Black Tennis Pros

LOS ANGELES — Marat Safin, playing for the fourth time in three days, summoned enough energy to beat Ernests Gulbis 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the L.A. Tennis Open on Wednesday.

Safin, who played an exhibition match against Pete Sampras on Monday and beat Robby Ginepri the following night, also teamed with Igor Kunitsyn to win a first-round doubles match on Monday.

The win over Gulbis put the two-time Grand Slam champion into his first quarterfinal of the year and earned him at least a day off from singles play.

He will meet the winner of Wednesday night's match between Tommy Haas, the top seed and two-time event champion, and Jesse Levine on Friday.

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STANFORD, Calif. — "Shhhh," hushed Serena Williams when asked about the rankings system in women's tennis that seems askew with public perception. "They already think I'm No. 1."

The computer, however, says otherwise.

Despite winning three of the last four majors, No. 2 Williams sits behind Dinara Safina of Russia by a substantial 1,742 points. Safina supplanted Williams atop the rankings in April but has never won a Grand Slam title.

That rankings dissonance continued to spark debate at the Bank of the West Classic here as Williams geared up for her first event since winning a third Wimbledon title.

"The only thing that gets under my skin is that everyone keeps talking about it and so now people know that I'm not No. 1," laughed Williams, who opened her summer hardcourt campaign Tuesday night with a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory against Li Na of China.

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(AP) STANFORD, Calif. — Back from her post-Wimbledon down time, Venus Williams didn't need long to get warmed up at the Bank of the West Classic.

It wasn't always pretty.

While she looked far from sharp at times as she missed shots long and sent others into the net, the second-seeded Williams pulled out enough of her top shots to beat Stephanie Dubois of Canada 6-2, 6-3 in a first-round match at Stanford on Tuesday night.




Williams' sister, Serena, was set to take the court next at Stanford in the $700,000 event. They are also playing doubles together, which will be more of a focus for the duo in the coming months.

"We kind of have this secret goal I can't talk about," Venus Williams said.

After neither player held serve through the first three games of the opening set, Williams then cruised the rest of the way in the first meeting between the two.

"It was a great match to get my rhythm, hit a lot of balls and work on my shots," said Williams, who won titles here in 2000 and '02. "It's all about the mentality. I usually adjust pretty quickly. ... I do want to try new and different things."

Still a little spacey — she admitted to some "brain freeze" — after a few weeks of sleeping in and relaxation following her Wimbledon runner-up showing to Serena, Williams said: "We love playing in L.A. I'm sorry, not L.A., I mean California. It feels like home for us."

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In first round action at the Bank Of The West Classic, Stanford, California today, Serbian Jelena Jankovic brought the rain and five aces today as she defeated American Angela Haynes 6-3, 6-1.

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The ‘7 to 7’ Tennis Mixer held at the Rancho Cienega Sports Complex’s Arthur Ashe Tennis Courts on Friday, July 24, 2009 went off without a hitch. From 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. tennis enthusiasts of all levels enjoyed a summer night of singles and doubles in Baldwin Hills. Hosted by the Venus and Serena Williams Tennis Academy and the Rancho Tennis Club, the event featured music, a potluck, and games aside from tennis.

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