Black Tennis Pros

Men's Singles - Round 1
Steve Johnson (USA) vs. Laurent Lokoli (FRA)	To Finish 4-6 6-7(7) 7-6(3) 6-3 3-1

 
Women's Singles - Round 2

Serena Williams (USA) [1]
Garbine Muguruza (ESP)


Anna Schmiedlova (SVK)
Venus Williams (USA) [29]

Alize Cornet (FRA) [20]
Taylor Townsend (USA)


Men's Singles - Round 2

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) [13]
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)


Women's Doubles - Round 1

Stephanie Foretz Gacon (FRA)
Laura Thorpe (FRA)
Jana Cepelova (SVK)
Stefanie Voegele (SUI)

Kveta Peschke (CZE) [4]
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) [4]
Lauren Davis (USA)
Megan Moulton-Levy (USA)

Madison Keys (USA)
Alison Riske (USA)
Irina Ramialison (FRA)
Constance Sibille (FRA)


Men's Doubles - Round 1

Tristan Lamasine (FRA)
Laurent Lokoli (FRA)
David Marrero (ESP) [4]
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) [4]

Eric Butorac (USA) [14]
Raven Klaasen (RSA) [14]
Steve Johnson (USA)
Sam Querrey (USA)

Michael Llodra (FRA) [5]
Nicolas Mahut (FRA) [5]
Gael Monfils (FRA)
Josselin Ouanna (FRA)

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ROUND 1

Women's Singles

(4)Venus Williams, USA defeated Sara Errani, ITA
6-3, 6-2

Doubles

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Abigal Spears, USA
defeated
Polona Hercog, SLO and Petra Martic, CRO
6-3, 7⁷-6⁵


Men's Singles

(12)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Thiemo de Bakker, NED
6⁵-7⁷, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1

(13)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated Philipp Petzschner, GER
4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4

Dustin Brown, GER defeated by (25)Albert Montanes, ESP
4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 5-7

(Q)Donald Young, USA defeated by (15)Marin Cilic, CRO
3-6, 2-6, 1-6

Doubles

Dustin Brown, GER and Rogier Wassen, NED
defeated
Dmitry Tursunov, RUS and Mischa Zverev, GER
6-2, 6-3


Eliminated during qualifying:

Sloane Stephens, USA
Stephanie Foretz Gacon, FRA
Josselin Ouanna, FRA


ROUND 2

Women's Singles

(4)Venus Williams, USA defeated Sandra Zahlavova, CZE
6⁶-7⁸, 6-0, 6-4

Doubles

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
vs.
(10)Monica Niculescu, ROU and (10)Zi Yan, CHN


Men's Singles

(12)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Frederico Gil, POR
6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2

(13)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated Andreas Seppi, ITA
6-3, 7⁷-6¹, 7⁷-6⁵

Doubles

Dustin Brown, GER and Rogier Wassen, NED
vs.
Colin Ebelthite, AUS and Adam Feeney AUS


ROUND 3

Women's Singles

(4)Venus Williams, USA defeated by (30)Andrea Petkovic, GER
0-1 Retired


Men's Singles

(12)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated by (19)Stanislas Wawrinka, SUI
6⁴-7⁷, 2-6, 3-6

(13)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated by Alexandr Dolgopolov, UKR
6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 1-6


ROUND 1

Singles

(WC)Jennifer Elie, USA defeated Lenka Wienerova SVK
6-2, 6-4

Ahsha Rolle, USA defeated Jan Abaza, USA
6-1, 6-2

Doubles

(3)Ahsha Rolle, USA and Mashona Washington, USA
vs.
Amanda Fink, USA and Elizabeth Lumpkin, USA

(2)Megan Moulton-Levy, USA and Courtney Nagle, USA
defeated by
Story Tweedie-Yates, USA and Natasa Zoric, SRB
6-4, 3-6, [8-10]


Eliminated during qualifying:

Mashona Washington, USA
Alexandra Stevenson, USA


ROUND 2

Singles

Jennifer Elie, USA vs. Galina Voskoboeva, KAZ

Ahsha Rolle, USA vs. Alexandra Cadantu, ROU


ROUND 1

Singles

(Q)Phillip Simmonds, USA defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert, FRA
6-4, 6-3

(5)Nicholas Monroe, USA defeated (Q)Haydn Lewis, BAR
7-6(6), 6-2

(Q)Devin Mullings, BAH defeated by (LL)Lucas Renard, SWE
3-6, 7(4)-6, 3-6

Doubles

Marvin Rolle, BAH and Haydn Lewis, BAR
defeated
(1)P Herbert, FRA and Stefano Ianni, FRA
6-4, 3-6 [10-8]

(3)Phillip Simmonds, USA and Daniel Yoo, KOR
defeated
Marcos Giron, USA and Alexios Halebian, USA
6-3, 6-7(4) [10-3]


QUARTERFINAL ROUND

Doubles

Marvin Rolle, BAH and Haydn Lewis, BAR
defeated
Suk-Young Jeong, KOR and Ji Sung Nam, KOR
6-3, 7-5

(3)Phillip Simmonds, USA and Daniel Yoo, KOR
defeated
(WC)Diego Ayala, USA and Andrew Lake, USA
6-2, 6-3


SEMIFINAL ROUND

Marvin Rolle, BAH and Haydn Lewis, BAR
vs.
Phillip Simmonds, USA and Daniel Yoo, KOR

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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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Here are the wild cards for the men's and women's singles draws at the 2010 French Open.


The eight wild cards for the men's singles:

Carsten Ball, AUS*
David Guez, FRA
Nicolas Mahut, FRA
Gianni Mia, FRA
Josselin Ouanna, FRA
Laurent Recouderc, FRA
Edouard Roger-Vasselin, FRA
Ryan Sweeting, USA*

The eight wild cards for the women's singles:

Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, FRA
Claire Feuerstein, FRA
Stéphanie Foretz, FRA
Jarmila Groth, AUS*
Mathilde Johansson, FRA
Christina McHale, USA*
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
Olivia Sanchez, FRA

* Agreements have been reached with the Australian and US Tennis Federations, meaning that a wild card is attributed to a player from each of these countries in the men's and women's singles.

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Marseille France - Big-hitting second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga hammered 19 aces in a 7-6(9), 6-4 win over fellow Frenchman Josselin Ouanna to reach the quarter-finals of the Open 13, an ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard-court tennis tournament in Marseille.

Tsonga dropped just five points on his first serve and did not face a break point. Playing just his second tournament of the year – and first match since his semi-final run at the Australian Open – Tsonga advanced to meet Belgian Olivier Rochus. Tsonga had a bye in the first round.


No. 3 seed Gael Monfils blistered 18 aces before taking the win over Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 7-6 (7-3). Monfils will now face off against fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the quarters.

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Top seed Gael Monfils defeated fellow Frenchman Josselin Ouanna 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday in Johannesburg to book his place in the quarter-finals at the SA Tennis Open, an ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament.

Ouanna managed to save 13 of the 16 break point chances he faced on serve, but it still did not prove enough to prevent his more experienced countryman from closing out the victory in one hour and 21 minutes.

Afterwards, World No. 13 Monfils admitted he had to work for the win against the 88th-ranked Ouanna. “I think he knows me well, and it’s hard all the time when players know you well,” he said. “Also, I just didn’t get the big serve. It was a bit tough. I needed to be focused to get back the return. Also, sometimes he can hit very hard with his forehand, so today was definitely harder than the first game.”

Monfils made an impressive tournament debut Tuesday, taking just 53 minutes to dismiss Slovakian veteran Dominik Hrbaty. The 23 year old is attempting to keep the Johannesburg title in French possession, after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the SA Tennis Open last year.

He will look to reach an ATP World Tour semi-final for the second time this season when he next plays seventh seed Yen-Hsun Lu. Earlier in the evening, after a 90-minute rain delay, Lu knocked out South African wild card Raven Klaasen 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 56 minutes.

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JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — Top seed Gael Monfils lost the toss and first two games before unleashing his service power to crush Dominik Hrbaty 6-2, 6-1 and reach the second round of the South African Open on Tuesday.

The 23-year Frenchman ranked 13 in the world was clearly stung by the early form of the veteran Slovak and lost just one of the remaining 13 games at the Montecasino entertainment centre in a leafy, upmarket northern suburb.

It was a floodlit match settled by serving with Monfils outstanding apart from an occasional double-fault blip while 32-year-old Hrbaty battled as his dream start swiftly transformed into a nightmare.

Long before the end of the first round tie the only issue was how long it would take Monfils to wrap up victory and the end came on 53 minutes and 36 seconds via a stinging first serve from the Switzerland-based Frenchman.

"I had a good game and hope to continue this form throughout the week as my ambition is to emulate compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and win the title," said Monfils.

"The altitude was not a big problem as I had two good days of practice and playing at night made it a little easier for me as there was less humidity," he added after a sweltering day in the South African financial capital.

Monfils, born in Paris to Caribbean parents and a huge fan of late American tennis great Arthur Ashe, has a second round date with compatriot Josselin Ouanna, who ousted Israeli Harel Levy in straight sets.

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Round 1

SINGLES

(1)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Dominik Hrbaty, SVK
6-2, 6-1

Josselin Ouanna, FRA defeated Harel Levy, ISR
7-6(4), 6-2

(WC)Raven Klaasen, RSA defeated David Guez, FRA
6-4, 6-3

Dustin Brown, JAM defeated Marco Chiudinelli, SUI
6-4, 3-6, 6-4

DOUBLES

Jeff Coetzee, RSA and Rogier Wassen, NED
defeated by
Raven Klaasen, RSA and Izak Van Der Merwe, RSA
6-4, 2-6 [8/10]


Round 2

SINGLES

Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Josselin Ouanna, FRA
6-4, 7-5

(WC)Raven Klaasen, RSA defeated by Yen-Hsun Lu, TPE
4-6, 5-7

Dustin Brown, JAM defeated Laurent Recouderc, FRA
6-4, 6-4


Round 3

SINGLES

Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Yen-Hsun Lu, TPE
6-1, 6-4

Dustin Brown, JAM defeated by Stephane Robert, FRA
6-7(5), 3-6


Quarterfinal Round

DOUBLES

Raven Klaasen, RSA and Izak Van Der Merwe, RSA
defeated by
Karol Beck, SVK and Harel Levy, ISR
4-6, 6-2 [8/10]


Semifinal Round

SINGLES

Gael Monfils, FRA vs. Feliciano Lopez, ESP


Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Julio Silva, BRA


Round 1

SINGLES

Angela Haynes, USA defeated Laura Siegemund, GER
6-1, 6-2

DOUBLES

(4)Angela Haynes, USA and Alina Jidkova, RUS
defeated
Shuko Aoyama, JPN and Miki Miyamura, JPN
6-4, 7-5

(WC)Brittany Augustine, USA and Courtney B. Dolehide, USA
defeated
Amanda Fink, USA and Elizabeth Lumpkin, USA
6-2, 6-2


Round 2

SINGLES

Angela Haynes, USA defeated Melanie South, GBR
6-2, 6-3


Quarterfinal Round

SINGLES

Angela Haynes, USA defeated by Tadeja Majeric, SLO
7-5, 2-6, 4-6

DOUBLES

(4)Angela Haynes, USA and Alina Jidkova, RUS
defeated by
Kimberly Couts, USA and Anastasia Pivovarova
4-6, 6-4 [6-10]

(WC)Brittany Augustine, USA and Courtney B. Dolehide, USA
defeated by
Lyudmyla Kichenok, UKR and Nadiya Kichenok, UKR
4-6, 2-6

Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Sloane Stephens, USA
Brittany Augustine, USA


Round 1

SINGLES

(Q)Nicholas Monroe, USA defeated by Ryan Sweeting, USA
1-6, 4-6

Scoville Jenkins, USA defeated by (WC)Michael McClune, USA
3-6, 3-6

DOUBLES

Scoville Jenkins, USA and Jesse Witten, USA
defeated
Alex Kuznetsov, USA and Igor Sijsling, NED
4-6, 6-2 [12/10]


Round 2

DOUBLES

Scoville Jenkins, USA and Jesse Witten, USA
defeated by
Vasek Pospisil, CAN and Adil Shamasdin
wo.


Round 1

SINGLES

Marcus Fugate, USA defeated (Q)Younes Rachidi, MAR
6-2, 6-3

Phillip Simmonds, USA defeated by Eric Nunez, USA
1-6, 2-6

DOUBLES

Marcus Fugate, USA and Gregory Ouellette, USA
vs.
Bye


Round 2

SINGLES

Marcus Fugate, USA defeated by Matej Bocko, SVK
4-6, 2-6


Quarterfinal Round

DOUBLES

Marcus Fugate, USA and Gregory Ouellette, USA
defeated by
Taylor Fogleman, USA and Benjamin Rogers, USA
4-6, 4-6

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NEW YORK (AP) — Seventh-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France has breezed into the U.S. Open's second round by beating 18-year-old Chase Buchanan of the United States 6-0, 6-2, 6-1.

Tsonga was the runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open. The U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam tournament at which he's never reached at least the fourth round.

Tsonga played cleanly Tuesday, making only 12 unforced errors, 24 fewer than Buchanan, who was the youngest man in the field. Buchanan was awarded a wild card by the U.S. Tennis Association as the 2009 USTA boys' 18s champion.

Post match Tsonga said, "I didn't know what to expect of him and I was wary as I remember when I was younger and had his ranking I was convinced I could beat anyone, anytime."

Buchanan, of New Albany, Ohio, was making his Grand Slam debut. He had never faced anyone ranked higher than 121st.




Josselin Ouanna defeated American Rajeev Ram 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 3-6 6-3. Up next for him is Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.

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While the top tour players rocked out with Will Ferrell and Jordin Sparks at the annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, a handful of US Open hopefuls were still fighting it out on the outer courts. This soggy Saturday marked the final round of qualifying, and thanks to rain delays carried over from Friday, it was a packed schedule.

Americans Shenay Perry and Donald Young and Frenchman Josselin Ouanna remained standing after it was all over. Wish it could have been more.

The matches broke down like this:

Shenay Perry, USA defeated Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier 6-4, 6-4

Donald Young, USA defeated Lukas Rosol, CZE 6-3, 6-4

Josselin Ouanna defeated Julio Silva 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

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On day three of the 2009 U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament, American women Shenay Perry and Angela Haynes have advanced to the final round of qualifying and will play for a slot in the main draw.

On the men's side, Americans Scoville Jenkins and Donald Young, Frenchman Josselin Ouanna and Brazilian Julio Silva also advanced to the final round of qualifying.

Good luck everyone!

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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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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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WOMEN'S SINGLES

Round 1

Venus Williams, USA defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
6-1, 4-6, 6-2

Stephanie Foretz, FRA defeated by Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
1-6, 6-4, 4-6

Serena Williams, USA vs. Klara Zakopalova


WOMEN'S DOUBLES

Round 1

Venus Williams, USA and Serena Williams, USA
vs.
Andrea Hlavackova, CZE and Lucie Hradecka, CZE

Stephanie Foretz, FRA and Camille Pin, FRA
vs.
Lucie Safarova, CZE and Vladimira Uhlirova, CZE


MEN'S SINGLES

Round 1

Josselin Ouanna, FRA defeated Marcel Granollers, ESP
7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 7⁷-6², 6-1

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA vs. Julien Benneteau, FRA


Gael Monfils, FRA vs. Bobby Reynolds, USA

James Blake, USA vs. Leonardo Mayer, ARG


MEN'S DOUBLES

Round 1

Jeff Coetzee, RSA and Jordan Kerr, AUS
vs.
Jaroslav Levinsky, CZE and Igor Zelenay, SVK

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Long overshadowed by compatriots Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Josselin Ouanna finally appears ready to claim his rightful place among the French tennis elite.

For a long time Josselin Ouanna was almost invisible. Naturally shy, he was like an introverted teenager who dared not look anyone in the eye.

New attitude

Times have changed. Ouanna pulled off his t-shirt, showing off his bare chest for our camera, a symbolic gesture for a player who is almost sure of himself now, and increasingly confident of his physique and his strength.

It is also the type of attitude the 23-year-old has begun to display on court as he takes his game to the next level. Take Sunday, for example, when the 136 world-ranked Ouanna took a more aggressive approach than usual against Spain’s Marcel Granollers, a player fully 40 points higher than him in the rankings. The new and improved “Joss” went on to win his first Grand Slam match. In five sets no less.

Reminiscences

Still visibly moved after watching the match, Ouanna’s first coach Fabrice Loustalot spoke to the press about his former protégé’s transformation. “Joss has changed his attitude. He’s really developed his character. During the match he showed some emotion, pumped his fists. It was beautiful to watch. Perhaps that’s what was missing from his game.” Loustalot trained Ouanna from the ages of 7 and 13 and remembers him as a “super talented boy who was extremely shy and almost never spoke.”

Ouanna is clearly coming into his own then. A victory at the Rennes challenger, followed by a quarter-final spot in Lyon, are proof of a burgeoning talent. Joss himself commented on his recent progress: “I’ve improved at my own pace. I know I have what it takes. Perhaps I had less self-confidence than Jo or Gael and of course my injuries didn’t help. It wasn’t easy seeing my friends winning matches on TV, but it in the end it certainly motivated me to go meet them at the top!”

With the help of his current trainer Jerome Potier, Ouanna is working his way up in his own way and at his own speed. And when he faces Marat Safin in the second round he will get the chance to show the world his new attitude and prove that Tsonga and Monfils may not be that hard to catch after all…

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Advancing to the second round of Roland Garros today, Frenchman Josselin Ouanna put his fighting spirit on display.

After winning the first set against Spaniard Marcel Granollers 7-5, Granollers took the next two sets 6-2 and 6-3. Ouanna fought back through a fourth set tiebreak 7⁷-6² to finally take the fifth set and the match 6-1.

Way to go Ouanna!

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WOMEN'S SINGLES

Round 1

Alexandra Stevenson, USA vs. Stephanie Foretz, FRA


MEN'S SINGLES

Round 1

Josselin Ouanna, FRA defeated Kevin Kim, USA
7-6, 2-6, 6-3

Scoville Jenkins, USA vs. Marco Chiudin Elli, SUI


The singles main draw will be released on Friday, January 16. The doubles draw will be released the week of January 19.

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SINGLES

Round 1

Josselin Ouanna, FRA defeated by Marin Cilic, CRO
3-6, 4-6


SINGLES

Round 1

Donald Young, USA defeated Woong-Sun Jun, KOR
6-3, 2-6, 6-4


INJURY

Gael Monfils, FRA - Ankle


SINGLES*

Round 1

Milagros Sequera, VEN vs. Qualifier/Lucky Loser


DOUBLES

Round 1

Milagros Sequera, VEN and Stephanie DuBois, CAN
vs.
Lena Litvak, USA and Alexis Prousis, USA


*Eliminated during Ladies Singles qualifying rounds:

Tiya Rolle
Asia Muhammad


SINGLES

Round 1

Marcus Fugate, USA vs. Kirill Sinitsyn, CAN


DOUBLES

Round 1

Marcus Fugate, USA and Tigran Martirosyan, ARM
vs.
Roy Kalmanavich, USA and Benjamin Rogers, USA

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GENTLEMEN'S SINGLES*

Round 1

James Blake, USA vs. Christophe Rochus, BEL

Gael Monfils, FRA vs. Chris Guccione, AUS

Donald Young, USA vs. Jesse Levine, USA


*Eliminated during Gentlemen's Singles qualifying rounds:

Scoville Jenkins, USA
Josselin Ouanna, FRA
Nicholas Monroe, USA


GENTLEMEN'S DOUBLES

Round 1

Jeff Coetzee, RSA and Wesley Moodie, RSA
vs.
Simone Bolelli, ITA and Andreas Seppi, ITA

Gael Monfils, FRA and Mischa Zverev, GER
vs.
Chris Haggard, RSA and Lovro Zovko, CRO


LADIES' SINGLES*

Round 1

Venus Williams, USA vs. Naomi Cavaday, GBR

Serena Williams, USA vs. Kaia Kanepi, EST

Stephanie Foretz, FRA vs. Maria Sharapova, RUS

Milagros Sequera, VEN vs. Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP


*Eliminated during Ladies' Singles qualifying rounds:

Alexandra Stevenson, USA
Angela Haynes, USA
Mashona Washington, USA
Raquel Kops-Jones, USA


LADIES' DOUBLES

Round 1

Venus Williams, USA and Serena Williams, USA
vs.
Tatiana Poutchek, BLR and Anastasia Rodionova, AUS

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
vs.
Timea Bacsinszky, SUI and Alize Cornet, FRA

Stephanie Fortez, FRA and Camille Pin, FRA
vs.
Anabel Medina Garrigues, ESP and Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP

Mashona Washington, USA and Su-Wei Hsieh, TPE
vs.
Yaroslava Shvedova, RUS and Tamarine Tanasugarn


The Mixed Doubles Draw will be available on June 27.
The Juniors Draw will be available on June 27.

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