Black Tennis Pros

Madrid, Spain - Unseeded Aravane Rezai upset Venus Williams to claim a straight sets win the final of the Madrid Open.

Frenchwoman Rezai, 23, earned only her third career title after defeating fourth seed Williams 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 41 minutes at La Caja Magica.

Despite the loss Williams is set to return to second place in the world rankings for the first time since 2003 following her run this week, while she also won the women's doubles title at the Madrid Open with sister Serena on Saturday night.

Rezai, who won in Bali and Strasbourg last year, swept aside Williams during a superb first set in which she broke her opponent in the third and seventh games before serving out to love to take the upper hand.

It was a convincing start by Rezai, but she needed to dig deep during the second set to stage a remarkable fightback.

Williams, who had a 12-1 record on clay coming into the match, looked to be cruising towards levelling at one set all as she built a 5-2 lead and then, after Rezai had got back to 5-4, earning five set points on the Frenchwoman's serve in the 10th game.

However, Rezai saved all of them and, with the momentum behind her again, she broke Williams in the next game before serving out to win the match and the title.

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MADRID, Spain - A dream clash between one of the greatest teams of all time and the hottest team of the year took Manolo Santana court for the doubles final of the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open on Saturday night - and it was the Williams sisters who managed to come out on top.

Having recently won their 11th Grand Slam title together at the Australian Open and seeded No.1 here, Venus and Serena came out on fire against No.8 seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, flying out to a 6-2, 3-0 lead. Dulko and Pennetta won five of the next six games to lead 5-4 with Pennetta getting a chance to serve for the set - but the Williamses regained control in a big way, taking 12 of the last 15 points of the match to dust off a 6-2, 7-5 victory.


"We're really excited to win. We've worked really hard. Today we played a team that is doing really well, too," Serena Williams commented. "We just try to be the best and have fun, whether No.1 comes with that or not. Our goal right now is to do well at the French - we didn't do well there last year.

"Venus is in the singles final here too - she's playing really well."

The Williams sisters now have 18 doubles titles as a team: 11 Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and five Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles. They have an incredible 140-18 win-loss record together as a team (an 88.6 winning percentage). On Monday, they will rise from co-No.3s on the doubles rankings to co-No.2s - the highest they've ever been in the team discipline.

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MADRID (AFP) — Venus Williams will bid for a 44th career title on Sunday when she tackles unseeded Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai in the Madrid Masters final, the day before her elevation to the world number two spot is confirmed.

Williams swept the last nine games in a dominant semi-final display on Saturday as she crushed Israeli Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-0 and earn her fourth final from six events in 2010.

Rezai won an unseeded match-up when Czech Lucie Safarova quit after one set trailing 6-1.

Their 24-minute affair came to a quick conclusion a day after Rezai had earned her third career win over a Top-10 opponent when she beat seventh seed Jelena Jankovic in the quarter-finals.

The ailing Safarova won just six points out of 16.

American fourth seed Williams, who will move to second in the world behind her sister Serena on Monday, overcame a minor niggle through an opening break of serve by the 22nd-ranked Peer, who upset fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the opening round.

Williams improved to 12-1 this season on clay, requiring just 66 minutes to complete her rout.

"We exchanged a couple of breaks, she's (Peer) a really tenacious player," said Williams. "She's very talented, with a never-say-die spirit.

"I was ready for that, and after those (early) games I just seemed to be able to find the corners. I can't complain about being able to play that well against a player like her.

"To have come out on top so far feels good. I've been happy with my form and I'm going to try to keep it going tomorrow (Sunday)."

Williams, who turns 30 in June, now stands 5-0 against Peer, having never lost a set in their series.

The victory, marked by 17 winners and six breaks of serve, was also her third of the year over Peer after Dubai and Rome.

Williams got her powerful game together from the fourth game of the contest to ease to victory, winning three love games in the first set and another in the second.

On Sunday, she will be bidding for her tenth career claycourt title, but has claimed only two at the top WTA tournaments, in Rome 11 years ago and Charleston in 2004.

"I feel like I've had a good career on clay courts," said the American.

"The ultimate is to win the French Open, and I've come close (she reached the 2002 final).

"I think I've won every other tournament except the French on clay, so I'd like to take it one more step."

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At the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open on Friday, Frenchman Gael Monfils and Spaniard Rafael Nadal hit the court in matching Nike attire for their quarterfinal match, and Nadal busted out of the gate in the same 'take no prisoners' form that he has displayed in each of his previous matches.

It wasn't as if Monfils didn't make the effort, he managed to get four games off of the Raging Rafa, but there was just very little else he could do to counter Nadal's assault. The longer the match went on, the more rattled Monfils seemed to get, serving double faults and over hitting on Nadal's serve whenever he could get a racquet on it. Nadal cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win.

It's good to see Monfils again, and this was not a bad warmup tournament for his first back since his hand/wrist injury after Indian Wells.

We'll see what happens at his home grand slam... here's hoping.

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In today's quarterfinal action at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, American Venus Williams, who won her third round match against Italy's Francesca Schiavone on Wednesday, will meet Australian Samantha Stosur against whom she currently stands 3-0. All of those matches came in straight sets, and none of the sets went past 6-4.

It would appear that Stosur has her work cut out for her.

On the men's side, Frenchman Gael Monfils, who has been on the injury list as of late, will meet Spain's one and only Rafa. Rafael Nadal, who is undefeated on clay this season (12-0), holds a 5-1 career mark against Monfils.

Monfils obviously has his work cut out for him too.



Lastly, No. 1 doubles seeds Venus and Serena Williams who are well on their way to becoming the world no. 1 doubles team, will go up against Iraeli Shahar Peer and her Italian teammate Francesca Schiavone.

The sisters defeated Russian Maria Kirilenko and Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

Should be good tennis on tap for today!!

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MADRID, Spain - Venus Williams cemented a return to the No.2 ranking at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open on Wednesday, beating Francesca Schiavone in the third round of the $4.5-million Premier-level event. The last time the 29-year-old Williams was in the Top 2 was May 11, 2003, almost exactly seven years ago.

"In the rankings, you keep going until you get to that No.1 spot," Venus said. "Of course, Serena and I being No.1 and No.2 in the world is what we dreamed of growing up. But we each dreamed of being No.1 - neither of us dreamed of No.2. I congratulate Serena on that ranking but I'm aiming to get there myself."

Way to go Venus!!

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ROUND 1

Women's Singles

(1)Serena Williams, USA vs. Bye

(4)Venus Williams, USA defeated (Q) Stefanie Voegele, SUI
6-4-6-2

Doubles

(1)Venus Williams, USA and Serena Williams, USA
vs.
BYE

Men's Singles

(7)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA vs. BYE

(12)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Stephane Robert, FRA
6-2, 7-5

Doubles

Gael Monfils, FRA and Jeremy Chardy, FRA
defeated by
Nicolas Almagro, ESP and Marc Lopez, ESP
4-6, 2-6


ROUND 2

Women's Singles

(1)Serena Williams, USA defeated Vera Dushevina, RUS
6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(5)

(4)Venus Williams, USA defeated Vera Zvonareva, RUS
7-5, 6-3

Doubles

(1)Venus Williams, USA and Serena Williams, USA
defeated
Alicja Rosolska, POL and Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ
7-6(4), 6-2

Men's Singles

(7)Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA defeated by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, ESP
2-6, 0-0, Ret'd

(12)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated Philipp Petzschner, GER
1-1, Ret'd


ROUND 3

Women's Singles

(1)Serena Williams, USA defeated by (16)Nadia Petrova, RUS
6-4, 2-6, 3-6

(4)Venus Williams, USA defeated Francesca Schiavone, ITA
3-6, 6-1, 6-2

Men's Singles

(12)Gael Monfils, USA defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, ESP
7-6(5), 6-4


QUARTERFINAL ROUND

Women's Singles

(4)Venus Williams, USA defeated (8)Samantha Stosur, AUS
6-3, 6-3

Doubles

(1)Venus Williams, USA and Serena Williams, USA
defeated
Maria Kirilenko, RUS and Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
6-2, 6-4

Men's Singles

(12)Gael Monfils, FRA defeated by (2)Rafael Nadal, ESP
1-6, 3-6


SEMIFINAL ROUND

Women's Singles

(4)Venus Williams, USA defeated Shahar Peer, ISR
6-3, 6-0

Doubles

(1)Venus Williams, USA and Serena Williams, USA
defeated
Shahar Peer, ISR and Francesca Schiavone, ITA
7-5, 6-2


FINAL ROUND

Women's Singles

(4)Venus Williams, USA defeated by Aravane Rezai, (FRA)
2-6, 5-7

Doubles

(1)Venus Williams, USA and Serena Williams, USA
defeated
(8)Flavia Pennetta, ITA and Gisela Dulko, ARG
6-2, 7-5


ROUND 1

Singles

Asia Muhammed, USA defeated by Alexandra Mueller, USA
3-6, 3-6

Ahsha Rolle, USA defeated (WC)Grace Min, USA
6-2, 6-2

Alexandra Stevenson, USA defeated by Johanna Konta, AUS
0-3, Ret'd

Doubles

Ahsha Rolle, USA and Alexandra Mueller, USA
defeated
Alexandra Cercone, USA and Lauren Herring, USA
6-4, 6-3

Asia Muhammed, USA and Coco Vandeweghe, USA
defeated by
Kristie Ahn, USA and Nicole Gibbs, USA
7-6(3), 2-6 [6-10]

Tiya Rolle, USA and Chanelle Van Nguyen, USA
defeated by
Alina Jidkova, RUS and Tetiana Luzhanska, UKR
4-6, 1-6

Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Tiya Rolle, USA


ROUND 2

Singles

Ahsha Rolle, USA defeated Ivana Lisjak, CRO
6-2, 6-2


QUARTERFINAL ROUND

Singles

Ahsha Rolle, USA defeated by Johanna Konta, AUS
4-6, 4-6

Doubles

Ahsha Rolle, USA and Alexandra Mueller, USA
defeated
Ivana Lisjak, CRO and Petra Rampre, SLO
7-5, 6-1


SEMIFINAL ROUND

Doubles

Ahsha Rolle, USA and Alexandra Mueller, USA
defeated
(1)Julie Ditty, USA and Carly Gullickson, USA
7-6(5), 6-1

FINAL ROUND

Doubles

Ahsha Rolle, USA and Alexandra Mueller, USA
defeated by
Kristie Ahn, USA and Nicole Gibbs, USA
3-6, 2-6


ROUND 1

Singles

(LL)Nicholas Monroe, USA defeated by (Q) Matt Reid, AUS
6-7(3), 1-6

(7)Donald Young, USA defeated by (SE) Joseph Sirianni, AUS
4-6, 4-6

Doubles

Nicholas Monroe, USA and Michael Ryderstedt, SWE
defeated by
Gero Kretschmer, GER and Alex Satschko, GER
5-7, 1-6

Cory Parr, USA and Todd Paul, USA
defeated by
Greg Jones, AUS and Jose Statham, NZL
2-6, 4-6

Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Nicholas Monroe, USA
Todd Paul, USA


ROUND 1

Singles

Marcus Fugate, USA defeated Roman Recarte, VEN
7-6(4), 6-2

Timothy Neilly, BAH defeated by (Q)Joseph Cadogan, TRI
1-6, 2-6

Doubles

Marcus Fugate, USA and Timothy Neilly, BAH
vs.
BYE

Eliminated during singles qualifying rounds:

Marvin Rolle, BAH


ROUND 2

Singles

Marcus Fugate defeated by Blake Strode, USA
4-6, 6-7(6)


QUARTERFINAL ROUND

Doubles

Marcus Fugate, USA and Timothy Neilly, BAH
defeated
Chris Kwon, USA and Konstantin Lazarov, USA
6-3, 6-3


SEMIFINAL ROUND

Doubles

Marcus Fugate, USA and Timothy Neilly, BAH
defeated by
Denis Kudla, USA and Junior A. Ore, USA
0-1

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