Black Tennis Pros

Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round

Venus Williams, USA (23) defeated Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, ESP
6-0, 6-2


Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round

Gael Monfils, FRA (9) vs. Lukasz Kubot, POL
Rain Delay


Ladies' Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
defeated
Johanna Larson, SWE and Jasmin Woehr, GER
7-5, 6-2

Heather Watson, GBR and Jocelyn Rae, GBR
vs

Sophie Lefevre, FRA and Evgeniya Rodina, RUS



Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Wesley Moodie, RSA
vs.

Doninika Cibulkova, SVK and Lukas Dlouhy, CZE

Dustin Brown, GER and Vania King, USA
vs.
Elena Baltacha, GBR and Kenneth Skupski, GBR
Rain Delay

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WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Serena Williams wonders why she and her older sister Venus have played once each on Court 2 at Wimbledon this year — instead of Centre Court or Court 1.

After winning her second-round match Thursday on Court 2, four-time Wimbledon champion Serena was asked about being put in that venue, where five-time champion Venus won Monday. Each also has played one match on Centre Court this week.

"They like to put us on Court 2 — me and Venus — for whatever reason," Serena said. "I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe one day we'll figure it out."

Told of Serena's comments, tournament spokesman Johnny Perkins said there was no intentional snub, noting that several factors go into scheduling decisions, including TV broadcasting considerations, where players stand in the draw, and what ticket-buyers want to see.

"I don't think it's anything deliberate, clearly," Perkins said. "It's a hugely complex jigsaw puzzle. Everyone probably looks at it from their own point of view, so she's obviously quite entitled to."

The Williams sisters have combined to win nine of the past 11 Wimbledon singles championships, including Serena's titles in 2009 and 2010.

"I don't really think about it. I don't make it a big issue," Serena said about the scheduling. "I think at some point, maybe I should."

Stacey Allaster, the head of the women's professional tennis tour, said in a statement: "Serena Williams is a four-time Wimbledon singles champion, the defending champion of Wimbledon and a 13-time Grand Slam singles champion. I share her disappointment."

WTA CEO Allaster continued: "Scheduling decisions at Wimbledon are made by the All England Club and only they would be able to explain the rationale behind their decision for the scheduling of Serena's match today."

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick have had all of their matches scheduled for Centre Court or Court 1 so far this year.

"Yeah," Serena said, "they're never moved across."

The Court 2 she played in Thursday was built before the start of the 2009 tournament and holds about 4,063 spectators — 7,330 fewer than Court 1, and 10,916 fewer than Centre Court. For years before that, the name "Court 2" at the All England Club was assigned to a venue about half the size and a few minutes' walk away.

That old Court 2 was known as the "Graveyard of Champions" because of a series of surprise losses by top players — including Serena against Jill Craybas in the third round in 2005. That particular match actually originally was scheduled for Centre Court but was shifted when others there went long. Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras — in his final match at the All England Club — all lost on the old Court 2.

After watching his daughter defeat Simona Halep of Romania 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 at the new Court 2 on Thursday, Richard Williams downplayed the issue of court placement.

"I can't say where she should be," he said. "I don't do the scheduling."

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American Venus Williams celebrates third round 2011 Wimbledon Championships win.

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez

(Reuters) - It made not a scrap of difference where Venus Williams played Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez at Wimbledon on Friday.

Center Court, court 16 or the local weed-strewn park... it would still have resulted in a thrashing.

As it was the five-times champion paraded her skills on Court One and duly reached the last 16 with a 6-0 6-2 victory to seal a re-match with Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova who she surprisingly lost to last year.

Pironkova beat second seed Vera Zvonareva and with twice grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova also exiting Williams's half of the draw and the road to a July 2 date on Center Court is beginning to look a little less precarious.

After a few polite questions about her performance, reporters attempted to drag Venus into the court scheduling debate which flared up after her sister Serena, the reigning champion, was dispatched to the badlands of Court Two on Thursday.

Just like her Spanish victim, however, they were batted away with the minimum of fuss.





"Court Two's a solid court," said the 31-year-old, who played her first round there. "I'm grateful that it didn't rain when I played on Court Two.

"When I played on center I was grateful to be able to play that match when it rained and I was under the roof. So it's all worked out pretty well for me so far.

"I think you made your own observations already. I think go ahead and write what you feel is the truth and what's right."

After her near three-hour battle against 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm in the second round, Williams was back to her brutal, dominating best on Friday.

Her serve peaked at 120mph and she lost just two points when her booming first delivery hit the mark.

The fact that she has just returned from a five-month injury break has ceased to be an issue and few, it seems, are looking beyond another all-Williams final.

"I'm in the next round. That's my main goal regardless whether I play amazing, whether I play halfway decent, doesn't matter. It's just about finding a way to win," the 23rd seed said. "As long as I find a way to win that round, I'm good. So for me it's not about any level."

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Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round

Venus Williams, USA (23) vs. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, ESP


Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round

Gael Monfils, FRA (9) vs. Lukasz Kubot, POL


Ladies' Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops Jones, USA and Abigail Spears, USA
vs.
Johanna Larson, SWE and Jasmin Woehr, GER

Heather Watson, GBR and Jocelyn Rae, GBR
vs.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS and Vera Zvonareva, RUS


Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops-Jones, USA and Wesley Moodie, RSA
vs.
Doninika Cibulkova, SVK and Lukas Dlouhy, CZE

Dustin Brown, GER and Vania King, USA
vs.
Elena Baltacha, GBR and Kenneth Skupski, GBR

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Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round

Serena Williams, USA (7) defeated Simona Halep, ROU


Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA (12) defeated Grigor Dimitrov, BUL
6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(8)


Ladies' Doubles - 1st Round

Megan Moulton-Levy, USA and Lindsay Lee-Waters, USA
Marina Erakovic, NZL and Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA


Gentlemen's Doubles - 1st Round

Dustin Brown, GER and Michael Kohlmann, GER
Carsten Ball, AUS and Santiago Gonzales, MEX

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Grigor Dimitrov and Tsonga

WIMBLEDON - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga needed six match points to see off Grigor Dimitrov in a dramatic and emotional match that was interrupted by rain on three separate occasions.

The 12th-seeded Frenchman recovered from losing the first set to edge out the 20-year-old 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(8) but was made to work all the way in a contest that saw both players warm up four times due to the unforgiving weather.

If the world No.62 was nervous about his outing on the No.1 Court, he certainly didn't show it. Maybe it was because he had played Tsonga earlier this year in Rotterdam where the Bulgarian had put up a good show in a 6-4, 6-4 defeat, which gave him an idea of what it is like to face the French giant. In addition, he was well-acquainted with these lawns having picked up the Boys' Singles title in 2008.

He was firing on all cylinders in the opening set despite the rain, which started to fall after just two points and forced the umpire to suspend play a further two points later. As soon as they walked off, the rain stopped. It was a pattern that would be repeated throughout the encounter.

While much of the first set went with serve, it was always Tsonga who seemed under pressure. He seemed to be forever staving off break points. The ninth game was a classic example. Tsonga blasted two balls out and an unfortunate net cord handed Dimitrov three break points. The 26-year-old managed to save them but then faced another when Dimitrov fired off an outstanding return. Again Tsonga saved it and two aces later he had managed to hold, but it was a shaky game and did not bode well for the expected victor. An error-strewn tiebreak, in which Tsonga double-faulted and ballooned a forehand and backhand long, did not help and he lost it 7-4

Early in the second the rainclouds were once again closing in as the men continued their sparkling baseline game, with each taking their turn to pin each other to the back of the court. Tsonga broke for a 2-1 lead just as the heavens opened for the second time. When the Frenchman returned he looked notably sharper and went on to win the second and third sets 6-4.

However, Tsonga's form dropped in the fourth. He was broken in the opening game and when rain returned again to suspend play for a third time he trailed 3-0. Tsonga came out of the delay the stronger man, holding serve and then breaking. A precision lob looped over the Bulgarian's head to set up two break points at 3-3 and Tsonga engineered a forehand crosscourt winner to break and take the lead.

But by the time Tsonga was serving for the match at 5-4, his inconsistency returned. On his first match point he served a double fault before a second match point came and went and he was forced to kiss the game goodbye. A further three match points passed Tsonga by in the tiebreak but he eventually sealed it on his sixth and jumped over the net to help up his opponent who had collapsed to the ground amid all the excitement.

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Simona Halep

WIMBLEDON - Though still some way short of her awesome best, the defending champion Serena Williams is safely through to the third round at the 125th Championships following a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over the 19-year-old Romanian Simona Halep.

Another layer of the rust accumulated during her 49-week absence from the game was shaken off as Williams gradually warmed to her task, converting an erratic start into a rousing finish.
Unusally for a title holder, Williams was required to play outside the two main courts, though the No.2 is of course a show court, and an impressive one at that.

This is the first Wimbledon appearance for Halep, the former Junior Roland Garros champion who stands at No.58 in the world rankings after zooming up more than 100 places in the past year. Though she stands only 5ft 6in she makes up in power and pace what she lacks in height. In the opening set she ran Williams relentlessly from side to side and led 3-1 when the American dropped serve on her ninth unforced error in just four games.



Halep's deep, accurate services kept Williams very much on the back foot until in the seventh game, when Halep took a tumble attempting a sharp turn and damaged her left leg. An extended break ensued while a trainer was summoned to treat the injury and although the teenager eventually resumed, the edge had disappeared from her game and her speed. Still, she clung on to her lead and jumped for joy when she closed out the set after 37 minutes.

Subsequently there was not a lot for Halep to be joyful about. Having seen the warning, Williams duly heeded it, tightened her own game and took control, at one point bellowing "C'mon, fight".

Though she landed only 39% of first serves on target in the second set, Williams won it with ease in 42 minutes, levelling the match with a net cord that dropped dead on the Romanian's side of the net. With Halep now demoralised and unrecognisable as the eager youngster who had started so brightly, the third set was embarrassingly one-sided.

But the better players awaiting Williams deeper into the draw will have noted that she required four match points to wrap up the win and committed 19 unforced errors.

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WIMBLEDON - Although a bright future almost certainly lies ahead for Heather Watson, the British young gun narrowly lost her opening round match at The Championships. Playing against France's Mathilde Johansson on a packed No.3 Court, Watson battled an elbow injury and put up a brave fight before falling 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Those in attendance had plenty to be impressed about watching Watson, a compact, stylish player in the mould of Agnieszka Radwanska. She displayed great mental fortitude when pressed in her first service game, finally holding to level scores at 1-1 after almost 20 minutes on court.

Games continued on serve in the windy conditions, which the Brit used to her advantage. She threw a lob over the head of the net-bound Frenchwoman, which dropped just inside the baseline and helped her to level at two games apiece.

From there, Watson cruised. Her purposeful returns kept Johansson under pressure and several errors off Johansson's racket gave her the first break of the set. Watson's serve was also a major weapon - she landed two aces and two more powerful service winners to consolidate the break.

Watson lagged in the power department but her excellent court coverage frustrated her higher-ranked and more experienced opponent. She goaded Johansson into error and scored the second break of the match to lead 5-2.

Enjoying resounding applause when she returned to court after the changeover, Watson confidently pocketed the opening set in 42 minutes, her serve and forehand clicking.


The early stages of the second set mirrored the latter stages of the first. Wastson again demonstrated excellent use of the lob, finding the corner of the court and pouncing on the short reply from Johansson, smacking an off-forehand winner to bring up two game points. Two points later, she scrambled to retrieve a powerful Johansson drive, clinching the game after throwing up a sliced lob that Johansson smashed into the net.

The complexion of the match changed in the fifth game. Watson had fed the Frenchwoman a diet of short balls for the entire match, but now Johansson was finding the lines with her heavy groundstrokes and moved ahead 3-2.

Perhaps Watson remembered she was an experienced wildcard, or Johansson was sick of being made to look clumsy by a player seven years her junior and ranked 36 places lower. Whatever the reason, Johansson broke serve in the seventh game with several winners.

Things got worse for the local girl in the eighth game. Watson pulled up gingerly after a serve and required treatment on her right elbow at the ensuing changeover, returning to court with her arm heavily strapped. She played on seemingly unhindered, but was gradually worn down by Johansson's power, surrendering the second set 6-4 as another Johansson winner whistled into the corner.

"The injury didn't help," said Watson after the match."But my opponent played well. She was solid from both sides and was very aggressive. Got me on the defence quite a lot."

Against the tide, Watson broke serve and then held to lead 2-0 in the third set, before losing four consecutive games. As she put her hand to her forehead in frustration and disbelief, it all seemed to be slipping away for the youngster.

However, Watson broke serve in the seventh game and then followed this up with an impressive service hold to love, bringing the crowd to life once more. Could their girl get the job done?

Unfortunately, her inexperience showed. The finish line was in sight for both women yet it was Johansson who seized the moment - with scores locked at 4-4, 30-30, the Frenchwoman rifled a forehand winner down the line and held serve with the next point. She brought up two match points with yet another forehand winner.

Watson saved both, but a third match point proved one too many to handle. When the British girl's forehand found the net after a testing rally Johansson raised her arms in elation, the entertaining contest ending after two hours and 17 minutes.

"I am a fighter. I'm never going to give up," said Watson. "And the match is never over. People have lost after having had match points. It happens all the time, every week. I was fighting for every point. But it was disappointing at the end."

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