Black Tennis Pros

Sloane Stephens, one of two 16-year-olds in the BNP Paribas Open field, celebrated her first match on the WTA Tour with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) triumph over Lucie Hradecka.

Stephens led 5-2 in the second set and had match point on serve in the ninth game, then had to rally from 3-6 down in the second-set tiebreaker.

"I wasn't getting nervous," Stephens said. "She started playing a lot more. Before, she was hitting a lot of balls off the court and I was waiting for the error. She made me play at the end."

Stephens said she'll remember hitting an ace down the middle of the court to get to 6-all in the second-set tiebreaker. She couldn't recall the final shot of the match, though, but said "it was a good moment."

Fellow American Shenay Perry didn't fare as well as Stephens, losing to Karolina Sprem 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

PARIS (AP) — Top-ranked Serena Williams showed no signs of the illness which kept her bedridden last week as she ousted Karolina Sprem 6-1, 6-2 to reach the Open GDF Suez quarterfinals on Thursday.

Williams, after winning the Australian Open, didn't practice until Monday, and was relieved to get through the first round of the indoor tournament she's won twice.

Her second-round match was easier, as Williams took less than an hour to beat the Croatian qualifier, converting her first match point with a forehand return winner down the line.

Next up will be French qualifier Emilie Loit, whom Williams hasn't met in six years.

"She's a lefty, she uses a lot of spins and slices," Williams said about Loit. "She's a very experienced player and tricky."

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Serena Williams joined the chorus of top tennis players who believe the new anti-doping measures on athletes are too strong, she called the rules implemented by the International Tennis Federation as “over the top.”

“It’s very invasive,” she said. “Basically, they show up at your house on any day.

Under the new rules, athletes must specify one hour each day when and where they can be located for testing. They also must tell anti-doping authorities where they will be over the next three months, but they can update this by e-mail or phone message.

Photo by AP

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