Black Tennis Pros

6-4 in the third set tiebreak today @usopen and my opponent is visibly cramping and takes a medical time out which is against the rules . No surprise no one will do absolutely anything about it and pretend nothing happened 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

— Sachia Vickery (@SachiaVick) August 22, 2019

In reply, fellow American tennis player Taylor Townsend not only agreed with Vickery, but stated that she too would be approaching U.S. Open staff on the matter.

Agreed. Totally wrong. I will be bringing this up to the @usopen staff and supervisors as well. We have to come together as players and let our voices be heard. Clarity and consistency in the rules is imperative https://t.co/HhXbjGwtli

— Taylor Townsend (@TaylorTownsend) August 23, 2019

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(L-R) Serena Williams, USA, Sloane Stephens, USA, James Blake, USA, Venus Williams, USA and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France all shown post-match on Day 4 of the 2012 US Open.

American Sloane Stephens, the youngest player in the top 50 at age 19, defeated qualifier Tatjana Malek 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in Louis Armstrong stadium Thursday in a three-set match filled with momentum shifts and heavily contrasting styles of play.

After a slow start in the second set, the easy power and athleticism of Stephens dealt with the variety of spins and shots coming off the Malek racquet to advance to the third round, tying her best showing at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center.

Heading into his second round match against Marcel Granollers, James Blake knew it wouldn't be easy going up against the 6-foot-3 Spaniard. He'd lost to him before in the title match on the clay courts of Houston in 2008.

And so it was here, under the lights of Louis Armstrong stadium, where Blake's best tennis came through again, as he defeated Granollers 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round here for the first time since 2010. Already waiting for him in the next round is a tall order, literally, as big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic will face off against him.

Serena Williams advanced a few steps in from the baseline and celebrated the point, bent over two balled fists and screaming “Come on!”

During her 6-2, 6-4 win Thursday over Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the second round of the US Open, many members of the crowd echoed this cry, trying to push the three-time Open winner on an afternoon when she fought through unforced errors – 24 in all -- inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In a huge upset, and a major head-scratcher, 23-year-old Martin Klizan of the Slovak Republic, ranked No. 52 in the world, took out the No. 5 seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga of France, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Tsonga looked out of sorts for most of the match, enough for many to wonder about his health, to try to explain a lackluster performances at such a significant venue.

The big serving Tsonga showed less firepower throughout the match than his unheralded opponent, who has had most of his success on the pro tour on clay court Challenger events.

Klizan, more aggressive and determined throughout, had 5 aces to Tsonga’s 4, and hit 32 winners to Tsonga’s 28.

The second-round blockbuster between sixth seed Angelique Kerber and two-time champion Venus Williams was hyped as one of the matches to watch at the US Open. With a 12:19 a.m. finish on Arthur Ashe Stadium, the matchup lived up to its billing, as Kerber outlasted Williams 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in a gripping battle.

The clash began with five straight breaks of serve, before the left-handed Kerber ended the streak in the sixth game to lead 4-2. Williams was unable to find a rhythm, hitting 36 percent of her first serves into play, committing five double faults and winning two of 14 points on second serve to lose the first set in 31 minutes. The American dropped all four of her service games.

Post match Venus said, "Today I felt American for the first time at the U.S. Open," Venus said. "So I've waited my whole career to have this moment, and here it is.

"I was fighting her today and, unfortunately, myself," Venus said afterward. "I couldn't put more than two points together without making a few errors. I didn't help myself out today."

"When you're ready, you're ready," Venus said of Roddick. "If I was out there and people were killing me, maybe time to hang it up. But I just have to find the answer within myself. I'm playing my game and eventually [the shots] will land."

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Simona Halep

WIMBLEDON - Though still some way short of her awesome best, the defending champion Serena Williams is safely through to the third round at the 125th Championships following a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over the 19-year-old Romanian Simona Halep.

Another layer of the rust accumulated during her 49-week absence from the game was shaken off as Williams gradually warmed to her task, converting an erratic start into a rousing finish.
Unusally for a title holder, Williams was required to play outside the two main courts, though the No.2 is of course a show court, and an impressive one at that.

This is the first Wimbledon appearance for Halep, the former Junior Roland Garros champion who stands at No.58 in the world rankings after zooming up more than 100 places in the past year. Though she stands only 5ft 6in she makes up in power and pace what she lacks in height. In the opening set she ran Williams relentlessly from side to side and led 3-1 when the American dropped serve on her ninth unforced error in just four games.



Halep's deep, accurate services kept Williams very much on the back foot until in the seventh game, when Halep took a tumble attempting a sharp turn and damaged her left leg. An extended break ensued while a trainer was summoned to treat the injury and although the teenager eventually resumed, the edge had disappeared from her game and her speed. Still, she clung on to her lead and jumped for joy when she closed out the set after 37 minutes.

Subsequently there was not a lot for Halep to be joyful about. Having seen the warning, Williams duly heeded it, tightened her own game and took control, at one point bellowing "C'mon, fight".

Though she landed only 39% of first serves on target in the second set, Williams won it with ease in 42 minutes, levelling the match with a net cord that dropped dead on the Romanian's side of the net. With Halep now demoralised and unrecognisable as the eager youngster who had started so brightly, the third set was embarrassingly one-sided.

But the better players awaiting Williams deeper into the draw will have noted that she required four match points to wrap up the win and committed 19 unforced errors.

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