Black Tennis Pros

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A weary Rafa Nadal had his Wimbledon warm-up cut short when he was beaten 6-7 6-4 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Queen's Club championships by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday.

The Spanish world number one, who claimed a record-equalling sixth French Open title on Sunday, looked on course for the semi-final when he took an opening set tiebreak but appeared to run out of steam as fifth seed Tsonga seized control.

A full-length diving volley helped Tsonga earn two break points at 4-4 in the second set and, when Nadal hit long, the match began to slide away in the evening sunshine.
Tsonga broke Wimbledon champion Nadal's serve at the start of the deciding set and for once there was nothing left as he slumped to defeat.

Tsonga will play British wildcard James Ward or fellow Frenchman Adrian Mannarino for a place in Sunday's final.

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Germany's Dustin Brown

 It was already after 9 p.m. when Gael Monfils took the court for the first time in singles at the 19th Gerry Weber Open. It’s no surprise that the number 3 seed didn’t want to play a long match in his GWO debut. He made it short and sweet, beating his compatriot Florent Serra 6-4, 6-3 in just 57 minutes.

Serra had reached the main field in Halle through qualifiers but could not challenge Monfils’ impressive game, losing his service in the seventh game of the first set. The 24-year-old Monfils did what he wanted to with Serra in their second ATP meeting, breaking him in the first and final games of the second set to take the match. Monfils also beat Serra in Brisbane in 2010, and the world number 8 next faces Croatian Ivan Dodig in the second round. That match will not be played until Thursday as Monfils is playing on Wednesday doubles with Dustin Brown.

Sixth seed Florian Mayer withstood 20 aces from wildcard Dustin Brown to reach the second round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle on Wednesday.

Brown was clinical on serve but simply could not catch his fellow German, who triumphed 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 6-3 in 79 minutes to set up a second-round clash with Lu Yen-Hsun.

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LONDON, June 7 (UPI) -- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga dropped just one game Tuesday in sailing through his second-round match at the Aegon Championships in London.

Tsonga, seeded fifth in the grass-court tournament, was on the court just 47 minutes before finishing off a 6-0, 6-1 rout of Michael Berrer. Tsonga won 68 percent of the points in the match, including a healthy 63 percent off Berrer's serve.

Third-seeded Andy Roddick also advanced but in a much more difficult 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 match against Feliciano Lopez. Roddick managed just two breaks in the match -- both coming in the third set.

Wild-card entrant James Ward pulled the upset of the day, knocking off fourth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. But seventh-seeded Fernando Verdasco topped Nicolas Mahut 6-2, 6-3, 10th-seeded Michael Llodra took out Julien Benneteau while defending champion and No. 13-seeded Sam Querrey defeated Rainer Schuettler 7-6 (8-6), 5-7, 6-3.

Ninth-seeded David Nalbandian got past Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-4 and No. 12 Juan Martin del Potro beat Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-2 in first-round matches. Also in the first round 14th-seeded Janko Tipsarevic and No. 15 Kevin Anderson advanced with wins.

Unseeded first-round winners Tuesday were Matthew Ebden, Radek Stepanek, Adrian Mannarino, Michael Russell and Xavier Malisse.

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Venus and Serena Williams during doubles win at Wimbledon 2009

Just when American tennis had reached its lowest point in the Open era, the Williams sisters have announced they both plan to return next week to competition after long layoffs, expecting to play the Eastbourne tuneup tournament on grass and then Wimbledon.

Serena Williams, in particular, was a question mark. She hasn't played competitively since capturing the Wimbledon title last summer and soon afterward stepping on a shard of glass at a Munich restaurant. Serena endured two rounds of surgery for cuts to her foot, then an emergency procedure in March to remove a blood clot from her lungs, a frightening condition.

Serena Williams released a statement through her agent, Jill Smoller, confirming her intention to play again beginning with the first round at Eastbourne next Tuesday. Wimbledon starts the following Monday, June 20, when Serena Williams would likely play on the first day as defending champion.

"I am so excited to be healthy enough to compete," Serena said. "These past 12 months have been extremely tough and character building. I have so much to be grateful for. I'm thankful to my family, friends and fans for their support. Serena's back!"

Venus Williams, meanwhile, has not played since retiring during a third round match at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury.

In the absence of the Williams sisters, no American man or woman has contended for any major title, and none made it into the second week at the French Open. Mardy Fish is now the top-ranked U.S. men's player at No. 9. Serena and Venus are still ranked among the highest of American women. Serena is 25th and Venus is 32nd, while Bethanie Mattek-Sands is at No. 31.

Serena, 29, has won 13 majors, including four Wimbledons. Venus, 30, has won seven majors, including five Wimbledons. Together, they have captured nine of the past 11 Wimbledon titles.

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Frenchman Gael Monfils walks off court after losing quarterfinal match to Roger Federer.

Just one day after the French Open's No. 9 seed, Frenchman Gael Monfils put on an incredible display of tennis in his defeat of  Spaniard David Ferrer, the beat was turned around and Monfils was made to dance... to the tune of Roger Federer. Switzerland's tennis wonder put on a clinic for which Monfils could not find a response.

Roger Federer celebrates QF win.

Monfils had chances in the match, but could never get enough distance between him and Federer in set or seize any type of real momentum in the match on a windy day on Philippe Chatrier. He did lead 3-1 in the first set and the crowd pulled for him with all their worth, but he was inconsistent with his serve and off the ground, barely winning over 51 % of his service points and committing a whopping 53 unforced errors while nailing only 24 winners.

"My biggest weak point was I couldn't serve at all. It was serious handicap," Monfils said. "With more serves I would have been more dangerous."
The 2009 Roland Garros champion had chances to steamroll through the third set, but Monfils hung tough and forced it into a tiebreaker. But there, Federer committed only one unforced error. He whacked two forehand winners to open sudden death and then closed Monfils out with a big serve and a forehand down the line.

"He changes the pace, and he changes the pace so quickly," Monfils said. "This hurts. He's the only one almost to hurt you that much, that quickly. All of a sudden he strikes the ball."

"Roger is always present and has a lot of ambitions still," Monfils said. "But Novak plays so well, it's going to be an incredible match. I'll be the first one to watch it."

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