Black Tennis Pros

On Wednesday morning organizers stated that former world number one, Serena Williams has pulled out of the Western and Southern Open, Cincinnati, Ohio with a toe injury.

Yet, anyone watching her match against Lucie Hradecka, CZE on Tuesday could see just how fatigued Serena was.

Williams was due to face Australian 10th seed Samantha Stosur in the second round, in a rematch of the Toronto Cup final she won on Sunday.

The 13-times grand slam champion suffered an "aggravation of a right toe injury" a statement from the organizers said.

Williams has won her last two tournaments since returning to competition in June after 11 months out with injuries and health problems.

After her straight sets victory over Czech Lucie Hradecka on Tuesday, Williams said she was wary of becoming tired before the U.S. Open later this month.

"I definitely don't want to overdo it. My main goal right now is obviously to do well," said Williams.

"And nothing against Cincinnati or Toronto or the Stanfords that I played, but this is all preparation. Everyone is preparing for the U.S. Open. So I have to be smart and make sure it's not too much."

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EASTBOURNE, England - The last time Venus Williams played on the WTA it was in January at the Aussie Open, where she had to retire after one game of her third round match due to a hip injury - since then she has been out with that hip injury as well as an abdominal injury. She returns this week at Eastbourne and met the press on the weekend - here's a taste of what she said...

On her injury lay-off finally coming to an end...

"I'm very excited - I can't believe I've finally made it. This time I listened to the doctor's advice and accepted limits... it's hard as an athlete to accept limits, but it was all about that. I never could have foreseen the amount of time I had to take off and there were frustrating moments, but I never let it get me down."


On how she spent the last four and a half months...

"After I got injured in January I made the best use of my time when I was off. I entered school, took some classes and worked on my businesses. I also went to the gym and tried to do my rehab. Initially my goal was to play in Miami but that wasn't even close... It took me a good two and a half months to build up to get here now. Sometimes I wouldn't improve for three weeks, sometimes I'd improve in a week - I feel pretty fit now. I've never given myself a 10 out of 10, but I'm back as soon as I could be. I've taken extra weeks to be really sure."

On missing tennis...

"I've missed tennis. It has been so kind to me. I love my sport and I love my job. I really appreciate being here; it's an honor for me to be here."

On playing in Eastbourne for the first time in 13 years...

"I haven't played here in forever. I can't tell you how excited I am to be here and playing any first round match."

On she and Serena coming back at the same tournament...

"Serena hasn't played in a year and I've only played three or four tournaments in the last 12 months. It's crucial for us to play these matches at this point. We normally take this period to go home, rest and train, but for us right now the best preparation is to be here. We're going to do our best to take home two titles on this road - that's what we aim for every time we hit the court."

On the current No.1 player in the world, Caroline Wozniacki...

"Caroline is a great player doing positive things - she's really on the right road. She doesn't need much advice. Off the court she's a very nice person and super helpful; on the court she's an unbelievable competitor. She has played more consistently than anyone and is leaps and bounds ahead in the points."


On her goal this week...

"Whoever is across the net is my focus at that point. You can't predict who is going to do what... My sole concern is to make sure I'm in the next round."

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Fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France advanced to the second round of the Barclay's Dubai Tennis Championships Tournament after fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra withdrew from their match after losing the first set.

Tsonga won the tie-break 11-9 before Llodra announced he was unable to continue, citing a hamstring injury.

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