Black Tennis Pros

Wow, wow, and just wow.  World No. 1 Serena Williams has nothing left to prove, yet she continues to prove over and over again that she is indeed the undisputed queen of the courts.

The 33-year-old Williams entered the Rod Laver Arena along with her championship-match-opponent, Russian Maria Sharapova, appearing as confident as she has been throughout this tournament ~ all in the midst of suffering with a cold.

Serena is self possessed at this time of her career in a way that she has not been in earlier years. She is a truly incredible athlete to watch as she continues to mature in the sport that she has virtually owned for such a long time now.

In winning her 19th Grand Slam singles title, she defeated Sharapova 6-3, 7-6(5) for the 16th consecutive time.

The legendary tennis star is incredible to watch as she simply will not bow down to age, new talent, or even illness. The lady is simply poetry in motion.

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The 19-year-old captured the decisive break at 5-5 in the second set and served out the match nervelessly under the lights of Rod Laver Arena, stunning the two-time Wimbledon champion.

Keys' win made it four American women in the last 16 at Melbourne Park, the most since five made it to the fourth round of the 2003 Australian Open.

She will play compatriot Madison Brengle for a place in the quarter-finals.

"I think my hands are still shaking," said Keys, who is coached by former number one Lindsay Davenport.

"I'm excited to play Maddie in the next round."

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15-year-old American Taylor Townsend takes 2012 Australian Open Junior Girl's Singles and Doubles Titles

It’s not often you get to drop to the ground on Rod Laver Arena and shed tears of joy. It’s one of those once in a lifetime opportunities.

But after 117 minutes in scorching heat on Rod Laver Arena, American Taylor Townsend shed those tears after becoming the 2012 junior Australian Open champion.

Townsend, just 15 years old, put a poor second set behind her to come away a 6-1 3-6 6-3 winner over fiery Russian Yulia Putintseva.

17-year-old Putintseva was clearly devastated by the loss and took her frustration out on her racquet, returning to her chair with a tangled frame and frazzled strings.

She also offered no words during the post-match presentation.

It has been a remarkable tournament for the 14th-seeded Townsend, who took home not only the girls’ singles title but also the girls’ doubles title in her first visit to Melbourne Park.

“It’s really exciting. I mean, it's a dream come true for me,” Townsend said.

“A lot of people were supporting me, and my family and everything are just so proud. It was just a proud moment for me and ... the feelings kind of rushed in.”

Townsend remained the more level-headed player throughout the match, a stark contrast to her feisty – and often vocal – opponent who was not afraid to express her emotions.

“I just kinda tried to focus on myself and just make sure [I] just keep playing one point at a time. That's what I kept telling myself: one point at a time, one point at a time.”

Putintseva trains at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris under the watchful eye of former world No.1 Martina Hingis, who joined the academy in 2011.

It was a dream start for the American who raced to a 3-0 lead registering seven winners from her first 12 points won.

Townsend’s mix of powerful groundstrokes from the baseline coupled with pressure created from pushing forward to the net proved too much for Putintseva.

Townsend said her constant willingness to approach the net was all part of an effort for the American to stick to the game she is most comfortable with.

“My expectation was to just go out and play my game and play within myself every match and not really [conform] to the game styles of these other girls by playing at the baseline but, you know, moving forward and being aggressive, how I play.”

Putintseva finally got off the board after holding serve at 3-1 but it was a short-lived spell, as Townsend surged through 12 of the next 15 points to take the opener 6-1.

But the 17-year-old Russian wasn’t about to lie down.

Putintseva stormed through the opening games of the second set and raced to a 4-0 lead, offering herself plenty of verbal encouragement with fist-pumps and comments to her box.

Townsend’s once-flawless play from the baseline started to crumble with shots spraying wide or into the net, and it was the fourth seed’s turn to dictate the play and crunch winners.

Putintseva closed out the second set 6-3.

The deciding set began tightly, but at four-three up and on serve, the American claimed a crucial break of serve and never looked back, closing out the decider 6-3.

And so, after a junior Grand Slam singles and doubles title under her belt, young Townsend said she discovered a lot about herself in the past week.

“Well, I've learned that ... if you just compete and work really hard, anything is possible,” she said.

“You know, the family support and the support of people that are around you is key.”

But that’s not all she’s discovered.

“I also learned that I need to keep myself calm on the court, because that's when I play the best,” she offered with a laugh.

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Venus Williams, the No.4 seed, was forced to retire from her first-ever Grand Slam singles match, calling time on her third round encounter against Andrea Petkovic after just six minutes.

Williams, who injured her pelvic muscle during her gruelling three-set match against Sandra Zahlavova, began serving in the second night match on Rod Laver Arena, but was soon broken by a determined-looking Petkovic, winning just one point. And, having stretched and failed for a Petkovic passing shot, the multi-Grand Slam champion hobbled to her chair after the seventh point. Head in her hands, and consulting the trainer, she made the decision to retire from a Grand Slam singles match for the first time since 1994.

"I just obviously couldn't play. I mean, just couldn't move. Just too painful," said Williams. "The last 48 hours I did as much pain management and recovery that I could. I just hit some balls at 6:00 just kind of standing still. Just kind of warming up standing still and trying to give my best for the match.

You know, a lot times when you play, too, you get this adrenaline that blocks pain. But I just didn't get enough of that today".
"It's super disappointing because this is just not how I envisioned my Australian Open being. I've never had to retire from a Grand Slam especially after working so hard to pull out the match the other day. Just hoping for some magic that I could recover. I just wanted to give 100%. I mean when I think of myself and my career I don't make any excuses ever to myself or anyone. For me, it was just important to give 100%. I think I learn from experiences like this. If I'm not ready to play or if I'm still hurting maybe it's better to stop. That's just learning from life. I've learned now more or less what my limits are. Just learn from that the next time."

"When I come back to play next time, I'll be a 100%. So I won't be back until whenever that is. Hopefully, who knows, maybe it'll be for Fed Cup."

"I'm still pretty good, even when I'm injured. I mean, at the Open I came pretty close to winning that tournament just on a hope and a prayer and little to no preparation. Here, you know I was grinding. So I'm just going to focus obviously on getting healthy and coming back. Because I love tennis and I've got a lot of great tennis in me. I love my job, so no end in sight."

German Petkovic advances to meet Maria Sharapova in the fourth round.

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