Black Tennis Pros

Sloane Stephens, an 18-year-old wildcard, was the first of the American rising stars to shine, showing calmness and calculated aggression beyond her years as she upset Shahar Peer, 61 76(4). After losing the first set, the No.23-seeded Peer tightened the screws on her unforced errors and built a 5-3 lead in the second set; but Stephens calmly tucked the win away in straight sets.

"I told myself when I woke up this morning, I have to focus, be aggressive and play my game. I stuck to that pretty well today," Stephens said. "When she broke me for 5-3 I thought, 'Oh man, this is going to be a long night.' I hung in there. I got my momentum back at 4-5. That helped me in the next few games."

A day after one of America's top players - Venus Williams - had to withdraw from the tournament, Stephens was asked her opinion. "I actually went back home to my hotel to watch her play, and when I got back, the caption said, 'Venus Withdraws.' I said, 'Oh my God, what the heck happened?' I was distraught because I really wanted to watch her play. She was playing great the first day. But I love her. I was sad. I hope she gets better soon.

 
"Venus is beautiful. I like how she's willing to take risks with her outfits. That's definitely something most players won't do, so that's a step up. She's just an awesome person. Everything she's done for the sport of tennis, she's just an amazing person. She's so classy and elegant. That says a lot.

"They changed tennis. They changed women's sports in general. An inspiration to all women and all girls that play sports."

Stephens was asked about the recent pessimism in the media about the future of American tennis. "I don't even think about it. Fun fact: Christina, Irina and myself are all in the third round of the US Open and playing the PanAm Games together. It's awesome."

Not to be outdone, the far more experienced but still very young Vania King made the third round as well, upsetting No.29 seed Jarmila Gajdosova shortly afterwards, 62 60. King, 22, has been to the third round of Grand Slams three times now, also doing it here in 2009 and at the French Open earlier this year.


Stephens, King, Christina McHale, Irina Falconi and last but not least Serena Williams make it five American women in the third round of the US Open, the most at this event since 2004 (there were eight that year - Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Lisa Raymond, Amy Frazier, Chanda Rubin, Angela Haynes and, of course, the Williams sisters.

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In 2010, Venus Williams tried for a US Open title with her sister sidelined. This year, the roles are reversed, as Serena Williams continued her summer comeback Thursday, defeating Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-1.

The win comes one day after Venus removed herself from the main draw, citing a recent diagnosis of Sjogren's Syndrome - an autoimmune disease where white blood cells can damage the vital organs of the body and cause fatigue and joint pain. Serena, who herself has battled medical maladies such as foot lacerations, a hematoma and a pulomary embolism since her last Open appearance in 2009, steamrolled Krajicek - a qualifier - in a tidy 49 minutes to make it two-for-two for her inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in the last 48 hours.

The abrupt announcement shocked many in the tennis world and created a Google search rush on "Sjogren's Syndrome." Yet, despite being concerned as any family member would be, Williams revealed that putting her sister out of her mind "wasn't that difficult."

"I know she's a fighter and she's really strong," Williams said. "She's great. I think she's really happy now that she knows what it is after all this time. I think, if anything, it's gonna help her now to treat it and go forward."

The three-time Open champion channeled the dominant form she displayed in years past, when she was winning titles in 1999, 2002 and 2008. As the crowd in Ashe shouted words of encouragement to the American favorite, Williams fired 10 aces and converted five-of-six break point opportunities.

Krajicek, meanwhile, did not convert her only opportunity to break in the match and committed 18 unforced errors. Very little went right for the 21-year-old journeywoman, making her first main draw appearance since 2007 when she also lost in the second round. The victory was so lopsided that when Krajicek finally won a game, a soaring roar of applause met her modest triumph - it was just one of those days.

"I told her after the match: 'Welcome back,'" said Williams of Krajicek. "I know she's been going through a really tough time, and not to be discouraged - I hope she doesn't because she's played well.

"She qualified here and won a round, and she never gave up today no matter what the score looked like. I thought it was a really tough match. It was good for her and, you know, she's still young. Her whole life is ahead of her."

Williams defeated Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski in the first round, 6-1, 6-1, in her first match since losing in the '09 semifinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Seeded 28th, Williams could be involved in a star-powered clash on Saturday should No. 4 Victoria Azarenka advance over Argentina's Gisela Dulko. The two play later in the day inside Louis Armstrong Stadium.

If it is Azarenka, Williams believes that she will "definitely be the underdog."

"(Azarenka) has been doing everything good," Williams said. "She moves her feet I think better than anyone on tour, to be honest. She's always moving, and that's really enabled her to get ranked high where she is and have such a great year ... I feel like I have nothing to lose in this match if I have to play her."

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NEW YORK (AP) — American teenager Madison Keys showed her youth late in her second career Grand Slam match, repeatedly blowing leads in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to 27th-seeded Lucie Safarova at the U.S. Open on Wednesday.

In her debut Monday at a major tournament, Keys — a 16-year-old from Boca Raton, Fla. — became the youngest player since 2005 to win a match at Flushing Meadows. At 455th, she was the lowest-ranked woman in the field this year.

"I must say, she's a very good player for her age," the 24-year-old Safarova said, adding that Keys is playing "for sure, top-50 level."

Keys certainly opened the match that way, racing to a 5-0 lead en route to taking the opening set.

"I didn't feel very well on court at the beginning and was making a lot of easy mistakes," Safarova said. "She surprised me."

Keys went up a break in the second set before letting that edge slip away. And in the third set, she twice broke Safarova, only to give that lead back in the following game.

By the end of the match, Keys actually had won more total points than Safarova, 106-100.

"A lot of ups and downs," said Safarova, who equaled her best U.S. Open showing by getting to the third round.

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After the very sudden and unexpected announcement of her withdrawal from the 2011 U.S. Open, American Venus Williams has disclosed in a statement that she was recently diagnosed with Sjögren’s Syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disease in which people’s white blood cells attack their moisture-producing glands causing low energy levels and joint pain among other symptoms.

According to the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation website, although the hallmark symptoms are dry eyes and dry mouth, Sjögren’s may also cause dysfunction of other organs such as the kidneys, gastrointestinal system, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and the central nervous system. Patients may also experience extreme fatigue and joint pain and have a higher risk of developing lymphoma.

With upwards of 4,000,000 Americans suffering from Sjögren’s syndrome, it is one of the most prevalent autoimmune disorders. Nine out of 10 patients are women.

In her statement Venus said, “I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw from this year’s US Open.  I have been recently diagnosed with Sjögren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease which is an ongoing medical condition that affects my energy level and causes fatigue and joint pain. I enjoyed playing my first match here and wish I could continue but right now I am unable to.  I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon."

God's speed Venus.

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American Venus Williams, whom most seemed to think looked pretty good in her round one match, has withdrawn from the 2011 U.S. Open because of an unspecified illness.

Will update as information becomes available.

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Jesse Huta Galung, The Netherlands

James Blake was on court for a bit longer than he would have liked on Tuesday afternoon at the US Open. The former quarterfinalist dropped the third set and struggled through the fourth as he eeked his way past qualifier Jesse Huta Galung, winning their encounter 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

Blake has been a true journeyman over the last year on tour, making trips to out-of-the-way places like Tallahassee, Fla., Savannah, Ga., and Winnetka, Ill. But the off-the-beaten-path approach seems to be working out for the American, who recorded his eighth win of the summer with his four-set victory on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Blake, once ranked inside the top 10 and is best known at Flushing Meadows for his epic five-set quarterfinal loss to Andre Agassi in 2005, has struggled with injury in the last two years and at times has contemplated retirement. He began 2011 outside the top 150.

I was thinking about every match I've played on this court and Arthur Ashe when I walked out tonight," Blake said on court after his win. "I've come full circle. I appreciate every single one of those matches."

But after losing in the second round at Wimbledon this year, Blake took his chance in entering a Challenger tournament at Winnetka and won it -- giving him the confidence to move forward.

He continued to move forward on Tuesday, blasting his big-weapon forehand and serving well when it mattered. The American, currently ranked no. 63, opened the match with an ace and closed out the first set by breaking Huta Galung's serve for the third time.


In the second set it was much the same for Blake, who jumped out to a 4-1 lead and saw the set through with a running forehand up the line that just landed in. Huta Galung challenged the call, but the ball had dropped landed on the baseline, giving Blake a two-sets-to-love lead.

After a hiccup in the third set, Blake's late afternoon match slowly drifted into the evening, the lights on Armstrong springing to life as darkness fell. Blake went down a break in the fourth set, gesturing to his box in confused frustration and arguing with the chair umpire at times. But the 31-year-old New York native used a well-timed backhand lob to earn two break points in the eighth game of the set and prevailed on his second opportunity as Huta Galung sprayed a groundstroke long.

Blake used the break to spur him, his mom and brother cheering him on from his player's box. Holding serve for 5-4 in the fourth, he shouted, "Come on!" as he trotted to his chair. It would be the next game where he would break Huta Galung for the match, the world's No. 160 crumbling under the pressure from the American crowd.

Blake sprung out to a 0-40 lead on Huta Galung's serve in the tenth game and sent a blazing forehand return up the middle of the court for a winner, letting out a loud scream in victory.

"This is where it all started," Blake said, remembering his five-set encounter with Lleyton Hewitt on Armstrong in 2001. "I can win any match out here with this crowd behind me," Blake said. "I have a good shot in the next round. I'm just happy to be here."

Blake is set to take on No. 5 seed David Ferrer in the second round.

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Sloane Stephens, USA

Reka-Luka Jani, Hungary

American Sloane Stephens, three-time junior Grand Slam doubles champion will now break into the WTA top 100 for the first time due to her win over Hungarian Reka-Luca Jani.

It took some doing, and three sets to accomplish the 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3) victory over Jani, but Sloane hung in there and tactics outlasted errors.

Israli Shahar Peer awaits Sloane in round 2 - she won't be nearly as generous with errors.

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The No. 11 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga began his US Open campaign with a solid, straight-set win over Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan.

Tsonga showed no signs of the right arm injury that forced him to retire against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semis of Montreal in early August. His serve and forehand were firing on all cylinders, at least when he needed them to, as he secured a service break in each of the first two sets and jumped out ahead in the third for a comfortable 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win.

Tsonga, his demeanor relaxed and confident, hit seven aces, 39 winners and had 29 unforced errors. The times the No. 82-ranked Lu did challenge Tsonga on his serve, the Frenchman overcame the threats with almost routine efficiency, by pouding serves and forehands to Lu's weaker backhand side.

Tsonga is now a solid 20-9 in Grand Slam matches in 2011, with a semifinal finish at Wimbledon in his last major. He also has two wins over Roger Federer in the past three months--one in the quarters at Wimbledon and the other in the round-of-16 in Montreal. A finalist at the 2008 Australian Open, Tsonga's hard-court suited game makes him one of the main challengers here to the big three of Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal.


In his first round match today at the U.S. Open, World No. 84 Donald Young, chalked up a win against Slovak Lukas Lacko, ranked 162nd in the world in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.


Post match Donald was asked about being the first American male to win on the new court, he said " It's awesome.  I didn't know that.  I'm just happy to win the first match and happy to be on that court, which is great. Yeah, I'm happy that's part of history."

When compared to fellow American Mardy Fish in that he seems to be a late bloomer, Donald responded, "Yeah, I mean, I think everyone's light turns on at their own time.  I'm starting to feel like mine is turning on.  Yeah, people do it at their own time.  Not everybody does it when everybody expects it to be done. I wish it could have been earlier.  It's starting to come now and I'm excited about it."

COMPLETE INTERVIEW HERE

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