Black Tennis Pros

Playing for the Philadelphia Freedoms of World Team Tennis in a 3,000-seat temporary stadium in the King of Prussia Mall's parking lot is quite a bit different from playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon.

But for Venus Williams, they both mean one thing: fun on the tennis court.


"It's two different types of fun," Williams said before last night's match. "I love playing for the Philadelphia Freedoms. I love the team aspect, the support you get. It's just so different."

Williams, 29, is in her sixth WTT season, four as a member of the Freedoms. This season, she will play three matches for Philadelphia.

In her 2009 debut on Tuesday night, she led the Freedoms to a 23-16 win over the Washington Kastles. She scored a singles victory and partnered with Nathan Healey to earn a mixed doubles win.


Last night, Williams made her home debut - her only scheduled appearance in King of Prussia this season - in an 18-15 loss to the Sacramento Capitals and received the loudest ovation from a crowd that flocked to the makeshift stadium to catch one of the sport's biggest stars. Many fans headed to the exits after she concluded her night with two wins and a loss.

In the women's singles match, 25-year-old Angela Haynes upset the Wimbledon runner-up, 5-1. Williams is third in the Women's Tennis Association rankings, while Haynes is 129th in the world.

The upset, combined with Sam Warburg's 5-1 win over Healey, gave the Capitals a commanding 10-2 lead after two sets.


Williams took to the court a second time and redeemed herself. She teamed with Healey to defeat Mark Knowles and Olga Puchkova, 5-2, in mixed doubles.

In women's doubles, Williams and Wayne's Lisa Raymond beat Haynes and Puchkova, 5-1.

"I missed a few shots, but the next two games were good," Williams said. "All the matches were either really good for us or really bad, but that's team tennis for you."


Williams' contributions to the Freedoms come on the heels of a grueling Wimbledon run that ended Saturday on Centre Court. Venus fell short of her sixth Wimbledon and eighth Grand Slam title, losing to her younger sister, Serena, 7-6 (3), 6-2. The sisters were back on the court just hours later to claim their fourth Wimbledon doubles championship by defeating Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

"You've just got to make sure you don't burn out," Williams said. "Everyone's different. I'm only playing three times for the Freedoms, which is short, but I can use the matches to prepare for the U.S. Open."

In the meantime, Williams and her sister endure scrutiny that no other American tennis players seem to face - such as Jason Whitlock's criticism of Serena as an underachiever in a column on Foxsports.com on Tuesday. But the older sister does not seem to be worried about it.

"Who is Jason Whitlock?" Williams asked, confused. "Is he an athlete?"

When told he was a columnist, she answered, "Oh, I don't read the press."

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POREC, Croatia – Now that the sting of losing Davis Cup stalwart Andy Roddick is out of the way, the United States has re-grouped, come together as a team and begun its preparations to play in the 2009 Davis Cup Quarterfinals against Croatia.

The match-up took a dramatic turn on Monday when Roddick was replaced by Mardy Fish in the U.S. lineup. Roddick suffered an injured right hip flexor during his five-set loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon men’s singles final.

Fish, who had just returned home from England to Tampa, Fla., following the Wimbledon doubles semifinals with partner James Blake, received the news late on Sunday from U.S. Captain Patrick McEnroe that he was needed to play against Croatia.

“We are certainly disappointed that Roddick could not come to play,” said McEnroe at the team press conference on Tuesday. “He’s been a Davis Cup stalwart for many, many years, so we’ll miss him. We are certainly very happy and confident with the team that we have that we have a good chance to get a win this week.”

Last year, playing in his first Davis Cup match since the 2004 final, Fish filled in for an injured Bob Bryan and partnered with Mike Bryan to win the doubles, keeping the U.S. alive against Spain in the 2008 semifinals.

“Part of Davis Cup is being able to have other players step in,” said McEnroe. “That is what Croatia is doing in some way, and we’re doing the same. We have guys that have a lot of experience and have played a lot of big matches for us in Davis Cup.

“It is a great opportunity for these guys to do it without Andy. It’s a big challenge for us, but we’re excited about the challenge. We’re all a team. Everyone is going to pull their weight. They’re going to have to pull a little more weight this time.”

The 2009 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal tie between the United States and Croatia will take place from Friday, July 10, to Sunday, July 12, in Porec, Croatia, at the Zatika Sports Hall on a temporary indoor clay court.

Croatia is 2-0 against the United States in Davis Cup, making it the only country that the United States has not beaten and also the only country to have a winning record against the U.S. Davis Cup team.

Roddick had played in 18 consecutive Davis Cup matches, tied for the second longest streak in U.S. Davis Cup history with current teammate Mike Bryan.

“Andy has had a very tough recovery from Wimbledon,” said McEnroe. “He injured his right hip flexor a little bit during the match. He is pretty spent physically and emotionally.”

Coincidentally, the only other tie Roddick has missed since joining the U.S. Davis Cup team was the 2003 first round at Croatia after suffering a wrist injury during his epic five-set win over Younes El Aynaoui en route to the Australian Open semifinals.

Without Roddick, the U.S. will look to Blake to fill in as its No. 1 singles player. In a recent playing slump, including a first-round loss at Wimbledon, Blake is looking to rebound against the Croatians and carry that momentum into the Olympus US Open Series and US Open.

“I feel good about it now,” said the 17^th-ranked Blake. “I put that first-round loss way behind me. Luckily I have had a couple of weeks to distance myself from that. Hopefully here will get me going on the right track going into the summer.”

Also missing one of their key players, former top 10-ranked player Mario Ancic, the Croatians will be led by Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic, both coming off excellent performances at Wimbledon.

“Mario Ancic is not here, and he is very important for us as a team leader,” said Croatian Captain Goran Prpic. “We will try as much as possible to take advantage of Roddick not being here, but I don't agree that we are favorites right now. It seems that many people now think we only have to walk on the court, and that's it. It is an open tie. We have quality, there's no doubt about it, but so does the U.S. team. We can win all four singles matches, and we can lose all four."

“Croatia has a great team,” said McEnroe. “(Marin) Cilic and (Ivo) Karlovic are very, very good players. Obviously, them playing at home, the home team always has a slight advantage. But we have a lot of experience playing Davis Cup and playing against their players. I think it is a pretty even match.”

Blake is a career 2-3 against Karlovic and 2-0 against Cilic. Fish lost to Cilic in the 2008 Pilot Pen Tennis final, their only meeting, and is a career 1-4 against Karlovic.

The order of play will be determined on Thursday at the draw ceremony, scheduled to be held at 1 p.m. local time at the Istrian Council House in Porec.

The weekend schedule consists of two singles matches on Friday (10 a.m. ET), the doubles match on Saturday (9:30 a.m. ET), and two reverse singles matches on Sunday (10 a.m. ET).

Tennis Channel will air live daily coverage of Friday’s and Sunday’s singles matches at 10 a.m. ET. Saturday’s doubles match will air live at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Tennis Channel will continue its Davis Cup primetime tradition and rebroadcast matches nightly at 8 p.m. ET.

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The injection of a fella lovingly called Rafa slowed the pace at which Roger Federer would reach this milestone, but it has happened nonetheless.

The 2009 Wimbledon champion defeated American Andy Roddick 5-7, 7⁸-6⁶, 7⁷-6⁵, 3-6, 16-14.

Roger is a great and gracious champion who has truly earned this crown through hard work and a lot of joy and pain.

Congratulations Roger Federer on becoming the top grand slam title holder in all of tennis - Yay big 15!

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WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Venus and Serena Williams have won their fourth women's doubles title at Wimbledon by beating Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-4.

The doubles final began a few hours after Serena beat Venus for the singles championship Saturday. It's the Williams sisters' second consecutive doubles title at the All England Club and their ninth Grand Slam doubles title as a pair.

They've also won the Australian Open together three times, including in January, along with the U.S. Open and the French Open once each.

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WIMBLEDON, England -- Serena Williams fell to her knees on the grass, eyes closed, arms raised, and threw back her head.

After six years, it was her turn to hold up the Venus Rosewater Dish again.

In the fourth all-Williams final at Wimbledon, Serena beat her sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Saturday for her third title and 11th Grand Slam championship.

"It feels so amazing," Serena said. "I'm so blessed. I feel like I shouldn't be holding the trophy. I can't believe I'm holding it. It's named for Venus and she always wins."

Serena came out on top by out-serving her big sister, lifting her game in the tiebreaker and dictating play throughout the second set, finally winning when five-time champion Venus slapped a backhand into the net on the fourth match point.

Serena beat Venus in the 2002 and '03 finals, before Venus prevailed in last year's championship match. Venus was trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win Wimbledon three years in a row.

Still, the Williams sisters proved their dominance at the All England Club once more, winning their eighth singles title this decade. As always with Williams vs. Williams matches, the celebrations were relatively muted. The sisters embraced at the net, with the 29-year-old Venus patting 27-year-old Serena on the back.


"I didn't think about Venus at all today," Serena said. "I just saw her as an opponent. At one point, after the first set, I looked on the side of the court at the stats, and it was like 'Williams, Williams.' I couldn't figure out which was which."

The sisters were due back on Centre Court later for the women's doubles final, where they will face Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs of Australia. They're seeking their fourth Wimbledon doubles title and 10th Grand Slam crown.

Venus had come into the final as the favorite after playing some of the best grass-court tennis of her career. She hadn't dropped a set in 17 straight matches at Wimbledon, but couldn't cope on this day with the fierce competitive drive and relentless power game of her sister.


"This is one of the few times I didn't expect to come out with the win today," Serena said. "When I won that first set, I was like, 'Wow, this is great. No matter what, I'm a set away.' So I was just trying to relax."

The statistics summed up Serena's superiority: She had 12 aces, 25 winners and 12 unforced errors, compared to two aces, 14 winners and 18 unforced mistakes for Venus.

"She played great, especially in the tiebreak," Venus said. "I would just play a good shot and she'd just hit a winner off of it or put me in a position where she could hit another winner. I played a good tiebreak, but she played a great one."


Serena now has an 11-10 edge overall and is 6-2 in Grand Slam finals against her sister. She currently holds three of the major titles -- the U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon -- and is one Slam win away from tying Billie Jean King at sixth all-time.

"It's unbelievable," Serena said. "I feel like now I'm just not even in a competition of how many I can win. It's just now I'm looking at the next goal of someone like Billie Jean King, who is completely my idol. To get to her level and have 12 would be even better."

Serena said she found no particular significance in stopping her sister from taking a third straight Wimbledon crown.


"She's won seven Grand Slams on her own, five being Wimbledon," Serena said. "You can't compare that, because she's a living legend right now."

Despite her dominance on the big stages, Serena will stay at No. 2 in the world rankings behind Dinara Safina. The Russian reached the top spot this year even though she has never won a Grand Slam title. She was routed 6-1, 6-0 by Venus in the Wimbledon semifinals.

"I think if you hold three Grand Slam titles maybe you should be No. 1, but not on the WTA Tour obviously," Serena said.


"My motivation is maybe just to win another Grand Slam and stay No. 2, I guess," she added with a laugh. "I'd rather definitely be No. 2 and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any."

Serena became the second player in the Open era to win the Wimbledon women's title after overcoming a match point, having done so in the semifinals against Elena Dementieva. The only other player to do it was Venus, who saved one in the 2005 final against Lindsay Davenport.

On a sunny, breezy day, there was little to separate the sisters for most of the first set, though Venus failed to convert her chances to break in the eighth game. Serving at 15-40, Serena saved the first break point with a second serve into the body that forced a backhand error from Venus. On the second, Venus went for a forehand passing shot that landed just wide of the line. Serena then hit back-to-back aces to take the game.

Serena dominated the tiebreaker, increasing her intensity and grunting volume and pushing Venus around the court. Serena closed it out in style, flicking a picture-perfect topspin lob that floated over Venus and into the back of the court for a winner.


Venus looked flat and demoralized in the second set and, from 2-2, Serena ran off the last four games. The match was essentially over when Venus double-faulted on break point in the sixth game to hand her sister a 4-2 lead. Two games later, Serena failed to convert on three match points before Venus ended the contest with a final backhand error.

"Serena and I, we both expect from ourselves great results," Venus said, refusing to reflect on what the siblings have accomplished. "At the moment, we're just pushing for everything that we can. And maybe when all these moments are over, then we can look back and kind of be amazed."

Photos by:
AP
Getty Images

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