Black Tennis Pros

American Donald Young lost to Germany’s Benjamin Becker, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4


Sloane Stephens, ranked and seeded No. 18 at Wimbledon, was beaten by No. 109 Maria Kirilenko, who was ranked No. 10 in the world just a year ago. Plagued by shoulder and knee injuries, Kirilenko is on the comeback trail now—apparently with a vengeance.

“She's done well here in the past. I knew it was going to be tricky, but that's like every other Grand Slam first-round match,” Stephens said of the 6-2, 7-6 (6) loss.
This loss could drop her out of the Top 20 by the end of Wimbledon.


Court 12 was so brimful with charisma when Marcos Baghdatis and Dustin Brown faced one another in the first round that you wondered if there would be room for all that magnetism and the tennis too.

Brown came into this match on the up after his spectacular demolition of Rafael Nadal on the grass of Halle earlier this month, and many would have favoured him to down the former world No.8, who is now ranked 119 and needed a wild card to secure his place in the draw. But in the event a typically flamboyant display from the 6ft 5in German came at too great a price. It was Baghdatis who won 6-4, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(4).



Eighteen-year-old American Taylor Townsend enjoyed a wonderful spell on the red clay of the French Open last month, reaching the third round before bowing out to No.14 seed Carla Suarez Navarro, but was not able to fare as well at Wimbledon.

Townsend lost 7-5, 6-2 to Klára Koukalová of the Czech Republic, but is determined not to dwell on the loss.

“I definitely am not pleased about my match, but it's just a learning experience really,” she insisted. “I'm just going to take what I've learned over the past two slams. I'm going to go back home. I'm going to work extremely hard and get ready for the US Open Series. I have tons of tournaments to look forward to and a lot of great things are ahead, but it's time to just put my head down and work again.

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TOULON, France — Jo Wilfried Tsonga’s unbeaten run in the Davis Cup ended Sunday when the Frenchman was forced to retire with a sprained ankle against Simon Greul of Germany.

France had already qualified for the quarterfinals after Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber and Christopher Kas on Saturday for an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

Tsonga retired while trailing 4-6, 6-2, 1-0. The former Australian Open runner-up is expected to play the BNP Paribas Open starting next week at Indian Wells, California.

"I preferred to stop because it hurt me when I walked," Tsonga said. "It should take a few days before returning to normal. I will undergo scans tomorrow morning."

Julien Benneteau, who was named as a replacement for Gael Monfils, then gave his country a 4-1 victory with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Benjamin Becker in the last meaningless singles match. Benneteau won 83 percent of the points played on his first serve and broke his opponent four times.

On Friday, Gael Monfils and Tsonga won the opening singles against Kohlschreiber and Benjamin Becker respectively.

France will play Spain at home in the quarterfinals July 9-11. France’s last victory over Spain dates back to 1923.

"We won’t be favorites," Tsonga said. "They are the best and it’s a good moment to write history."

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PARIS -- James Blake of the United States beat French veteran Fabrice Santoro 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Paris Masters on Sunday.

The 36-year-old Santoro, who is playing his final season on the ATP tour, swapped jerseys with Blake after the match and did a lap around the court to warm applause from the crowd at Bercy indoor arena.

Blake broke Santoro's serve twice in each set, and afterward paid tribute to the Frenchman.

"He's a great competitor, such a classy guy. Someone I've had a lot of tough matches with," said Blake, who next plays fourth-seeded Andy Murray of Britain. "He's had a great career. It's unbelievable how much success he's had in singles and doubles and how well liked he is by his competitors."

Murray beat Mikhail Youzhny in the Valencia Open final on Sunday, winning his sixth title of the season in his first tournament back since injuring his wrist at the U.S. Open in September.

In another first-round match in Paris on Sunday, Benjamin Becker beat Michael Llodra of France 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. The German next meets sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.

Becker converted all three break chances, and saved two second-set break points and another in the decider. Both players served nine aces.

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