Black Tennis Pros

American Serena quickly dispatches Russian Vera Zvonareva on Day 5 of 2012 Olympics

LONDON, GREAT BRITAIN: Serena Williams needed just 51 minutes to crush Russia’s Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-0 in the opening match on Centre Court and march on to the Olympic quarterfinals.

The five-time Wimbledon champion, who is seeking her first Olympic singles gold medal, totally dominated the match, breaking Zvonareva three times in both sets. Zvonareva, the Beijing bronze medallist, only managed to win seven points on Williams’s serve.

The match was a repeat of the pair’s 2010 Wimbledon final, but the result was even more devastating for Zvonareva. Then, Williams won 6-3, 6-2; today the Russian failed to get on the scoreboard after the third game. The Russian’s three-set defeat of Williams on grass at Eastbourne last year must have given her hope, but the nature of the American’s victory here proves again how much she saves her best for the big stage.

Williams broke Zvonareva’s serve in the opening game of the match and that set the tone for what followed. The Russian won her solitary game to get to 1-2, but after that it was all one-way traffic. Williams was too powerful, too consistent, and too accurate while her opponent struggled with her first serve. The American sealed the set with a forehand winner after just 25 minutes.

Zvonareva had chances in the second set but just couldn’t capitalise. She had two break points in the opening game but Williams held firm, winning the game with an ace. After that there were no more chances for the hapless Russian as her opponent raced away with the match.

Trailing 0-3, Zvonareva threw her racket to the ground in frustration, and even the non-Russian fans in the crowd did what they could to encourage her. Down 0-30 on her serve again in the last game, they gave her a spontaneous round of applause, but it failed to lift her and Williams got her first match point with a stunning service return. Zvonareva’s backhand found the net a point later and the American had won the match and handed her opponent the ignominy of a second set ‘bagel’.

Williams has yet to lose a set in three matches played in her quest to become Olympic champion and she looks in ominous form. She will meet either Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki or Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova in the quarterfinals.

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(L)Venus Williams, USA, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA and (R) Serena Williams, USA all celebrated wins during Sunday and Monday's Olympic Games.

Four-time Olympian Venus Williams walked off Wimbledon's cozy Court 2 gleefully waving her fist as fans chanted, "U-S-A! U-S-A!"

Twenty minutes later, at the other end of the All England Club, Serena Williams departed Court 1 with a triumphant grin and a shout of "Whooo!"

She waited an extra day because of rain to begin her bid for a record fourth gold medal in Olympic tennis, then defeated recent French Open runner-up Sara Errani of Italy, 6-3, 6-1.

French number one, Jo-Wilfried Tonga, took down the Brazilian contender, Thomaz Bellucci, in a three-set match. He notched up a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 victory against the left-handed Brazilian to power into the second round.

Next in line for the French seed is the winner of the match between Japan’s Tatsuma Ito and Canada’s Milos Raonic.

Serena completed a July sweep of Poland's Radwanska sisters by beating Urszula in the second round, 6-2, 6-3. Federer also reached the third round, beating Julien Benneteau of France, 6-2, 6-2.

Venus Williams, also unseeded, drew a tough first-round foe in Errani, who has won four titles this year and is ranked a career-high No. 9. Williams served well, charged the net aggressively and appeared at ease on the Wimbledon grass, where she has won five of her seven Grand Slam titles.

"I've been working really hard on my serve," she said. "I really haven't had my serve where I wanted it this year. But I definitely worked a lot on it, so that way it would be a real weapon for me, which is what I'm used to."

Despite being diagnosed last year with an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue, she began 2012 determined to make the Olympic team. She won the gold in singles at the 2000 Games and teamed with Serena to take the gold in doubles in 2000 and 2008.

Because her opening match was delayed a day by rain, Williams will have to play six consecutive days if she reaches Saturday's final.

"I definitely expect everything to be tough on me almost nowadays," Williams said.

Over on Court 1, Serena's serve lacked its usual sizzle, and she was even broken once, but she still eliminated Radwanska with little drama. She defeated Radwanska's sister, Agnieszka, in the Wimbledon final this month.

Serena will next play Vera Zvonareva of Russia, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2010.

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Wimbledon (AP) - "Definitely not our best day," Venus said. "I think we both envisioned seeing this day going a little bit different."

Also knocked out was top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who fell 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 to No. 24 Dominika Cibulkova in the Dane's latest failed attempt to win her first Grand Slam title.

Venus and Serena have won nine of the last 11 titles at Wimbledon, and have faced each other in four finals.

In 2006, Venus lost in the third round and Serena missed the tournament. This is the first year that, when both sisters were in the draw, both lost before the quarterfinals.

The last time the sisters lost on the same day at a Grand Slam was in 2008, when they fell in the third round at the French Open.

"Obviously it's not something planned," Venus said. "We rarely lose on the same day."

With 2004 champion Maria Sharapova of Russia among those advancing Monday, it marks the first time since 1913 that all eight women's Wimbledon quarterfinalists are from Europe — all from different countries.

After winning last year's Wimbledon, Serena missed nearly a year after foot surgery and subsequent blood clots in her lungs. She returned two weeks ago at Eastbourne for the first time since then. Venus also returned at Eastbourne after a five-month layoff with a hip injury

Venus was clearly off the top of her game Monday, committing 16 unforced errors and converting only one of four break points. She was broken four times.

"I didn't seem to get the ball in," Venus said. "She took her opportunities. I just didn't put the ball in the court, simple as that. Unfortunately, I seem not to have my good days against her. But she played well."

The 33rd-seeded Pironkova, who lost in the semifinals here last year to eventual runner-up Vera Zvonareva, played steady tennis against Venus and never cracked.

"I beat her two times, two consecutive years — it feels amazing to play such a champion on this legendary court," the Bulgarian said after holding serve and stroking a backhand winner down the line on her second match point. "When I come here I just feel so relaxed. I really like the atmosphere here."

Serena saved four match points before the ninth-seeded Bartoli closed out the contest by hitting a service winner into the corner. It was Serena's earliest exit at Wimbledon since a third-round loss in 2005.

"I never came here thinking I would lose," she said. "That's my attitude. You win some and you lose some. Today just happened to be the one that slipped under me."

But Serena said she was satisfied getting as far as she did after such a long time away from the game.

"I think I did really well just being able to come back and play and win some matches, and just really play tough," she said. "Even today I lost, but I was able to kind of hang in there and play tough. And I can only get better. That can potentially be really scary, because I can only go up from here and I can just do so much more."

Bartoli made the Wimbledon final in 2007, losing to Venus.

Serena had 20 unforced errors Monday to go with 29 winners, and managed to convert only one of five break points. Bartoli served 10 aces, two more than Williams, and kept down her errors to 17.

It was the first time Bartoli has beaten the American after straight-set defeats in their previous two matches.

"Beating Serena is almost like a dream come true," Bartoli said. "Even though she didn't play for almost one year, she's probably one of the greatest champions in women's tennis.

"For me to be able come back after having three match points and losing this game at 6-5, and still be able to bounce back, it's really huge."

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Serena Williams will return to Centre Court almost exactly 50 weeks after she won her fourth Wimbledon title, opening her 2011 campaign against France's Aravane Rezai.

Williams, seeded seventh after the withdrawal of Kim Clijsters, won the opening match of her comeback in Eastbourne before losing out to Vera Zvonareva in a repeat of last year's Championships final, and will be closely monitored when she plays her first match on Monday.

The former world No.1 has faced the talented Frenchwoman just once in competition, rallying from a set down to defeat the current world No.56 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the pre-Australian Open tournament in Sydney in 2010. And so Rezai will not be a cakewalk for the four-time Wimbledon Champion, especially given the latter's lack of match fitness.


Sitting alongside Williams in the top half of the draw is current world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who will open her grass court season against Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja, the world No.107. Wozniacki, who comes into Wimbledon with 17 titles under her belt in what has still been a relatively short career, will once again be the focus of much attention on the lawns of SW19 as she attempts to win her first Grand Slam title.

But in order to do so, she will have to contend with Maria Sharapova, her opposite number in the top quarter of the draw. Viewed by many as a favourite for this year's title, Sharapova is deemed to have finally fully recovered from the shoulder injury that has blighted her for the past two years, and comes into Wimbledon fighting fit and full of confidence at what is one of her favourite Grand Slams. She opens against fellow Russian, world No.50 Anna Chakvetadze.

Should Sharapova triumph, she will face the winner of world No.77 Angelique Kerber against former junior Champion Laura Robson, awarded a wild card into The Championships this year. Fellow Brit Heather Watson, who broke into the top 100 last week, is also in the top half of the draw, meeting world No.64 Mathilde Johansson, as is British No.1 Elena Baltacha, who plays a qualifier. Emily Webley-Smith faces Klara Zakopalova.


French Open champion Li Na joked that she would be forgotten in China if she doesn't do well at Wimbledon, and so she should be pleased at a first-round match up with world No.70 Alla Kudryavtseva. But danger lies in the prospect of a second round meeting with the in-form wild card Sabine Lisicki, quarter-finalist at The Championships in 2009, who won the warm-up event at the Edgbaston Priory Club last week.

Ana Ivanovic, who plays American Melanie Oudin, Marion Bartoli, who meets a qualifier, and Agnieszka Radwanska, who will face Olga Govortsova, are other notable names in the top half of the draw.

2010 finalist Zvonareva occupies the top spot in the bottom half of the draw, as the No.2 seed, and will open against talented American Alison Riske. The world No.118 broke onto the scene at last year's AEGON Classic in Edgbaston, qualifying and powering her way to the semi-finals, so could provide a brief speed bump for the Russian. Last year's surprise semi-finalist Tsvetana Pironkova is also in Zvonareva's section, as is five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, seeded at No.23. Williams meets Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan in the first round, with Britain's Katie O'Brien or the ageless Kimiko Date-Krumm a potential second-round opponent.

Speaking of British players, Wimbledon will be guaranteed at least one "local" in the second round as former British No.1 Anne Keothavong and wild card Naomi Broady meet in the first round. The winner could play Petra Kvitova, the exciting Czech prospect who battled her way to the 2010 semi-finals, in the second round. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic also feature in the lower quarter of the draw's bottom half.
2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone could have a handful to deal with when she takes on Jelena Dokic, no stranger to causing an upset at SW19, while 2010 Eastbourne winner Ekaterina Makarova against highly-touted American Christina McHale is certainly one to watch.

The in-form Daniela Hantuchova meets a qualifier, while fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, the highest seed in the third quarter, will have to get past Magdalena Rybarikova.Witty German Andrea Petkovic, talented youngster Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and shock 2010 quarter-finalist Kaia Kanepi are other seeds to watch out for.

The bottom half of the women's draw are scheduled to play their first-round matches on Monday, with the top half due to commence on Tuesday.

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EASTBOURNE, United Kingdom (AFP) — Serena Williams hit the wall in her career comeback at Eastbourne Wednesday after only one victory, with top seed Vera Zvonareva sending the American back to the practise courts.

The Russian's 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 three-hour triumph was revenge for a Wimbledon final a year ago won by Williams, now ranked 26th after nearly a year out of the game.

Williams was appearing in Eastbourne for the first time after two operations on a foot she cut after last year's Wimbledon followed by further surgery in February to remove blood clots from her lungs.

Zvonareva lost to the American in the last match Williams played prior to this week, the All-England club final nearly 50 weeks ago.

"It was definitely tough," said the winner, also a US Open finalist last autumn.

"Serena is such a champion. She's making an unbelievable comeback. We had a battle out there."

Williams served for a straight-set victory leading 5-4 in the second set only to double-fault it away.

That gave Zvonareva new life, with the Russian showing mental strength in a see-saw contest as Williams struggled in saving 15 or 21 break points and producing seven double-faults.

After squaring the sets, Zvonareva, who held a 5-2 lead at one point, was unable to convert on three match points in the tenth game of the third, dropping serve for 5-all.

But the relieved Russian re-broke a game later and finally served out the victory.

"I was trying my best, everything was tough. I'm happy with how I played and I'm very happy to get this win," said Zvonareva.

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It's Wednesday at the AEGON International which means it's second round singles time at Devonshire Park.

The standout match is the women's top seed Vera Zvonareva against the unseeded American wild card Serena Williams. Yesterday Williams, the world No.26, recovered from a slow start to defeat Tsvetana Pironkova 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in her first match since she won the Wimbledon title in 2010. Her opponent in that Wimbledon final, almost 12 months ago, was none other than Vera Zvonareva and it was a one-sided win for Williams who took it 6-3, 6-2.

However times have changed. Before yesterday, due to a serious foot injury and blood clots on both lungs, the former world No.1 had not played. Zvonareva, meanwhile, has maintained her form and is currently sitting at No.3 in the world rankings. The Russian came past Britain's Heather Watson yesterday, winning 6-3, 6-3 and will relish the opportunity to get her revenge on the younger Williams sister.

Serena's older sister, Venus, starts the proceedings on day five as she takes on Ana Ivanovic in the first match of the day on Centre Court. The pair have met on seven occasions with Williams winning six of them.

Third on Centre Court is the men's top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who brushed aside Denis Istomin yesterday, 6-2, 7-5, and he plays Radek Stepanek after the Czech player defeated Britain's Colin Fleming in round one.

Speaking of Brits, Elena Baltacha takes on third seed Victoria Azarenka first on Court 1 and James Ward will play a one set shootout against Janko Tipsarevic after their match was called to a halt at one set all yesterday.

With Schiavone, Hantuchova, Li Na and Kvitova also in action, as well as a doubles appearance from British duo Heather Watson & Anne Keothavong it promises to be another entertaining day of tennis in Eastbourne.

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Eastbourne, Great Britain - Tuesday was another demonstration of just how far Heather Watson has come in 18 months. The British No. 2 was barely expected to pick up a game against last year’s Wimbledon runner-up and world No. 3 Vera Zvonareva in their match at Eastbourne at the AEGON International. But Watson impressed, taking three games in each set. Now she needs the right draw.

Zvonareva defeated the Brit 6-3, 6-3.

Has Loving Support Of Family

We are a very close family so it’s not always easy but I speak to Dad every day on the phone or by Skype,’ said Heather, who has three grown-up siblings.

‘I’m very lucky to have parents who have sacrificed a lot for my tennis. They are the perfect parents, great support but not too pushy.’

Indeed, the delightful Mrs Watson gives this sometimes peculiar breed of parent a good name, cheerfully admitting to being more of a support system for her well-adjusted daughter than any tennis genius.

‘We always wanted to give the children the best opportunities, whatever they chose to do, and for Heather it was tennis,’ she said.

‘We decided as a family that I would be with her from 16 to 18 so we are apart sometimes as a family, but it is not a long-term thing.

‘At first it cost us easily more than $50,000 per year but now we are getting help from the LTA.’

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EASTBOURNE, United Kingdom — Playing for the first time in nearly a year, Serena Williams overcame a slow start to reach the Eastbourne second round on Tuesday by beating Tsvetana Pironkova 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The 13-time Grand Slam champion, whose last match was her victory in the Wimbledon final last July, returned to the court at the grass warm-up tournament after battling a foot injury and blood clots in her lungs.

"It wasn't an easy match but more than anything, I wanted to win," said Williams.

"She's an unbelievable player and beat (Serena's sister) Venus (Williams) at Wimbledon last year. When I saw the draw I thought 'Oh my god.'

"I'm a little rusty but I enjoy being back on the grass."

Top seed Vera Zvonareva defeated British wild card Heather Watson 6-3, 6-3 and will next play Williams in a repeat of last summer's Wimbledon final.

The Williams win was the second success for the family this week, after sister Venus advanced here on Monday after not playing for almost five months due to an abdominal injury.

"I could have done a lot of things better, but that's expected. I'll continue to try to do the things that I need to do," said Serena.

Williams said that her mental approach to the game still needs some work after her long absence.

"It's not as strong as it was when I left, but I'm hoping it will get better with every day and every match," she said.

"I definitely think I was nervous. I think I was even more anxious, more than anything, but there was no need for me to be anxious."

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Wild card Sloane Stephens defeated qualifier Jamie Hampton 6-2, 6-4 in an-American match Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open to set up a second-round clash with WTA No. 1 and returning finalist Caroline Wozniacki.

The 17-year-old Stephens achieved her career-best win on her tour-level debut here last year, when she came through the qualifying rounds and defeated a 67th-ranked Lucie Hradecka before falling to No. 12 Vera Zvonareva. This will her first win against a player ranked in the Top 10 of the WTA Rankings.

Hampton, the lone American among the 12 qualifiers, was looking for her first win in her sixth tour-level main draw appearance.

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HONG KONG — American champion Venus Williams beat teenaged Danish sensation Caroline Wozniacki in a Hong Kong exhibition match Thursday which was shortened to one set because of rain.

Williams, 29, got off to a slow start, trailing the 19-year-old Wozniacki 3-1 before a series of aces and blistering groundstrokes helped her pull ahead, winning the set 6-4.

Williams, a seven time Grand Slam winner, said she was happy with her performance against the Dane, who is ranked fourth in the world.

"I felt pretty good playing against such a competitive player," Williams told reporters.

"She plays so well."

The American struggled for much of 2009, losing her Wimbledon crown to sister Serena and then crashing out of the Beijing Open in October.

Earlier Thursday, Belarussian Victoria Azarenka, 20, beat Argentine Gisela Dulko, 24, by a 6-1 margin.


The Hong Kong tournament features four teams with three players each -- representing Russia, Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific -- in singles and mixed doubles play. The tournament wraps up Saturday.

On Wednesday, former world number one Russian Maria Sharapova pulled off a comeback win against China's Zheng Jie 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, while Russia's Vera Zvonareva easily overpowered Japanese newcomer Ayumi Morita, beating her 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour.

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At the W Hotel on August 27, 2009 in New York City, the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis presented by Rums of Puerto Rico was a feast for the senses. This is the only event in the world where you can sample sensational food prepared by world class chefs, enjoy interactive lounges, sip signature rum cocktails, groove to great music, mingle with celebrities and rub elbows with world’s greatest professional tennis players! This is not just a tasting event; the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis is a once-in-a-lifetime food and tennis experience!

Proceeds from the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis benefit Food Bank for New York City. Thanks to funds raised at the 2008 Taste, Food Bank for New York City was able to provide 103,900 meals for needy New Yorkers.

Vera Zvonareva, Russia

Andy Roddick, USA

MLB's Carlos Delgado and wife Betsey

Martin Maginley, Restaurant At Round Hill Chef

Nicolas Kiefer, Germany

David Ferrer, Spain

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(L-R) WTA CEO Larry Scott, tennis players Vera Zvonareva, Venus Williams, Richard Branson Serena Williams, Anne Keothavong, Ana Ivanovic and Elena Dementieva

(L-R) WTA CEO Larry Scott, tennis players Vera Zvonareva, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Anne Keothavong, Ana Ivanovic and Elena Dementieva, and Sony Ericsson Corporate Vice President of Global Communications Aldo Liguori (R)

Photos by WireImage

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KEY BISCAYNE, FL - MARCH 25: Serena Williams and other ladies of the WTA talk to the media during day three of the Sony Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 25.

Ana Ivanovic, Serbia

Venus Williams, USA

Vera Zvonareva, Russia

Photos by Al Bello/Getty Images

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The Australian Open women's final will consist of American Serena Williams and Russian Dinara Safina. Both ladies looked really good in their semifinals on Wednesday. Serena defeated another Russian, Elena Dementieva, whom she has been having all sorts of trouble with lately,
6-3, 6-4. Dinara had a bit more trouble defeating fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, but it still resulted in a win for her coming in at 6-3, 7(7)-6(4).

I'm looking forward to this match, I really like both of these ladies. It's been nice seeing Dinara turn her game around and come into her own over this past year and more. Serena of course is the tried and true who's going to fight to the bitter end. We've seen a bit of that grit in Dinara too throughout this Open.

While my money is on Serena, Dinara is capable of putting up a formidable fight. Let the games begin.

Oh, and there needs to be some Clint Eastwood "High Plains Drifter" music playing when these two come out.

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Wow, talk about energy! What a zoned in week for American Venus Williams. Today she became the winner of the 2008 WTA's Sony Ericsson Championships for the first time. Venus took out Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-2.

As in her Thursday match with baby sis Serena, Venus couldn't hold on to the first set, but let it fly in the second two and just surged with power against Zvonareva. Venus became more determined and very precise as she ramped up a very aggressive game.

"I'm so excited," Williams said. "That was a hard-fought match, every point, right down to the end."

Venus took home a fat $1.34 million. This is the first year in which equal prize money was paid, as in the men's season-ending ATP Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Both Venus and Zvonareva will bump up two places in the rankings.

Venus is keeping her eyes on the prize, of her ranking she said "I know I can go higher."

Zvonareva became so undone that, as in years gone by, she was reduced to tears as her efforts failed her. But this young woman played her butt off this week, and if she wants to cry at this loss, she earned it. Doesn't that just bring to mind, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want, you would cry too if it happened to you..." I couldn't resist.


The first lady of Qatar, Sheika Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, presented the trophy to Williams.

"Thanks to your Royal Highness for coming. Wow," Williams said.

The trophy is named after tennis great Billie Jean King, a vocal proponent of equal prize money for male and female tennis players. She sat with Mozah and other dignitaries during the match and joined Williams on court for the award ceremony.

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