance yet to go.”

 

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The latest forecast indicates worsening conditions with no projected breaks in the rain through the remainder of the day and into the night.  Due to this forecast, the USTA is cancelling the Tuesday, September 6 Day Session (session #17), and the Tuesday, September 6 Night Session (session #18).  Play will resume tomorrow, Wednesday, September 7 at 11 a.m. ET, gates open at 10 a.m. ET, weather permitting.

The USTA’s inclement weather policy is now in effect for both the day and night session of Tuesday, September 6.

For further information go to usopen.org.

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Jo-Willie Tsonga, the No. 11 seed, imposed his bigger, higher-risk game on Fernando Verdasco and triumphed convincingly in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, in a marquee matchup of two sluggers known for their aesthetically pleasing, but also bruising, tennis.

The early Saturday evening match was technically the last of the day session, beginning roughly the same time as the Ashe night session, and day ticketholders packed the Grandstand to overflow, with lines stretching around the block to get in.

Surely, though, this will be Tsonga’s last match on Grandstand; next up, in the Round of 16, he plays the red-hot American Mardy Fish.


Despite her No. 28 seed, Serena came in as the consensus favorite and proved to be just that, dropping only three games in her first two matches against Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski and the Netherlands’ Michaella Krajicek, respectively. In the third round, the 29-year-old three-time Open champion looked poised to take a fourth, knocking out the No. 4 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6-1, 7-6(5) on Saturday.

Next up, Serena will face No. 16 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the 2008 French Open champ, who has also breezed through her matches in straight sets. The road from there should only get tougher as five top-10 seeds remain: No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 2 Vera Zvonareva, No. 7 Francesca Schiavone, No. 9 Samantha Stosur and No. 10 Andrea Petkovic.


In front of a boisterous and supportive crowd on Sunday, American Donald Young defeated the No. 24 seed Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. Young played smart, gritty tennis, matching Chela’s consistent baseline game when he needed to and employing more offensive firepower than his higher-ranked opponent. Young hit 46 winners to Chela’s 19, and converted on five of 10 break point opportunities to take a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 win.

This latest upset for the No. 84-ranked Young continues a roll like no other he's had in the pros. His three wins here equal the number of Grand Slam victories he’s had in his entire career, having won two matches at the 2007 US Open and one match at the 2010 Australian Open. It follows on the heels of his second round win over the No. 14 seed Stanislas Wawrinka, a match that saw Young score the first five-set victory of his career. His ranking had fallen to No. 146 as recently as this past February, but Young came into the Open with the highest ranking he's had since May of 2008, and after this tournament it will climb much higher.

"This is what you work for, this is what you dream of," Young said after his win. "I'm just excited to be able to do this in New York, in my home country's major."


Friday was a day of missed opportunities for James Blake. The American, a quarterfinalist here in 2005 and 2006, found himself with a break advantage in both the second and third sets against No. 5 seed David Ferrer, but couldn't quite capitalize in front of a boisterous home crowd.

Ferrer, the Spaniard, broke back in each of the last two sets, winning the match 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Grandstand.

It was "The People's Court" to start the afternoon -- or at least seemed that way. Blake, once a top-10 player and a Harvard grad with New York ties, looked primed to capitalize on a maximum-capacity crowd that was loudly in his corner. 

For Blake, it was the first time since 2001 that he hasn't advanced past the second round at the Open. He has continued to climb his way back from a right knee injury this year and at one point was ranked as low as No. 173 in the world. He entered into the Open this year ranked 63rd.


American teenager Sloane Stephens lost in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 to Serbian Ana Ivanovic on Friday evening. She never really seemed able to find her footing, but did attempt to do so as the match went on. Unfortunately, sufficient response to give herself a fighting chance never materialized.

Post match she said “I was so caught up in being tight and nervous and not really handling the situation well to just freaking out, like, ‘What are you doing?’ ” Stephens said. “I was thinking like a 10-year-old. Everything kind of got to me at the end. I tried to fight it as best I could. But at some point, it catches up to you.”

“My serve is something that I usually can count on, and today it wasn’t there.”

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American Donald Young owned, and took control of his game today in a way that he hasn't previously. It was clear from the onset of his match with Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka that Donald was in a mode of focus that kept him sufficiently centered to see the match through no matter what the outcome.

The outcome, however, was nothing short of incredible. The 84th ranked 22-year old who received a wild card into the Open, literally took the match that appeared to be in Wawrinka's pocket mid fourth set.

The steadiness that Young embraced to win the fourth set, endure a bit of a see saw in the fifth and just dominate the tie-break to win this match was powerful to watch.

Taking the 7-6 (7), 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1) win in 4 hours, 20 minutes set the Open up for a Friday that it could not have anticipated.

This win matches his best performance at a Grand Slam by reaching the third round, which he also accomplished at Flushing Meadows in 2007.

Donald's next opponent is World No. 24 Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina.

Keep it moving forward Donald, what a win!!!

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Sergei Bubka, Ukraine

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga passed the test posed by Ukraine's Sergei Bubka on Thursday afternoon, earning a straight-sets victory 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 to secure his spot in the third round.

With this win, Tsonga has yet to drop a set en route to the third round, and his tennis looks solid enough to propel him into week two of the US Open. The Frenchman hasn't been pushed in his early round matches, but that may change in his next contest, when he could potentially face No. 19 seed Fernando Verdasco.

Both men opened the match with fairly easy service holds, but in the eighth game on Bubka's serve at 3-4, Tsonga put the pressure on his opponent to reach break point at 15-40. A forehand that sailed wide from Bubka handed Tsonga the break and a chance to serve out the set, which he did handily.

The second set began just as the first, but a break point in Tsonga's favor came a bit earlier, at 2-2, and he converted to take the lead. But Bubka took the break right back in an exciting eighth game at 4-3. Bubka stepped up and produced a solid return game, exhibiting some amazing feel with touch drop shots that fell just out of Tsonga's reach. The crowd came alive when Tsonga charged full-speed the net to track down one of Bubka's drop shots, but when he couldn't reach it in time, he avoided a run-in with the net by leaping over it near the post.


A brief shift in momentum went in Bubka's direction, as his net tactics and aggressive offense allowed him to get back in the set with a 5-4 lead. But Tsonga would have none of it, and he, too, showed great hands at the net, breaking Bubka for a 6-5 advantage and closing out the second set on his serve.

Tsonga needed only 30 minutes to take the final set, breaking Bubka in the third game and never looking back.

Tsonga, who has never fallen before the third round at the US Open, is looking to susurpass his best result here, which was a round of 16 appearance in 2009 as the No. 7 seed. And as the No. 11 seed, his chances of accomplishing that goal are good, considering the high level of play he brings as he entered the event. Tsonga reached the semifinals at Montreal before retiring against Novak Djokovic with a right arm injury.

Bubka, a 24-year-old qualifier who packs a mean serve, leaves Flushing Meadows after having won his first career Grand Slam match here, a four-set win over Andreas Haider-Maurer. And considering this was only Bubka's first US Open main draw and fourth ATP Tour-level tournament, he can't be too disappointed with the early exit.

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Sloane Stephens, an 18-year-old wildcard, was the first of the American rising stars to shine, showing calmness and calculated aggression beyond her years as she upset Shahar Peer, 61 76(4). After losing the first set, the No.23-seeded Peer tightened the screws on her unforced errors and built a 5-3 lead in the second set; but Stephens calmly tucked the win away in straight sets.

"I told myself when I woke up this morning, I have to focus, be aggressive and play my game. I stuck to that pretty well today," Stephens said. "When she broke me for 5-3 I thought, 'Oh man, this is going to be a long night.' I hung in there. I got my momentum back at 4-5. That helped me in the next few games."

A day after one of America's top players - Venus Williams - had to withdraw from the tournament, Stephens was asked her opinion. "I actually went back home to my hotel to watch her play, and when I got back, the caption said, 'Venus Withdraws.' I said, 'Oh my God, what the heck happened?' I was distraught because I really wanted to watch her play. She was playing great the first day. But I love her. I was sad. I hope she gets better soon.

 
"Venus is beautiful. I like how she's willing to take risks with her outfits. That's definitely something most players won't do, so that's a step up. She's just an awesome person. Everything she's done for the sport of tennis, she's just an amazing person. She's so classy and elegant. That says a lot.

"They changed tennis. They changed women's sports in general. An inspiration to all women and all girls that play sports."

Stephens was asked about the recent pessimism in the media about the future of American tennis. "I don't even think about it. Fun fact: Christina, Irina and myself are all in the third round of the US Open and playing the PanAm Games together. It's awesome."

Not to be outdone, the far more experienced but still very young Vania King made the third round as well, upsetting No.29 seed Jarmila Gajdosova shortly afterwards, 62 60. King, 22, has been to the third round of Grand Slams three times now, also doing it here in 2009 and at the French Open earlier this year.


Stephens, King, Christina McHale, Irina Falconi and last but not least Serena Williams make it five American women in the third round of the US Open, the most at this event since 2004 (there were eight that year - Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Lisa Raymond, Amy Frazier, Chanda Rubin, Angela Haynes and, of course, the Williams sisters.

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In 2010, Venus Williams tried for a US Open title with her sister sidelined. This year, the roles are reversed, as Serena Williams continued her summer comeback Thursday, defeating Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-1.

The win comes one day after Venus removed herself from the main draw, citing a recent diagnosis of Sjogren's Syndrome - an autoimmune disease where white blood cells can damage the vital organs of the body and cause fatigue and joint pain. Serena, who herself has battled medical maladies such as foot lacerations, a hematoma and a pulomary embolism since her last Open appearance in 2009, steamrolled Krajicek - a qualifier - in a tidy 49 minutes to make it two-for-two for her inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in the last 48 hours.

The abrupt announcement shocked many in the tennis world and created a Google search rush on "Sjogren's Syndrome." Yet, despite being concerned as any family member would be, Williams revealed that putting her sister out of her mind "wasn't that difficult."

"I know she's a fighter and she's really strong," Williams said. "She's great. I think she's really happy now that she knows what it is after all this time. I think, if anything, it's gonna help her now to treat it and go forward."

The three-time Open champion channeled the dominant form she displayed in years past, when she was winning titles in 1999, 2002 and 2008. As the crowd in Ashe shouted words of encouragement to the American favorite, Williams fired 10 aces and converted five-of-six break point opportunities.

Krajicek, meanwhile, did not convert her only opportunity to break in the match and committed 18 unforced errors. Very little went right for the 21-year-old journeywoman, making her first main draw appearance since 2007 when she also lost in the second round. The victory was so lopsided that when Krajicek finally won a game, a soaring roar of applause met her modest triumph - it was just one of those days.

"I told her after the match: 'Welcome back,'" said Williams of Krajicek. "I know she's been going through a really tough time, and not to be discouraged - I hope she doesn't because she's played well.

"She qualified here and won a round, and she never gave up today no matter what the score looked like. I thought it was a really tough match. It was good for her and, you know, she's still young. Her whole life is ahead of her."

Williams defeated Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski in the first round, 6-1, 6-1, in her first match since losing in the '09 semifinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Seeded 28th, Williams could be involved in a star-powered clash on Saturday should No. 4 Victoria Azarenka advance over Argentina's Gisela Dulko. The two play later in the day inside Louis Armstrong Stadium.

If it is Azarenka, Williams believes that she will "definitely be the underdog."

"(Azarenka) has been doing everything good," Williams said. "She moves her feet I think better than anyone on tour, to be honest. She's always moving, and that's really enabled her to get ranked high where she is and have such a great year ... I feel like I have nothing to lose in this match if I have to play her."

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NEW YORK (AP) — American teenager Madison Keys showed her youth late in her second career Grand Slam match, repeatedly blowing leads in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to 27th-seeded Lucie Safarova at the U.S. Open on Wednesday.

In her debut Monday at a major tournament, Keys — a 16-year-old from Boca Raton, Fla. — became the youngest player since 2005 to win a match at Flushing Meadows. At 455th, she was the lowest-ranked woman in the field this year.

"I must say, she's a very good player for her age," the 24-year-old Safarova said, adding that Keys is playing "for sure, top-50 level."

Keys certainly opened the match that way, racing to a 5-0 lead en route to taking the opening set.

"I didn't feel very well on court at the beginning and was making a lot of easy mistakes," Safarova said. "She surprised me."

Keys went up a break in the second set before letting that edge slip away. And in the third set, she twice broke Safarova, only to give that lead back in the following game.

By the end of the match, Keys actually had won more total points than Safarova, 106-100.

"A lot of ups and downs," said Safarova, who equaled her best U.S. Open showing by getting to the third round.

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After the very sudden and unexpected announcement of her withdrawal from the 2011 U.S. Open, American Venus Williams has disclosed in a statement that she was recently diagnosed with Sjögren’s Syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disease in which people’s white blood cells attack their moisture-producing glands causing low energy levels and joint pain among other symptoms.

According to the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation website, although the hallmark symptoms are dry eyes and dry mouth, Sjögren’s may also cause dysfunction of other organs such as the kidneys, gastrointestinal system, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and the central nervous system. Patients may also experience extreme fatigue and joint pain and have a higher risk of developing lymphoma.

With upwards of 4,000,000 Americans suffering from Sjögren’s syndrome, it is one of the most prevalent autoimmune disorders. Nine out of 10 patients are women.

In her statement Venus said, “I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw from this year’s US Open.  I have been recently diagnosed with Sjögren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease which is an ongoing medical condition that affects my energy level and causes fatigue and joint pain. I enjoyed playing my first match here and wish I could continue but right now I am unable to.  I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon."

God's speed Venus.

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American Venus Williams, whom most seemed to think looked pretty good in her round one match, has withdrawn from the 2011 U.S. Open because of an unspecified illness.

Will update as information becomes available.

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Sloane Stephens, USA

Reka-Luka Jani, Hungary

American Sloane Stephens, three-time junior Grand Slam doubles champion will now break into the WTA top 100 for the first time due to her win over Hungarian Reka-Luca Jani.

It took some doing, and three sets to accomplish the 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3) victory over Jani, but Sloane hung in there and tactics outlasted errors.

Israli Shahar Peer awaits Sloane in round 2 - she won't be nearly as generous with errors.

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The No. 11 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga began his US Open campaign with a solid, straight-set win over Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan.

Tsonga showed no signs of the right arm injury that forced him to retire against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semis of Montreal in early August. His serve and forehand were firing on all cylinders, at least when he needed them to, as he secured a service break in each of the first two sets and jumped out ahead in the third for a comfortable 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win.

Tsonga, his demeanor relaxed and confident, hit seven aces, 39 winners and had 29 unforced errors. The times the No. 82-ranked Lu did challenge Tsonga on his serve, the Frenchman overcame the threats with almost routine efficiency, by pouding serves and forehands to Lu's weaker backhand side.

Tsonga is now a solid 20-9 in Grand Slam matches in 2011, with a semifinal finish at Wimbledon in his last major. He also has two wins over Roger Federer in the past three months--one in the quarters at Wimbledon and the other in the round-of-16 in Montreal. A finalist at the 2008 Australian Open, Tsonga's hard-court suited game makes him one of the main challengers here to the big three of Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal.


In his first round match today at the U.S. Open, World No. 84 Donald Young, chalked up a win against Slovak Lukas Lacko, ranked 162nd in the world in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.


Post match Donald was asked about being the first American male to win on the new court, he said " It's awesome.  I didn't know that.  I'm just happy to win the first match and happy to be on that court, which is great. Yeah, I'm happy that's part of history."

When compared to fellow American Mardy Fish in that he seems to be a late bloomer, Donald responded, "Yeah, I mean, I think everyone's light turns on at their own time.  I'm starting to feel like mine is turning on.  Yeah, people do it at their own time.  Not everybody does it when everybody expects it to be done. I wish it could have been earlier.  It's starting to come now and I'm excited about it."

COMPLETE INTERVIEW HERE

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