Black Tennis Pros

In an upset during the night session at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday, Croatian veteran Ivan Ljubicic fired 15 aces and dropped just four points on his first serve in a 7-5, 6-3 defeat of fifth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Ljubicic, who did not face a break point, next faces defending champion Novak Djokovic.

Read the rest of this post...........

DUBAI (AFP) - Venus Williams will have to play her semi-final in the two-million-dollar WTA Dubai Open on a distant outside court on Friday after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-4 in the last eight here.

That is because the defense of her title has carried her to a meeting with Shahar Peer, the first Israeli ever to compete in the United Arab Emirates, who has been playing her matches on a low-profile court where security is more manageable.

It means that many of the 5,000 fans who have pre-booked centre court tickets in the hope of seeing one or more of the the world's best known players will be unable to do so, because the five-time former Wimbledon champion will be on a faraway court out by the trees and the shops.

"I guess I just want what is best for everyone," said Williams, after admitting that it was a long time since she had been scheduled to play on such a minor court. "And if this is the best decision then I support it."

Williams looked as though she might have a spot of bother when she went 1-3 down in the first set to an 18-year-old former world junior champion, who hit the ball like an express train and had the titleholder scrambling to contain her early on.

But the match changed mood after Pavlyuchenkova served a double fault in the sixth game and then played an indifferent point at 30-40 to allow a Williams break back.

It led to the champion taking six matches in a row and gaining such a hold on the match that she accelerated to 4-2 in the second set, with the teenager's error ratio rising to self-destructive levels.

However the potential danger of the fierce-hitting young Russian's game showed itself again near the end, when she began to put Williams under more consistent pressure again with raking drives.

Pavlyuchenkova even looked capable of breaking back in the final game, and Williams needed fully seven match points before she closed it out with a heavy service winner.

Earlier Peer scored her third victory over a seeded player, reaching the semis when Li Na retired after "suddenly feeling a click" in her back early in the second set.

Peer's 7-5, 3-0 success over the Australian Open semi-finalist nevertheless looked like a genuine victory, based again on tremendous consistency, rhythmic and varied driving, tenacious mobility and intense focus.

Needless to say, she wouldn't be phased by where she plays.

"I'm the only player that hasn't played on centre court," she said. "But whatever will be, will be. I'm not controlling it. I'm doing what I've been told, and wherever I need to play, I'll play on."

Asked if it would be a disadvantage if she reaches a final on centre court not once having played there, Peer answered: "I guess not, because I am winning. But you know I'm doing what I've been told. I'm not involved in the schedule.

"I just get it when my coach tells me where I'm playing, and I'm getting ready for the match."

Similarly Williams wouldn't admit to any disadvantage for her match on Friday, which will be the first time she has played away from the centre court this week.

"I am just focused on the semi-final and executing my game," she said.

"I have practiced out there before, but I have not played a match out there before. I will obviously try to make the experience I have gained from all these years count for me."

Read the rest of this post...........

DUBAI — Venus Williams' bid to hang on to one of her two remaining titles made a reassuring start as she quashed the challenge of one of the tour's brightest young hopes to reach the last 16 of the Dubai Open.

The defending champion's 6-2, 6-3 win over Sabine Lisicki, the 20-year-old Wimbledon quarter-finalist, contained consistent serving, well-timed increases in pressure, and a conspicuously tight focus.

A good week here is important for the five-time Wimbledon champion's belief that, approaching her 30th birthday, she remains capable of winning more majors, and that need showed in the quality of her performance.

There was only one brief moment when it seemed that the hard-hitting but variable German might find sufficient control to get into the match - when she played a brilliant game to break Williams' serve for the only time, and edge up to 3-4 in the second set.

Williams responded immediately, applying extra pressure on her returns to break Lisicki's delivery a fourth time, then smartly closing out the match for the loss of only a point.

She had been put through her paces robustly by her father Richard, before the match, and it appeared to have helped.

"I still try to listen to him," she said, smiling, "and not to rebel against what he says."

The champion's sharp start earned her a meeting with Belarus' Olga Govertsova, a surprise survivor who is coached by her brother, and who brought down the 14th seeded Italian, Francesca Schiavone, in straight sets.

If Williams gets past that as she should, she could go on to a semi-final with the top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki.

Read the rest of this post...........

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Venus Williams is intent on winning more tournaments in 2010 than her two titles last year and plans to start by retaining the Dubai Tennis Championship.

Williams won back-to-back events in Dubai and Acapulco in 2009 but then lost in the final at Wimbledon, Stanford and the season-ending WTA Tour Championship in Doha.

The American has won five Wimbledon titles, the last in 2008, but hasn't won any other major since the 2001 U.S. Open.

"I may not have won many tournaments but I came close to winning a couple of big ones last year," Williams said. "Obviously, I go into each tournament wanting to win. And I am aware that I haven't won a Grand Slam tournament, apart from Wimbledon, for some time."

Williams, seeded third for the Dubai tournament, will be without her younger sister with top-ranked Serena Williams skipping the event due to an injured leg. Second-ranked Dinara Safina of Russia has also withdrawn from the tournament, which starts Monday.

"Obviously, I miss her here and the tournament misses a player as successful as her, but once I step on the court I am completely focused on my game," Williams said. "The field is really strong. Obviously, a couple of top players are missing because of injuries, but the rest of us are playing very good tennis and it should be a fascinating week.

"I am just happy to win last year and I just want to add another title. I am looking forward to getting back on the court."

Read the rest of this post...........

After a 6-4, 6-2 win over France's Virginie Razzano, American Venus Williams took her 40th career title and returned to the world's top five at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships today.

Venus has displayed excellent mental and physical form since hitting the courts in 2009. That same look and precision game was evident today. The match consisted of great hitting and impressive rallies. Razzano was definitely no fluke getting to the final, she put forward a very strategic defense, though it never seemed to be enough to diminish the power coming at her from the other side of the net.

Post match Venus said, "It was a great week to be able to win against the world's best player, my sister."

When asked about the possibility of getting back to world no. 1 Venus said, "well I would love to be the best in the world - and I am coming. So I am going to try."

With regard to Razzano Venus said, "I have to congratulate her, she beat some top players and played well again today."

Congrats Venus!

Read the rest of this post...........

In a little over two hours and a gripping toe-to-toe battle that ended in a tiebreak, American Venus Williams defeated younger sister Serena 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(3) to move into the final of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

Venus took the match to Serena full force from the very beginning. It looked as if there would be no stopping her... not so. Serena pulled it together in the second set and turned the beat around on Venus, at which time it appeared as if she would run away with the match... again, not so. Both ladies hit the ground running in the third set and it was a pure battle until the tiebreak when Venus took over and took the match. It was time well spent watching.

Post match Venus said "Obviously Serena is number one, but I think we are the best in the world."

I agree with Venus, now I can't wait to hear the dramatic statements that will flow from the commentators mouths in response.

"There are other great players but it would have been better if the two best are in the final. I would definitely be more pleased if it were a final. But I guess I will have to keep working on my ranking," continued Venus.

When asked about the difficulty of playing Serena Venus said, "you know I am always the big sister. I have to stay focused when I am out there. I can't worry too much whether she is okay. She's an unbelievable player. So I have two problems out there."

Before the match, Venus looks like she's hiding a surprise for baby sister.

Read the rest of this post...........

At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships both American super sisters Venus and Serena Williams will be slugging it out in the semifinals... against one another.

To set up this semifinal match the sisters first had to get by very able quarterfinal opponents. Serena took out Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4, and Venus knocked out defending champion Russian Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-3.

Of Ivanovic, Serena said, "she was really trying to hit hard. I think her goal was to go for broke. I was feeling a bit tired at the start of the second set, but wasn't too worried about her going 3-0 up as I knew I was just a break down. I knew I could pull it off."

On Dementieva's game Venus said, "she has been playing great this year and she is a great player. She likes to control the match, and I also like doing the same. So, I am pleased that I was able to do that."

With regard to the two of them meeting, Serena said "we are both the best players on the tour right now. Obviously, we both are also playing our best tennis right now, which definitely makes our matches more exciting."

I'm rollin' with Venus for the smackdown!!

Read the rest of this post...........

American James Blake slugged it out with Australian Lleyton Hewitt at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee on Wednesday. After more than two hours, Blake was defeated 6-3, 1-6, 4-6.

‘‘I didn’t take advantage of my chances and he did. In the first set, he didn’t come up with his best on break points. From then on he did. And from then on I didn’t.’’



Frenchman Gael Monfils became the first major upset of the Open 13 in Marseilles, France. Fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu defeated Monfils 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

"It was a rotten game, I didn't play," said Monfils.



At the Barclay's Dubai Tennis Championships American Venus Williams defeated Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6-3, 6-2.

"I made more errors than yesterday," Williams said. "I rushed a little bit in the first set and then realized it in the second and started pulling back a little bit on my shots."



At the same tournament as sister Venus, American Serena Williams defeated China's Jie Zheng for the third straight time 6-4, 6-2.

"I think the intensity was high today, but my first serve could have been better," Williams said. "I had to rely a lot on my second serve. I definitely could do better technically."



Also at the Open 13, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Kazakh Andrey Golubev 7-6 6-2.

"Last year, I lost in the first round to Mario Ancic. This time I'm still alive but I think Golubev lost all by himself because he served for the first set at 6-5 and failed to win important points."

Photos by AP/Getty Images

Read the rest of this post...........

In a fast 57 minutes, American Venus Williams polished off her first opponent to begin her run at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. After firing off seven aces and never facing a break point, Venus sent Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova off to consider her next tournament. The win came in at 6-0, 6-1.

Venus is scheduled to play Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in the next round.

Since arriving in Dubai, Venus has been asked about her thoughts on the state of drug testing in tennis, and in particular, whether she thinks the regulation which requires players to make it known where they will be available for one hour of every day places too much of a demand on the players.

Venus said, "if your match goes to one o'clock at night you don't know what's going to happen if you are focusing on recovery for the next day."

"You are not focusing on where you are going to be. You are trying to do what you have to do - even at home. First thing you do is wake up and go to play.

"There are some things in the system which need to be looked at. We want a system which works and then it's fair."

And then there was Serena... yes, she won her match too, but very differently. Serena's first opponent was Italy's Sara Errani who took the first set 4-6. In typical Serena fashion, she regrouped between sets and was then merciless to Errani, defeating her 6-2, 6-0.

When asked how her knee was holding up Serena said, "it held up well. I got off to a slow start ... just trying to get used to the conditions, and I did not really like the ball being used here.

"But I never doubted that I will win. Even when I was 4-0 down in the first set, I told myself I am just two breaks down and I can still win the set."

Therein lies the problem for anyone who stands across the net from Serena.


Photos of Venus and Serena In Dubai

Photos by Getty Images

Read the rest of this post...........

SINGLES

Round 1

Venus Williams, USA vs. BYE

Serena Williams, USA vs. BYE


Round 2

Venus Williams, USA defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
6-0, 6-1

Serena Williams, USA defeated Sara Errani, ITA
4-6, 6-2, 6-0


Quarterfinal Round

Venus Williams defeated Alize Cornet, FRA
6-3, 6-2

Serena Williams defeated Jie Zheng, CHN
6-4, 6-2


Semifinal Round

Venus Williams, USA defeated Serena Williams, USA
6-1, 2-6, 7-6(3)


DOUBLES

Round 1

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Vladimira Uhlirova, CZE
defeated
Daniela Hantuchova, SVK and Ai Sugiyama, JPN
Walk Over

Round 2

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Vladimira Uhlirova, CZE
defeated by
Akgul Amanmuradova, UZB and Chia-Jung Chuang, TPE
4-6, 4-6


Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA


SINGLES

Round 1

Stephanie Foretz, FRA defeated Melinda Czink, HUN
6-2, 4-6, 6-2

Alexandra Stevenson, USA defeated by Vania King, USA
2-6, 6-7(5)

Round 2

Stephanie Foretz defeated by Sabine Lisicki, GER
2-6, 4-6


DOUBLES

Round 1

Angela Haynes, USA and Christina Fusano, USA
defeated by
Vania King, USA and Alla Kudryavtseva, RUS
6-7(2), 2-6

Mashona Washington, USA and Jill Craybas, USA
defeated
Chanelle Scheepers, RSA and Abigail Spears, USA
7-6(3), 6-0

Shenay Perry, USA and Alexa Glatch, USA
defeated
Julie Ditty, USA and Carly Gullickson, USA
6-2, 7-5


Quarterfinal Round

Mashona Washington, USA and Jill Craybas, USA
defeated by
Yuliana Fedak, UKR and Michaella Krajicek, NED
7(5)-6, 4-6 [4-10]


Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Angela Haynes, USA


SINGLES

Round 1

James Blake, USA defeated by Lleyton Hewitt, AUS
6-3, 1-6, 4-6

Donald Young, USA defeated by Christophe Rochus, BEL
4-6, 3-6


DOUBLES

Round 1

James Blake, USA and Bobby Reynolds, USA
defeated
Eric Butorac, USA and Bruno Soares, BRA
7-5, 3-6 [11-9]


SINGLES

Round 1

Jo Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated Andrey Golubev, KAZ
7(5)-6, 6-2

Gael Monfils, FRA defeated by Paul-Henri Mathieu, FRA
6-4, 4-6, 5-7


Round 2

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated Simone Bolelli, ITA
6-3, 6-2


Quarterfinal Round

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated Feliciano Lopez, ESP
6-2, 6-7(1), 6-4


SINGLES

Round 1

Asia Muhammad, USA defeated by Georgie Stoop, GBR
3-6, 0-6

Asha Rolle, USA defeated by Kai-Chen Chang, TPE
5-7, 0-6


DOUBLES

Round 1

Ahsha Rolle and Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
defeated
Maria-Fernanda Alves, BRA and Yi Chen, TPE
6-4, 3-6 [13-11]


Quarterfinal Round

Ahsha Rolle, USA and Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
defeated
Heidi El Tabakh, CAN and Michelle Gerards, NED
7-5, 7-6(3)


Semifinal Round

Ahsha Rolle, USA and Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
defeated
Mailen Auroux, ARG and Vernonica Spiegel, ARG
6-2, 6-1


Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Sloane Stephens, USA
Jennifer Elie, USA


SINGLES

Round 1

Todd Paul, USA defeated by Philip Bester, CAN
1-6, 1-6

Nicholas Monroe, USA defeated Nikita Kryvonos, USA
6-2, 7-6(3)


Quarterfinal Round

Nicholas Monroe, USA defeated Andrey Kumantsov, RUS
6-2, 6-2


DOUBLES

Round 1

Nicholas Monroe, USA and Michal Ryderstedet, SWE
defeated by
Uladzimir Ignatik, BLR and Nikita Kryvonos, USA
2-6, 6-7(3)

Paul Todd, USA and Treat Conrad Huey, PHI
defeated by
Jesse Witten, USA and Tigran Martirosyan, ARM
4-6, 5-7

Read the rest of this post...........

Dubai, UAE, 14th February 2009: Dubai could witness an all-Williams semifinal showdown after world number one Serena and her sister Venus were drawn in the same half of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships today.

The two have not gone head to head in Dubai before, but there’s a long way to go before a potential semifinal clash at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.

Both sisters have been handed byes in the first round and Serena will then meet the winner of Yung-Jan Chan v Sara Errani in round two, while Venus will come up against the winner of the match between Maria Kirilenko and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.

Venus was present at the tournament draw which took place at the Aviation Club today and was joined by 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, who will come up against Japan’s Ai Sugiyama in the first round.

“I’m already enjoying being here. This is an exciting tournament, one of the largest events on the tour, and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a really tough field again and I’m ready to play,” said Williams after the draw.

As for being drawn in the same half as her sister, she joked: “Well, she’s number one in the world right now and her last name is Williams so people could confuse us and think I’m number one. I hope we do play each other.”

The sensational sisters form part of an incredible lineup for this year’s Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships which includes all the top-ranked women’s players in the world.

Read the rest of this post...........

Round 1 - Qualifying Singles

Scoville Jenkins, USA vs. Amer Delic, USA*
*Jenkins was defeated in the second round 6-3, 6-4


Round 1 - Singles

Gael Monfils, FRA vs Thomas Berdych, CZE


Round 1 - Doubles

Jeff Coetzee, RSA and Wesley Moodie, RSA*
vs.
Feliciano Lopez, ESP and Rafael Nadal, ESP
*Coetzee and Moodie were defeated 6-4, 7-6(5)

Read the rest of this post...........