Black Tennis Pros

NEW YORK (AP)—Serena Williams’injured leg kept her from a chance to avenge her U.S. Open loss to Kim Clijsters. So sister Venus took care of the job.

Venus Williams defeated Kim Clijsters 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden to win the Billie Jean King Cup in the BNP Paribas Showdown, a match she lost a year ago to Serena.

Venus said she missed having her younger sister around for the match but didn’t talk with her about the possibility of facing Clijsters.

“On the way here, I kept thinking, ‘I’m going to see Serena in New York,”’ Venus said. “We talked today, but we didn’t talk about tennis at all.”

Serena Williams withdrew a week ago because of her leg, ending what would have been the first meeting between her and Clijsters since the U.S. Open semifinals in September. Serena unleashed a tirade against a line judge after she was called for a foot fault near the end of the match, and Clijsters went on to win the championship.

The 26-year-old Belgian struggled early against the elder Williams before finding a groove in front of a very Venus-friendly crowd of 11,702 in the second set.

“In the beginning it took some time to find an aggressive game,” Clijsters said. “If you’re not feeling the ball 100 percent, it’s very hard. I kind of just had to look for my game a little bit, really look for my position on court. I got better as my match went on.”

Williams broke Clijsters in the first game and then held each of her serves to win the first set. Up 40-0 in the final game, Williams aced to take the set.

In the second set, Williams again won the first two games but got sloppy, volleying one break point out of bounds and hitting another past the baseline. Clijsters held her serve for the rest of the set to win.

Williams was down 3-4 in the final set when Clijsters hit a volley into the net on break point to tie the set. The pair held their serve the rest of the way until Clijsters, down 15-40, hit the break point past the baseline to hand Williams the win and $400,000 of the $1.2 million prize money.

“I always feel really confident on match point, so I love getting to that match point,” Williams said. “At quadruple match point I felt nice.”

King did not attend the exhibition because she is recovering from a recent double-knee replacement.

Clijsters beat Serena’s replacement, Ana Ivanovic, in the first of the one-set, no-ad semifinals, easily outscoring the 22-year-old Serb and 2008 French Open champion 7-2 in the tiebreaker.

Down 5-4, Clijsters rallied from 0-30 to hold serve and won the next two games. Ivanovic won the 12th game 40-0 to force the 13-point tiebreaker.

“I think our games in some ways are similar,” Ivanovic said. “It was a tough match. i was actually very nervous, but it makes it an important match. I just wanted to do so well.”

Williams beat third-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2009 French Open winner, in the second semifinal 6-4. Kuznetsova took a 2-0 lead but struggled with her serve. Down 15-40 in the final game, the 24-year-old Russian double-faulted on her serve to hand Williams the match.

“You would like for it to last a little bit longer because one set is very difficult to play,” Kuznetsova said. “It was fun. The match was close, and I enjoyed the experience.”

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Press Release

New York, NY, February 22, 2010 – Madison Square Garden and StarGames announced today that MSG Plus and ESPN2 will televise the 2010 BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean Cup on Monday, March 1, live with MSG Plus showing the semifinals and ESPN2 presenting the finals. The one-day, single-elimination tournament will include four of the world’s top female tennis players – Svetlana Kuznetova, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic – at Madison Square Garden.

Starting at 7:00 p.m. ET, MSG Plus will televise two semifinal matches with World No. 17 Clijsters facing No. 23 Ivanovic and No. 4 Kuznetsova taking on No. 5 Williams. At 9:00 p.m. ESPN 2 will air the final match. All three matches will also be available on broadband ESPN360.com.

“It is exciting for us to have the BNP Paribas Showdown carried live by two prestigious networks,” said Jerry Solomon, President & CEO, StarGames Inc. “The combination of MSG Plus and ESPN2 gives us wall-to-wall coverage and ensures that fans all over the country who are celebrating Tennis Night in America with us, will have the opportunity to see these great players square off for the Billie Jean King Cup.”

For the second year in a row, the BNP Paribas Showdown will feature four of the top women in tennis. The four participants have a combined career record of 1630-493 and have won a total of 12 Grand Slams and 98 WTA titles. Three of the four women have been ranked No. 1 at least once in their careers; Kuznetsova reached the No. 2 ranking in 2007.

Both MSG Plus and ESPN2 will showcase leading on-air commentators during the event. One of the most respected broadcasters in sports, Ted Robinson, will call play-by play for the semifinals while former World No. 1 player and three-time Grand Slam winner, Lindsay Davenport, will serve as analyst. MSG’s Scott Lasky will handle reporter duties for the semifinal matches. ESPN2’s coverage of the final will feature two prominent tennis commentators: Chris Fowler, host of the network’s coverage of all four Grand Slam events, alongside seven-time WTA Tour winner Mary Joe Fernandez.

The BNP Paribas Showdown features a unique set of rules. The semifinal matches will consist of only one set while the final match will be best of three. There will be no ad scoring in either round. The four participants will compete for a $1.2 million prize pool.

The “BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup” is the featured element of the national “Tennis Night in America” promotion. Through “Tennis Night in America”, the USTA will continue its efforts to grow youth participation in the sport of tennis. “Tennis Night in America” is among the sports largest ever grass roots initiatives. The USTA has made this event a major component for its Youth Registration Night, where youth from all over the country can begin signing up for spring and summer league play beginning on Friday, February 26th through March 1st. To find a sign-up location please go to www.tennisnight.com.

Title partner BNP Paribas has returned for a second year, continuing their strong commitment to support the sport of tennis. BNP Paribas will be joined by Official Partners Caesars Atlantic City, Delta Air Lines, FIJI Water, Fila, FXDD, Jumeirah Essex House, Lexus, NASDAQ OMX, Optimum, Rums of Puerto Rico, Sportime Tennis Clubs, Steuben Glass, Tennis.com, Travelers Insurance, Ubisoft and Wilson.

At the 2009 event, Venus Williams defeated Jelena Jankovic and Serena Williams defeated Ana Ivanovic in the semifinal matches. Serena then defeated her sister 6-4, 6-3 for the inaugural championship.

Serena Williams, the Billie Jean King Cup’s defending champion, has withdrawn from the upcoming BNP Paribas Showdown, scheduled for Monday, March 1, 2010 at Madison Square Garden, it was announced today.

Williams, who qualified for the Showdown based on her 2009 victories at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, has withdrawn due to a leg injury sustained during her recent run to the Australian Open Championships. This injury has also forced Williams out of WTA events in Paris and Dubai.

Former French Open Champion, Ana Ivanovic has been added to round out the field. Only current and former Grand Slam champions or year ending World No. 1 ranked players are eligible for the one night event.

"I'm very disappointed I won't be able to compete in the Billie Jean King Cup this year,” said Williams. “I loved playing in this event last year and was really looking forward to returning to New York and Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately I am still recovering from my leg injury in Australia and am not quite ready to compete at the highest level. I wish the event a great success and look forward to seeing my fans in New York in the fall."

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NEW YORK — Serena Williams has pulled out of an exhibition at Madison Square Garden because of a left leg injury.

Williams announced her withdrawal from the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup on Thursday. She'll be replaced in the four-player field by former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.

The 12-time Grand Slam singles champion was to face Kim Clijsters on March 1.

The leg injury has forced Williams to miss tournaments in Paris and Dubai.

Williams' sister, Venus, will play Svetlana Kuznetsova in the other semifinal at the one-night event in New York.

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American Shenay Perry fought the good qualifying rounds fight and is now entered into the main draw. She came through the third round match after winning a three-set match against Russian Vesna Manasieva 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

First up for Perry will be Serbian Ana Ivanovic. See you in round 2 Shenay!

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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Defending champion Serena Williams and four other past winners, including her sister Venus and wild-card entry Kim Clijsters, are in the provisional women's field for the U.S. Open.

Ninety-nine of the top 100 women in the current WTA rankings received direct entry Thursday into the hard-court Grand Slam tournament, played Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 in New York. The one missing is No. 88 Nathalie Dechy of France, who announced her retirement this week.

Serena Williams will be bidding for her fourth U.S. Open championship and third major title of 2009, after those at the Australian Open in January and Wimbledon this month. She owns 11 Grand Slam singles titles overall, most among active players.

Clijsters will be playing at Flushing Meadows for the first time since winning her only major title at the 2005 U.S. Open. She is making a comeback after retiring in 2007.

She asked the U.S. Tennis Association for a wild card and was granted one. To prepare for the U.S. Open, the 26-year-old Belgian — who is married and has a daughter — will be playing in WTA hard-courts events at Cincinnati and Toronto.

The other past U.S. Open champions in the field are Venus Williams (2000-01), Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004) and Maria Sharapova (2006). Other Grand Slam singles title winners in the field are Amelie Mauresmo and Ana Ivanovic.

Kuznetsova also won this year's French Open, beating No. 1-ranked Dinara Safina in the final.

Safina is atop the list of 104 direct entries. They'll be joined in the 128-player field by the eight women (including Clijsters) who receive wild cards and the 16 who will earn berths in Aug. 25-28 qualifying.

The provisional men's field was announced Wednesday, led by five-time defending champion Roger Federer.

The winners of the U.S. Open men's and women's singles title will each receive a record $1.6 million.

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(L-R) WTA CEO Larry Scott, tennis players Vera Zvonareva, Venus Williams, Richard Branson Serena Williams, Anne Keothavong, Ana Ivanovic and Elena Dementieva

(L-R) WTA CEO Larry Scott, tennis players Vera Zvonareva, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Anne Keothavong, Ana Ivanovic and Elena Dementieva, and Sony Ericsson Corporate Vice President of Global Communications Aldo Liguori (R)

Photos by WireImage

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Sunday was neither a day of rest or salvation for top players Dinara Safina, Ana Ivanovic, Vera Zvonareva or Nadia Petrova. Each player was knocked out in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Americans Venus and Serena Williams did not fall victim to the Sunday blues of the other ladies. Both Venus and Serena displayed convincing wins as they moved into the round of 16.

German Anna-Lena Groenefeld fell in straight sets to Venus 7-5, 6-3, and China's Shuai Peng did likewise to Serena 7-5, 6-2.


Up next for Venus is Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska and Serena will play China's Jie Zheng.





In a fairly routine victory, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga knocked out American qualifier Robert Kendrick 7-5, 6-4.

Tsonga will confront fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon in the round of 16.

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KEY BISCAYNE, FL - MARCH 25: Serena Williams and other ladies of the WTA talk to the media during day three of the Sony Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 25.

Ana Ivanovic, Serbia

Venus Williams, USA

Vera Zvonareva, Russia

Photos by Al Bello/Getty Images

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In what turned out to be a really nice event, American Serena Williams had to take down big sister Venus to earn the first Billie Jean King Cup title.

The entire event appeared to be planned, organized and promoted wonderfully. The celebration of legend Billie Jean King with a tournament named for her, broadcast on HBO and contested by four of the world's top players, it just could not have been done any better.

Venus and Serena Williams and Serbians Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic went head to head. The single-set semifinal no-ad format was do or die. It wasn't a matter of it suiting any of the players well, it was a matter of who was willing to go for it all. In the first semifinal Venus and Jelena seemed to start out on equal footing, but Venus managed to break Jelena's serve at the all to crucial 4-4 point of their match. She then served for and won that semifinal 6-4.

Serena and Ana's semifinal wasn't quite as even handed. While Ana did get in a few memorable shots, Serena was never in any danger. She defeated Ana 6-3 setting up the all-Williams final.

The maiden contesting of a tournament could not get any better than an all-Williams final. While it wasn't the most memorable match, the ladies played well and provided a match worthy of a final. After two weeks of winning tournaments back to back, Venus appeared to run out of gas... who wouldn't.

Nevertheless, the first Billie Jean King Cup was definitely a night to remember.


Event Photos

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