Black Tennis Pros

EASTBOURNE, United Kingdom (AFP) — Serena Williams hit the wall in her career comeback at Eastbourne Wednesday after only one victory, with top seed Vera Zvonareva sending the American back to the practise courts.

The Russian's 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 three-hour triumph was revenge for a Wimbledon final a year ago won by Williams, now ranked 26th after nearly a year out of the game.

Williams was appearing in Eastbourne for the first time after two operations on a foot she cut after last year's Wimbledon followed by further surgery in February to remove blood clots from her lungs.

Zvonareva lost to the American in the last match Williams played prior to this week, the All-England club final nearly 50 weeks ago.

"It was definitely tough," said the winner, also a US Open finalist last autumn.

"Serena is such a champion. She's making an unbelievable comeback. We had a battle out there."

Williams served for a straight-set victory leading 5-4 in the second set only to double-fault it away.

That gave Zvonareva new life, with the Russian showing mental strength in a see-saw contest as Williams struggled in saving 15 or 21 break points and producing seven double-faults.

After squaring the sets, Zvonareva, who held a 5-2 lead at one point, was unable to convert on three match points in the tenth game of the third, dropping serve for 5-all.

But the relieved Russian re-broke a game later and finally served out the victory.

"I was trying my best, everything was tough. I'm happy with how I played and I'm very happy to get this win," said Zvonareva.

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Ana Ivanovic

Venus Williams, who beat No.8 seed Andrea Petkovic on Monday in her first match in four and a half months, was the first of the two to take Centre Court, and took just 62 minutes for a 63 62 win over Ana Ivanovic. The 30-year-old, who turns 31 on Friday, is now 7-1 lifetime against Ivanovic.

"I was happy to have those clean service games and not a lot of errors," Williams said. "I thought she played really well. When she had a chance to strike the ball she hit the corners. I felt good to be able to get on top of her today. I feel I'm playing well on the big points - these matches have been crucial for me to get back, literally in the swing of things."

Williams was asked about Eastbourne - this is her first trip there since 1998. "When the Sun shines, it's gorgeous. I don't remember too much from back in the days. I remember it rained a lot here, so we were forced to stay in. We didn't really get to do anything, just kind of waiting to practice or play a match. This year I've had the opportunity to go out a little bit more. I quite like it, actually. I took a walk around town a little bit. I had a couple karaoke spots but didn't get a chance to go."

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Eastbourne, Great Britain - Tuesday was another demonstration of just how far Heather Watson has come in 18 months. The British No. 2 was barely expected to pick up a game against last year’s Wimbledon runner-up and world No. 3 Vera Zvonareva in their match at Eastbourne at the AEGON International. But Watson impressed, taking three games in each set. Now she needs the right draw.

Zvonareva defeated the Brit 6-3, 6-3.

Has Loving Support Of Family

We are a very close family so it’s not always easy but I speak to Dad every day on the phone or by Skype,’ said Heather, who has three grown-up siblings.

‘I’m very lucky to have parents who have sacrificed a lot for my tennis. They are the perfect parents, great support but not too pushy.’

Indeed, the delightful Mrs Watson gives this sometimes peculiar breed of parent a good name, cheerfully admitting to being more of a support system for her well-adjusted daughter than any tennis genius.

‘We always wanted to give the children the best opportunities, whatever they chose to do, and for Heather it was tennis,’ she said.

‘We decided as a family that I would be with her from 16 to 18 so we are apart sometimes as a family, but it is not a long-term thing.

‘At first it cost us easily more than $50,000 per year but now we are getting help from the LTA.’

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EASTBOURNE, United Kingdom — Playing for the first time in nearly a year, Serena Williams overcame a slow start to reach the Eastbourne second round on Tuesday by beating Tsvetana Pironkova 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The 13-time Grand Slam champion, whose last match was her victory in the Wimbledon final last July, returned to the court at the grass warm-up tournament after battling a foot injury and blood clots in her lungs.

"It wasn't an easy match but more than anything, I wanted to win," said Williams.

"She's an unbelievable player and beat (Serena's sister) Venus (Williams) at Wimbledon last year. When I saw the draw I thought 'Oh my god.'

"I'm a little rusty but I enjoy being back on the grass."

Top seed Vera Zvonareva defeated British wild card Heather Watson 6-3, 6-3 and will next play Williams in a repeat of last summer's Wimbledon final.

The Williams win was the second success for the family this week, after sister Venus advanced here on Monday after not playing for almost five months due to an abdominal injury.

"I could have done a lot of things better, but that's expected. I'll continue to try to do the things that I need to do," said Serena.

Williams said that her mental approach to the game still needs some work after her long absence.

"It's not as strong as it was when I left, but I'm hoping it will get better with every day and every match," she said.

"I definitely think I was nervous. I think I was even more anxious, more than anything, but there was no need for me to be anxious."

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Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his first match at the AEGON International Tuesday just over 24 hours after he finished runner-up to at The Queen's Club.

The World No. 19, who arrived in Eastbourne at 7 p.m. on Monday, said: "I feel good. I played well today, so it's good."

Tsonga dropped nine points on serve in a 40-minute first set against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, a semi-finalist last year in Eastbourne, before completing a 6-2, 7-5 win in just over 90 minutes.

Tsonga, who hit eight aces and won 67 per cent of service points, is making his tournament debut. He improved to a 22-12 match record on the season.

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Serena Williams looked relaxed at Eastbourne as she prepared to play her first competitive tennis since winning the Wimbledon crown last year.

Her hair streaked with Wimbledon purple and wearing a striking pair of stripy leggings, Serena and sister Venus brought excitement to a normally sedate tournament on the south coast.

When the sisters compete in the AEGON International next week, it will also be Venus's first competitive tennis since the Australian Open in January.

The pair hit for an hour each on an outside court at Devonshire Park. Venus was up first before then taking pictures of her sister on her phone and signing autographs for the dozen or so people watching.

Serena looked in particularly good form, amazing for someone who had emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from her lung in March.

Both looked in decent physical shape as they were coached by father Richard, though Venus, with a strapped right wrist, took a tumble on the damp grass.

The venue will take some getting used to for the world stars, with the changing rooms' basic facilities in some old squash courts and rain forecast for much of next week.
Eastbourne was alerted about the sisters' participation by a confidential email which arrived in the middle of the night last Saturday.

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