Black Tennis Pros

American Serena Williams at 2018 French Open in grand slam return after giving birth.

Where is Childish Gambino, I need a "This Is Tennis" track - better still, "These Are Sports"!!!

In an interview for Tennis Magazine, French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli announced that the French Open will be introducing a new, more restrictive dress code stating, ‘’I think that sometimes we’ve gone too far” and “[the catsuit] will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and the place.’’

Wow...   Wow...   Wow...

HOW IN THE HELL DOES SERENA WILLIAMS E-A-R-N 23 Grand Slam Titles and have no respect for the game of tennis?

And if clothing is any indication of a player's respect for the game, based upon what I've seen MANY other players clothe themselves in over the years, respect would have to be absolutely the lowest rung on the ladder of respect for tennis.

The greater majority of tennis players express their individuality, fashion persuasion, culture, personal likes/dislikes, and/or support for a great number of things/issues in the outfits that they choose to wear for tennis tournaments. Yet it wasn't until the great Serena Williams graced the courts of France in an outfit that supported her grand-slam return with a two-fold purpose, that whatever bias, discriminatory beliefs, jackassness or foolishness (there's more I'm sure) that Giudicelli has towards this Queen of the game, find what is obviously deemed a legitimate opportunity to change the rules of the game in France, while accusing Serena Williams of being the impetus for the change.

Didn't like her catsuit? Ever heard of a damn cell phone? DM? Coach? Hell, a note!!

Or, was this simply an opportunity to get some conversation going with the non-great name of Bernard Giudicelli in it? Whatever the reasoning, you can rest assured that your disrespect of Serena Williams is now on the table. 

F-A-U-L-T!!

Always remember, Karma is a bonefide...!!

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2013 U.S. Open Champion Rafa Nadal chalks up his 13th Grand Slam Title

The number two ranked Spaniard added a second grand slam crown this season to his French Open triumph when the top-seeded Serb dumped a forehand into the net, sending Nadal down onto his back before rolling face down and sobbing in joy.

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Americans James Blake and Sloane Stephens both opened the 2012 U.S. Open Series Citi Open Tournament in Washington, D.C. with three-set wins.

No. 3 seed Sloane Stephens and James Blake survived three-set fights in their opening matches at the Citi Open on Monday.

Stephens defeated Sesil Karatantcheva 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, while Blake rallied from a set down for only his second tour win of the year, advancing to the second round with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph over No. 5 seed Pablo Andujar.

Stephens lost the final three games of the second set, including two on her own serve, but opened the third by breaking Karatantcheva twice for a 3-0 lead. The 19-year-old American tacked on two more breaks to advance.

"It was just a matter of a couple of loose points and some weird calls and things that happened," Stephens said of the rough middle set. "I was just a little more consistent in the end and I think that's what carried me through."

Stephens reached the fourth round at the French Open and the third at Wimbledon this year. The Floridian narrowly missed a berth on the U.S. Olympic team, and since Wimbledon has made first-round exits in her last two tournaments. There was no denying that avoiding an unwanted hat trick crossed her mind.

"You just can't ever lose three in a row, that's all," Stephens said. "That's not even an option."

The 32-year-old Blake's 2012 campaign had been a losing one entering Washington, site of his first title 10 years ago. Coming off knee surgery in November, he lost eight of his nine matches this year.

"I think I was a little falsely optimistic earlier in the year," Blake said. "I really thought I was able to get out there and compete. I don't have the ability to compete with these guys unless I'm 100 percent. . My legs feel great now."

That showed starting in the second set as Blake used his return of serve and eight aces to carry the day.

"Second set, right from the start I started feeling good, got a rhythm and never let go of that," Blake said. "I felt like I was in the games. I was sort of dictating most of the time and that's the way I want to play."
 

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Monfils, Monfils, Monfils! What happened?

I personally saw you lose your match and still I ask, what happened???

Frenchman Gael Monfils's match against Italy's Fabio Fognini began totally going Monfils's way. The first two set were competitive, but owned by the Frenchman ending at 6-2, 6-4.

Then some kind of weird vibe began to creep onto the court and Monfils slowly stopped playing his game, and responding to Fognini's.

The match was halted on Wednesday at 5-5 in the fifth. With all of the back and forth drama, I still thought 'no way Monfils loses this match.'

Both players were unhappy with the decision to stop the match, but returned in the same fashion. Fognini closed the match out with a 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-4 9-7 win.

What did Monfils have to say afterwards? "I lost, that's all. I am disappointed, I lost... but I like Fabio. He beat me fair and square."

Major bummer. Check out other results here.

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American Serena Williams had a slow start getting it together during the morning rounds of day 2 at Roland Garros - it was just one of those days. On the flip side, it really doesn't matter what kind of day she's having, the younger Williams sister will typically find a way to win... and she did.

After waking up and finding some rhythm, Serena pulled off a 7-6², 6-2 win over Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele.

Post match Serena said, “I definitely didn’t feel good about it. At least I won. I think I’m still in the tournament. That’s what matters.”

When you get right down to it, that's all that matters.



Frenchman Gael Monfils had a few bumps in his 6-3, 7-5, 6⁵-7⁷, 6-2 quest for victory over Germany's Dieter Kindlmann, but nothing dramatic. It appears that Kindlmann came with a bit more game than Monfils may have anticipated.

In his post match interview Monfils said, "Well, I'm happy I won ... I'm really happy I won because I was really nervous. My game is not as good as it used to be because, well I didn't know the guy. I could have finished it earlier but, the positive thing about it is I won."

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American Venus Williams turning heads on day one action with her play and her outfit. In an updated 'cancan' style, Venus took the Court Suzanne Lenglen by storm.

The key to being able to wear such an attention grabbing outfit is to assure that it does not take center stage - win your match; and Venus did just that. She defeated Switzerland's Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-3, as pretty much expected.

Venus shared that her look was "about illusion ... a lot of my motif this year..." as it relates to her clothes design.



French top tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga didn't let the home crowd down as he hold off German Daniel Brands' strong challenge at the opening day of French Open to win the first round in five sets on Sunday. Tsonga, eighth seeded, defeated his unseeded rival in 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-5, setting up a second-round encounter with compatriot Josselin Ouanna.

"It was a long match, but I have two days to rest. I think I should be okay," said Tsonga. "I'm happy I won. The number of guys who have won a tournament having a difficult first round or even had to save match points, I mean, that's very often the case. So, I mean, it's not a big deal."



Fellow Frenchman Josselin Ouanna took his opponent Lukasz Kubot of Poland to task in a 7⁷-6⁵, 6⁴-7⁷, 6-2, 6-4 defeat to set up a second round match with Tsonga.

How ridiculous is that? Amazing how the two are so close together in the draw where one will be immediately eliminated ... incredible.

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ROUND 1

Women's Singles

(1)Serena Williams, USA defeated Stephanie Voegle, SUI
7⁷-6², 6-2

(2)Venus Williams, USA defeated Patty Schnyder, SUI
6-3, 6-3

Shenay Perry, USA defeated by Olivia Sanchez, FRA
6⁴-7⁷, 0-6

Stephanie Foretz, FRA defeated by Agnes Szavay, HUN
2-6, 2-6

Doubles

(1)Serena Williams, USA and (1)Venus Williams, USA
defeated
Kirsten Flipkins, BEL and Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA
6-0, 6-1

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Sarah Borwell, GBR
defeated by
(12)Kveta Peschke, CZE and (12)Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
0-6, 1-6

Stephanie Foretz, FRA and Claire Feuerstein, FRA
vs.
Kimiko Date Krumm, JPN and Shuai Peng, CHN


Men's Singles

(8)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated Daniel Brands, GER
4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6²-7⁷, 7-5

(13)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Dieter Kindlmann, GER
6-3, 7-5, 6⁵-7⁷, 6-2

(WC)Josselin Ouanna, FRA defeated Lukasz Kubot, POL
7⁷-6⁵, 6⁴-7⁷, 6-2, 6-4

(WC)Gianni Mia, FRA defeated by Rafael Nadal, ESP
2-6, 2-6, 2-6

Doubles

Gael Monfils, FRA and Josselin Ouanna, FRA
vs.
Richard Gasquet, FRA and Sebastien Grosjean, FRA

Jeff Coetzee, RSA and Andreas Seppi, ITA
defeated by
Viktor Troicki, SRB and Dusan Vemic, SRB
3-6, 4-6

Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Julio Silva, BRA


ROUND 2

Women's Singles

(1)Serena Williams, USA vs. Julia Goerges, GER

(2)Venus Williams, USA defeated Arantxa Para Santonja, ESP
6-2, 6-4

Doubles

(1)Serena Williams, USA and (1)Venus Williams, USA
vs.
Daniela Hantuchova, SVK and Caroline Wozniacki, DEN

Men's Singles

(8)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated Josselin Ouanna, FRA
6-0, 6-1, 6-4

(13)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated by Fabio Fognini, ITA
6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 7-9


ROUND 3

Women's Singles

(2)Venus Williams, USA vs. (26)Dominika Cibulkova, SVK

Men's Singles

(8)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA vs. Thiemo De Bakker, NED



ROUND 1

Women's Singles

(5)Angela Haynes, USA defeated by Asia Muhammed, USA
2-6, 0-6

(6)Alexandra Stevenson, USA defeated by Kristie Ahn, USA
4-6, 6-3, 3-6

Ahsha Rolle, USA defeated (Q)Tamaryn Hendler, BEL
7-5, 5-7, 7-6⁶

Jennifer Elie, USA defeated by Coco Vandeweghe
1-6, 5-7

(WC)Brittany Augustine, USA defeated Isabella Holland, AUS
6-2, 6-4

Doubles

Brittany Augustine, USA and Jennifer Elie, USA
defeated
Amanda Fink, USA and Elizabeth Lumpkin, USA
4-6, 6-2 [12-10]

Whitney Jones, USA and Petra Rampre, SLO
defeated by
Ana-Clara Duarte, BRA and Lena Litvak, USA
5-7, 3-6

Asia Muhammed, USA and Ivana Lisjak, CRO
defeated
Macall Harkins, USA and Story Tweedie-Yates, USA
6-4, 6-3

Angela Haynes, USA and Ahsha Rolle, USA
defeated by
Kristie Ahn, USA and Nicole Gibbs, USA
3-6, 4-6

Megan Moulton-Levy, USA and Lindsay Lee-Waters, USA
defeated
Shelby Rogers, USA and Coco Vandeweghe, USA
6-1, 6-2

Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Whitney Jones

Men's Singles

(4)Donald Young, USA defeated (WC)Daniel Kosakowski, USA
6-1, 6-1

Doubles

Donald Young, USA and Greg Ouellette, USA
defeated
Blake Strode, USA and Michael Venus, USA
3-6, 7-5 [10-7]

Todd Paul, USA and Cory Parr, USA
defeated by
Brett Joelson, USA and Tim Smyczek, USA
4-6, 4-6

(LL)Nicholas Monroe, USA and Brian Battistone, USA
defeated
Paul Capdeville, CHI and Rylan Rizza, USA
6-3, 6-2


ROUND 2

Men's Singles

(4)Donald Young, USA defeated Bobby Reynolds, USA
6-2, 6-4

Women's Singles

Ahsha Rolle, USA defeated (4)Mirjana Lucic, CRO
6-0, 3-0, Ret'd

(WC)Brittany Augustine, USA defeated by Asia Muhammed, USA
3-6, 4-6


QUARTERFINAL ROUND

Women's Singles

Ahsha Rolle, USA vs. Kristie Ahn, USA

Asia Muhammed, USA vs. Petra Rampre

Doubles

Brittany Augustine, USA and Jennifer Elie, USA
defeated
(1)Julie Ditty, USA and Alina Jidkova, RUS
6-1, 6-4

Asia Muhammed, USA and Ivana Lisjak, CRO
defeated
Kristie Ahn, USA and Nicole Gibbs, USA
6-4, 6-1

Megan Moulton-Levy, USA and (2)Lindsay Lee-Waters, USA
defeated
Kimberly Couts, USA and Tetiana Luzhanska, UKR
6-2, 6-4

Men's Singles

(4)Donald Young, USA vs. Tim Smyczek

Doubles

Donald Young, USA and Greg Ouellette, USA
defeated by
(LL)Nicholas Monroe, USA and (LL)Brian Battistone, USA
3-6, 0-6


Semifinal Round

Women's Doubles

Brittany Augustine, USA and Jennifer Elie, USA
vs.
(4)Christina Fusano, USA and Courtney Nagle, USA

Asia Muhammed, USA and Ivana Lisjak, CRO
vs.
Megan Moulton-Levy, USA and (2)Lindsay Lee-Waters, USA

Men's Doubles

(LL)Nicholas Monroe, USA and (LL)Brian Battistone, USA
vs.
Samuel Groth, AUS and Harsh Mankad, IND

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American James Blake has been sidelined for several recent tournaments, and will remain so for the French Open.

According to a statement on Blake's website dated April 23, 2010:

"James's knee is doing better every day, but unfortunately he still doesn't have a firm timetable for a return to the courts. Presumably he will be back for the grass court season, so he's announced his schedule for June, and that consists of Halle, Eastbourne and Wimbledon."

In a recent statement to the Associated Press Blake said, "I have been required to take a break from competition to treat pain that I have been experiencing in my right knee. "The good news is that I will not need surgery. However, the treatment will require me to take a six-to-eight-week break. I look forward to a successful rehabilitation period and returning to competition in the near future."

Hope to see him back in action soon.

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PARIS (AP) — Getting into a groove at the French Open, Roger Federer is two victories from completing a career Grand Slam and tying Pete Sampras' record for major titles.

After three consecutive so-so performances, Federer was challenged only fleetingly in the quarterfinals Wednesday at Roland Garros before beating 11th-seeded Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4.

Federer reached the semifinals for the 20th consecutive Grand Slam tournament, extending his own record.

"I felt some pressure before this match," Federer said. "I was very nervous, because I thought it would be very difficult."

He did face two break points in the opening game of the match, and another at 5-5 in the first set — but saved each of them.

Then, in the tiebreaker, Monfils held a set point at 6-5, but again Federer held steady, and the Frenchman sent a backhand wide to make it 6-all. Two points later — a service winner and a volley winner by Federer — the set was over, and so, essentially, was the match.

"Maybe I took too many risks at the beginning," the second-seeded Federer said, "but I was worried about his forehand."

"Today," Monfils said, "he didn't miss a lot."

Is Federer the favorite?

"He still has two tough matches if he wants to win, but I think he can do it," said Monfils, who lost to Federer in last year's semifinals in Paris. "He should be very motivated to win, so, yeah, why not?"




PARIS (AP) — One shot by Serena Williams sent Svetlana Kuznetsova to the court in a messy spill that left her covered with clay.The resilient Russian was down but not out. She squandered a big lead in the second set Wednesday but ended Williams' 18-match Grand Slam winning streak in the French Open quarterfinals, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-5.

Williams, seeded second, was seeking her third successive major title and the 11th of her career.

The No. 7-seeded Kuznetsova faced a set point serving at 5-6 in the first set but erased it with a slam and won that set. After her tumble in the second set, Williams rallied three points from defeat to even the match, then took a 3-1 lead in the third.

Kuznetsova mounted the final comeback and broke serve in the last game when Williams pushed a backhand wide.

The seesaw struggle was this close: Midway through the third set, each player had won 100 points.

The Russian won with high-risk tennis, whacking winners into both corners and sometimes choosing angles that surprised Williams. Kuznetsova showed lots of variety, too — when she hit a crosscourt lob, Williams staggered helplessly as she watched the ball land beyond her reach.

Williams was sometimes betrayed by uncertain footwork on the clay, which led to repeated errors on her forehand side down the stretch.

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At Roland Garros Monday evening on Court Philippe Chartrier Frenchman Gael Monfils was on FIYYA!!

Monfils put on a shot making precision spectacle as American Andy Roddick spent more time getting a bad attitude than getting the job done. While Roddick was griping about not being able to see the ball, Monfils was amassing 45 winners and 17 aces. Roddick topped out at four aces which is, of course, sub-par for him.

Roddick was also cut off at the knees with Monfils' drop shot. Monfils burned him time and time after time... ugly.

"He covers so much ground," Roddick said. He served really big, and he served really big at the right times."

Then there was the punk conversation from the commentators about the crowd support for Monfils, and that Monfils was inciting the crowd in an unsportsmanlike manner. What the hell? If the crowd goes off and terrorizes one of the players, blame it on the crowd, but don't act like Monfils is doing a damn thing wrong soaking up the support of his fans. What a bunch of whining!

After the match Monfils said, "The crowd did a good job supporting me. At times, I asked them to wake up and try to bury Andy. They responded, and I think he was a bit annoyed. As for Andy, I apologize for that."

Of the matter Roddick said, "It's certainly his right. It's his advantage to use."

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France still has a chance for a champion, and it all rests on the shoulders of Gael Monfils as Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga went down on Monday to Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1, 6⁵-7⁷, 6-1, 6-4.

At Roland Garros on Court Philippe Chartrier, Del Potro was powerful, accurate and never let up on Tsonga. In contrast, Tsonga's game was nowhere near as polished as it has been in his previous matches and his serve was off as well.

There was very little opportunity for Tsonga to prevail.

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PARIS (AP) — Out of breath and out of sorts, Venus Williams played her way right out of the French Open on Friday with her most lopsided Grand Slam loss since 2001.

That the No. 3-seeded Williams would exit in the third round at Roland Garros is not quite so extraordinary, perhaps, considering she now has left this particular Grand Slam tournament at this precise stage in four of the past five years.

That Williams would lose the way she did — 6-0, 6-4 — and to the player she did — 29th-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary, whose resume boasts a lone major quarterfinal appearance — was anything but ordinary.

"I'm used to beating people 6-0. I'm not used to my shot not going in and losing a set 6-0," Williams said. "So it completely was foreign ground for me."

The red clay of Paris often feels that way to the older Williams sister, whose seven Grand Slam singles titles were earned at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Based on seeding and name, her departure qualifies as by far the tournament's most significant.

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American Serena Williams hit the clay courts at Roland Garros in much better form on Thursday. Serena's game and persona were much more confident and composed as she easily worked through her defeat of Spainard Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-0. Serena joins sister Venus in round 3.

"Everything clicked for me today, finally," she said. "It was just a better match. I'm not nearly as upset as I was the other day."

Asked about her comfort level on clay Serena said, "I grew up on the clay a lot. I'm totally fine on the clay. My results haven't been where I wanted them to be, but from, like, 9 to 14, I played nothing but clay-court tennis. I actually love it, and it's really one of my favorite surfaces, because I love to slide."

About her game now as opposed to her earlier years Serena says, "I think I'm wiser. I think I'm just a more mature player. Back then, it was more nitty-gritty. And now it's more composed and planned-out playing."

Serena also talked about what she does in between matches and her home in Paris, an apartment that she's currently redecorating.

"I just stay in my apartment, I live in a really cool area so, whatever I want.... Right now I'm kind of remodeling my apartment little by little, so I just bought a new couch and now I'm looking for rugs, I want a really nice rug.

It's interesting because it's like a totally different lifestyle for me, but it's really really fun."

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The gentlemen who are playing at home in France truly put on electric performances on Thursday at Roland Garros.

Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils showed up and showed out!

Monfils was a series of shot making expertise on Court Suzanne Lenglen against Romanian Victor Crivoi at roughly the same time that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was experiencing a battle royale with Argentine Juan Monaco on Court Philippe Chartrier. It is more than obvious that the next gen of French players has arrived.

Monfils said, "The new generation is always playing all right, I think, in the French."

In one of the best match points at net that I've seen, Tsonga ended the explosive contest against Monaco 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, 7¹⁰-6^8. Make no bones about it though, Monaco gave as good as he got.

"That was a great win for me against a real clay courter - a serious competitor," said Tsonga. I played with my heart and with the public getting behind me like that it was so emotional."

While Monfils' match did not end in the fire of Tsonga's, the match overall showed Monfils in his acrobatic glory - fabulous!

Between Monfils, Tsonga, Simon and Ouanna, the French will definitely be holding their own at home.

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Thursday morning brought back the suspended match of the French Open's Wednesday night session between American Venus Williams and the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova. When the match was called due to darkness, Safarova was up one set 7⁷-6⁵.

Safarova continued her aggressive game this morning, a lesser player than Venus would probably have fallen. Venus defended her turf like the pro that she is. She was all over Court Suzanne Lenglen running down Safarova's shots.

Venus eventually had to save both a break and a match point to finally toss Safarova out of there. She took the final two sets 6-2, 7-5.

"Yesterday, I think I did too many things wrong. She just was firing for every shot and making them. Obviously, with the delay, there was a lot of things to think about beforehand, what I could do different, and just tried to be as aggressive as I could.

"The last two sets, you know, it was close. But these kind of matches are really rewarding, and she was playing well. But I felt like I deserved it."

Go Venus, Go Venus, Go Venus!!!!

I'm loving these shots that the photographers are getting of Venus in action:

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Lesser know Frenchman Josselin Ouanna is making excellent use of his wildcard at the 2009 French Open. Today he ended Marat Safin's French Open career with an epic five-set victory on Wednesday evening.

The very tempered but stragetgic Ouanna held on in a tight 4 hour and 34 minute match to take out Safin in a 7⁷-6², 7⁷-6⁴, 4-6, 3-6, 10-8 victory.

Safin, who has vowed to retire at the end of the season, lost the first set on a tie-break and the pattern repeated itself in the second.

The Russian appeared to have the mental edge after he saved four set points while serving at 5-6 but Ouanna stayed focused in the breaker to open a two-set lead.

However, Safin's famous temperament was held in check as he launched a fightback.

A single break of serve in both the third and fourth sets saw him level match - Ouanna missing six break points in the process.

Safin, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2002, looked set to roll on to victory when he broke early in the decider, but he allowed Ouanna to hit back and level at 3-3 - Safin slamming a ball into the stands in disgust and picking up a warning in the process.

The Russian saved match points at 4-5 (with an ace) and at 5-6 (with a brilliant forehand winner) but when Ouanna fashioned more chances at 8-9 he finally cracked.

One was saved but when Safin sent a forehand wide on the next it was all over.

Ouanna progresses to a third-round meeting with Fernando Gonzalez, the 12th seed.

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Although their first round doubles match currently stands suspended due to darkness, sisters Venus and Serena Williams plan to return on Wednesday and complete what they began on Tuesday.

Playing on court No. 2 at the 2009 French Open, the sisters took the first set 6-1, only to have that reversed in the second set when the Czech pairing of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka won 6-3.

The teams currently stand one set all, four games to three third set, Williams sisters.

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PARIS (AP) — James Blake has lost in the first round of the French Open to a qualifier making his Grand Slam debut.

The 15th-seeded Blake was upset 7-6 (6), 7-5, 6-2 on Tuesday by 93rd-ranked Leonardo Mayer of Argentina.

Blake has never been past the third round at Roland Garros. The American made more than twice as many unforced errors as Mayer.

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