Black Tennis Pros

NEW YORK -- The U.S. Open has fined Serena Williams $10,000 for her tirade directed at a line judge at the end of a semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters.

It's the maximum on-site fine a Grand Slam tennis tournament can issue for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The U.S. Open said Sunday the Grand Slam Committee Administrator has opened an investigation to determine whether Williams' behavior should be considered a "major offense," which can lead to additional penalties.

Williams also is being docked $500 for racket abuse in what became a 6-4, 7-5 loss Saturday night.

"Serena Williams' conduct last night was inappropriate and unprofessional," WTA chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster said in a statement. "No matter what the circumstances, no player should be allowed to engage in such behavior without suffering consequences. I have spoken with the USTA about this matter and I agree with the action they have taken."

Williams earned $350,000 in prize money for reaching the singles semifinals. She also is scheduled to play in the women's doubles final Monday with her sister Venus.

Williams issued a statement on Sunday night.

"Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job," it read. "Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don't agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly. I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human and I look forward to continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from this experience."

Allaster had some positive words for Williams as well.

"Serena is a great player who has done so much for our sport and I am certain she will continue to be a role model to millions of young women who want to play the game and excel as Serena has done," her statement said. "As a role model, it's important for a leader like Serena to step forward and recognize her behavior last night was unacceptable, and I believe that her statement earlier today is an acknowledgement of her responsibility to her fans."

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Firey player, passionate player, entertaining player, all adjectives that I've heard applied to the likes of tennis bad asses John McEnroe, Jimmie Connors, Jennifer Capriati and others over the years; but not Saturday night in the case of American Serena Williams while playing her semifinal match at the 2009 U.S. Open against Belgium's Kim Clijsters.

According to Commentator Dick Enberg, "champions don't act like that." Now, according to Wikipedia, Enberg was born in 1935, which suggests to me that he has witnessed some of the most outrageous on court shenanigans that have been displayed by champions and non-champions alike.


Earlier in the day, prior to the Williams vs. Clijsters match, CBS was ironically showing one of Jimmie Connors matches because of the rain delay. Connors was acting a stone, cold, fool! But this match was worthy of repeating to fill rain delay time.

The WTA, ESPN, CBS and whomever else owns and broadcasts women's tennis currently enjoys the silence of a multitude of tennis fans who support both Venus and Serena Williams among other tennis players and want peace, while irreverent commentators speak of them as if they are not in the room or on the court; well not on this issue. On this one I've already seen fans bringing the noise and the funk!


All implications from the commentary booth on Saturday evening were as if Serena Williams had initiated a new standard of bad behavior. Serena can't even begin to touch the behavior of some other tennis players who have built their careers on the backs of those whom they have lambasted and treated like dirt while on court.

With regard to this incident, while serving at 5-6, 15-30, the line official called a foot fault on Serena on her second serve, thus awarding Clijsters double match point, 15-40. However, Serena became upset with the call and began jawing at the official. To her misfortune, she had already been given a warning earlier in the match; which now combined resulted in a point penalty, thus costing her the match.

Post match Serena said, "I said something and they gave me a point penalty. Unfortunately, it was on match point. You know, today was a tough day. I didn't play my best. I think I had more errors today than all of my other matches combined. It was really tough for me out there."

"I think Kim played really well, and I think she came out with a really big plan. I saw her play in Cincinnati and she played incredible. It's really good to have her back on tour. Maybe we can get together and have some calming lessons."

With regard to the foot fault call, Serena said "I'm pretty sure I did. If she called a foot fault, she must have seen a foot fault. I mean, she was doing her job. I'm not going to knock her for doing her job."

It's going to be interesting to see and hear how this shakes out over the next six months or so. I've got a pretty good idea what it's going to look and sound like.

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After fighting her way into the main draw of the U.S. Open via qualifying, American Shenay Perry was unceremoniously bounced by Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko in round two.

Bondarenko seems to be building momentum by first eliminating Serbian Ana Ivanovic in round one, and now Perry. She defeated Perry 6-1, 6-1 - ouch!

Perry had a straight sets win over Monica Niculescu of Romania in round one 6-4, 6-2.

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Well, while Thursday's round two match between American James Blake and Belgium's Olivier Rochus at the 2009 U.S. Open was nowhere near any of the epic precision shot-making spectacles that Blake has previously been a part of, he got the job done nonetheless.

Blake is still looking unsure of himself and as if he has forgotten how to play his best tennis; at the same time, he does seem to be building a bit more confidence and somehow, someway, found a way to defeat a very determined Rochus in four sets 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3.

As a hardcore Blake supporter, I of course have every hope that this is only the beginning of what we will see him build at this Open. On the other hand, he has become as unpredictable as southern weather. Only time will tell.

Post match Blake spoke with the press and talked about his exuberant reaction after his win stating, "There are not many better feelings in the world. You showing your emotions and 15,000 people feeding off of it. It really can't be much better."

He continued, "We're all happy when the other Americans are doing well. To compare us to, or expect the same as what happened in years past, I think it's been done a million times, and I've always said I think it's a little unfair."

Whatever happens, I would simply like to see Blake dig deep and put up a fighting spirit. I personally believe that he still has the goods, whether he chooses to use them is the dilemma.

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NEW YORK — Serena Williams offered a new, tongue-in-cheek explanation for why she plays so much better at Grand Slam tournaments than other events.

"Maybe it pays more," she said with a smile. "I guess I'm trying to pay off my mortgage."

Defending champion Williams joined her sister in the U.S. Open's third round with a dominating victory Wednesday night, playing pretty close to perfect while beating 51st-ranked Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-1, 6-1 in less than an hour.

Williams is seeking her fourth U.S. Open championship and 12th Grand Slam singles title overall. She's won three of the past four major tournaments — but she hasn't won a single nonmajor tournament in that span.

The American is trying to become the first woman to win consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows since her older sister Venus in 2000-01.

The siblings could play each other in the semifinals. Venus Williams wore heavy bandages above and below her left knee while winning earlier Wednesday, eliminating Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States 6-4, 6-2.

The younger Williams played Czink at a hard-court tournament in California in July, and things were much more competitive until Williams eventually prevailed 6-3, 7-6 (7).

Why was Wednesday's encounter so different?

"I definitely made adjustments," Williams said. "I knew her game better today."

Truth be told, Czink simply couldn't handle Williams' power, like a baseball hitter whose swing is too slow to get around on a fastball and keeps fouling off pitches.

That was illustrated on consecutive points early in the second set: First, one ball flew wildly off Czink's racket and soared wide and high, so off-track and so hard that it smacked the scorekeeping gizmo off the chair umpire's stand. Next, another ball went directly sideways, nearly into the noggin of a line judge.

Williams finished with an impressive ratio of 25 winners to only nine unforced errors.

About the only glitch for Williams came midway through the first set, when she thought she had pounded an ace. Instead, the serve was waved off by a line judge, who called a foot-fault.

Williams turned and glared, setting her hands on her hips. She just stood there with a straight face for a few seconds, staring down the official. When play resumed, Williams pushed a forehand into the net, then again sent a serious look in his direction.

And on the following point, Williams smacked an ace at 115 mph and looked over once more, as though to say, "Was my foot in the right place that time?!"

"I was kind of frustrated because I hit a great serve, best serve I hit in months. Yeah, I was just like, 'Ugh!'" Williams said.

Asked about the staredown, she said: "They do play that song, 'Straight out of Compton' when I walk out."

The Williams sisters won their opening doubles match 6-2, 6-2 over Julia Goerges and Arantxa Parra Santonja, answering the questions about whether Venus would play in that event because of her sore knee.

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One of the biggest stars in tennis, Serena Williams has captured every major title. Her 2009 Australia Open championship earned her the #1 world ranking for the third time in her illustrious career - and marked only the latest exclamation point on a life well and purposefully lived.

As a young girl, Serena began training with an adult-sized racquet that was almost as big as her. Rather than dropping the racquet, Serena saw it as a challenge to overcome-and she has confronted every obstacle on her path to success with the same unflagging spirit.

From growing up in the tough, hardscrabble neighborhood of Compton, California, to being trained by her father on public tennis courts littered with broken glass and drug paraphernalia, to becoming the top women's player in the world, Serena has proven to be an inspiration to her legions of fans both young and old. Her accomplishments have not been without struggle: being derailed by injury, devastated by the tragic shooting of her older sister, and criticized for her unorthodox approach to tennis.

Yet somehow, Serena always manages to prevail. Both on the court and off, she's applied the strength and determination that helped her to become a champion to successful pursuits in philanthropy, fashion, television and film. In this compelling and poignant memoir, Serena takes an empowering look at her extraordinary life and what is still to come.

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Day 3 of the 2009 U.S. Open saw Frenchman Gael Monfils in his usual and very enjoyable acrobatic style easily dismiss fellow Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.

After being hampered by a number of injurys post the Australian Open, Monfils says that he is feeling much stronger coming into this tournament.

“Completely much better, but I think I still have a little problem with my knee and I have to make sure,” Monfils said. “ My wrist is getting better, so I’m quite good. But 100%? Not really.”

”I like to give a good show and they like to see a good show,” Monfils said. “So it’s a good atmosphere.”

Whatever the case, we always want to see more of this high flying Frenchman.

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