Black Tennis Pros

American Venus Williams celebrating her 2012 Olympics round two win.

Wow! American Venus Williams hit the ground running this morning and did not stop until she was the victor. 

In a brief sixty-three minutes, Venus possessed  the steely eyed focus that we have seen her employ so many times over the years, and very cleanly sent Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak packing at the end of round two, as she heads to round three.

Wozniak's seven winners and two aces paled in comparison to the thirty-two winners and five aces that flew off of her opponent's racquet.

Wonderful to see Venus not just win, but looking happy and not as fatigued as she had become in recent times.  When asked how she was feeling out there, Venus responded, "I have Sjögren's Syndrome everyday, that is a part of my life. Some days I manage it, some days I don't... but I'm learning."

She also addressed something a tad less significant, she said "I broke a nail."

If that is what worries Venus post-match these days, we'll take it!

Next up for Venus in round three is Germany's Angelique Kerber.

GO VENUS!!

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American sisters Venus and Serena Williams celebrate after winning first doubles match of 2012 Olympics.

It was an especially good day for the Williams sisters in Olympic play at the All-England Club on Monday, as they went a combined 6 for 6 in sets won, including a straight set triumph in their first round doubles match.

After Serena beat Urszula Radwanska and Venus topped Sara Errani in singles, the 2000 and 2008 Olympic doubles gold medalists and reigning Wimbledon champions took on Romanians Sorana Cirstea and Simona Halep. The serve proved the difference, as the Americans lost just four points when getting their first serves in and were not broken while converting on 4 of 6 break point opportunities on their opponents' serve.



The 63 62 triumph upped the Williamses' Olympic record to 11-0 and their grass court record to 39-2. The competition gets tougher on Tuesday, as they square off with fifth-seeded Germans Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki.

"It feels like we just got out of Wimbledon, and we are back at it again," Serena Williams said. "So it felt really good."


Serena even left the door open to playing a third event this week, as the deadline to sign up for mixed doubles is Tuesday. "We'll see at 11am tomorrow," she said. "I'll keep you guys on your toes."

source:  wtatennis.com

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British No. 1 Heather Watson in her 2012 Olympics first round match.

Britain's Heather Watson

After becoming the first British woman for a decade to reach the third round of the Wimbledon Championshps, on Monday British No. 1 Heather Watson continued her confidence and form at the 2012 Olympics with an impressive straight-sets first round win over Spaniard Silvia Espinosa-Soler, 6-2, 6-2.

"I'm very pleased with that win, I knew it wasn't going to be easy," said Watson.

"I've never played her before but I knew she is a great player and wasn't going to give me any free points. I played well today."

Of her upcoming meeting with Wimbledon quarter-finalist Maria Kirilenko of Russia, Watson stated, "She's been a top player for a long time. "I know she hits the ball hard. Typical Russian girl, tries to overpower and blast the ball. So I'm just going to play my game."

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Americans James Blake and Sloane Stephens both opened the 2012 U.S. Open Series Citi Open Tournament in Washington, D.C. with three-set wins.

No. 3 seed Sloane Stephens and James Blake survived three-set fights in their opening matches at the Citi Open on Monday.

Stephens defeated Sesil Karatantcheva 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, while Blake rallied from a set down for only his second tour win of the year, advancing to the second round with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph over No. 5 seed Pablo Andujar.

Stephens lost the final three games of the second set, including two on her own serve, but opened the third by breaking Karatantcheva twice for a 3-0 lead. The 19-year-old American tacked on two more breaks to advance.

"It was just a matter of a couple of loose points and some weird calls and things that happened," Stephens said of the rough middle set. "I was just a little more consistent in the end and I think that's what carried me through."

Stephens reached the fourth round at the French Open and the third at Wimbledon this year. The Floridian narrowly missed a berth on the U.S. Olympic team, and since Wimbledon has made first-round exits in her last two tournaments. There was no denying that avoiding an unwanted hat trick crossed her mind.

"You just can't ever lose three in a row, that's all," Stephens said. "That's not even an option."

The 32-year-old Blake's 2012 campaign had been a losing one entering Washington, site of his first title 10 years ago. Coming off knee surgery in November, he lost eight of his nine matches this year.

"I think I was a little falsely optimistic earlier in the year," Blake said. "I really thought I was able to get out there and compete. I don't have the ability to compete with these guys unless I'm 100 percent. . My legs feel great now."

That showed starting in the second set as Blake used his return of serve and eight aces to carry the day.

"Second set, right from the start I started feeling good, got a rhythm and never let go of that," Blake said. "I felt like I was in the games. I was sort of dictating most of the time and that's the way I want to play."
 

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(L)Venus Williams, USA, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA and (R) Serena Williams, USA all celebrated wins during Sunday and Monday's Olympic Games.

Four-time Olympian Venus Williams walked off Wimbledon's cozy Court 2 gleefully waving her fist as fans chanted, "U-S-A! U-S-A!"

Twenty minutes later, at the other end of the All England Club, Serena Williams departed Court 1 with a triumphant grin and a shout of "Whooo!"

She waited an extra day because of rain to begin her bid for a record fourth gold medal in Olympic tennis, then defeated recent French Open runner-up Sara Errani of Italy, 6-3, 6-1.

French number one, Jo-Wilfried Tonga, took down the Brazilian contender, Thomaz Bellucci, in a three-set match. He notched up a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 victory against the left-handed Brazilian to power into the second round.

Next in line for the French seed is the winner of the match between Japan’s Tatsuma Ito and Canada’s Milos Raonic.

Serena completed a July sweep of Poland's Radwanska sisters by beating Urszula in the second round, 6-2, 6-3. Federer also reached the third round, beating Julien Benneteau of France, 6-2, 6-2.

Venus Williams, also unseeded, drew a tough first-round foe in Errani, who has won four titles this year and is ranked a career-high No. 9. Williams served well, charged the net aggressively and appeared at ease on the Wimbledon grass, where she has won five of her seven Grand Slam titles.

"I've been working really hard on my serve," she said. "I really haven't had my serve where I wanted it this year. But I definitely worked a lot on it, so that way it would be a real weapon for me, which is what I'm used to."

Despite being diagnosed last year with an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue, she began 2012 determined to make the Olympic team. She won the gold in singles at the 2000 Games and teamed with Serena to take the gold in doubles in 2000 and 2008.

Because her opening match was delayed a day by rain, Williams will have to play six consecutive days if she reaches Saturday's final.

"I definitely expect everything to be tough on me almost nowadays," Williams said.

Over on Court 1, Serena's serve lacked its usual sizzle, and she was even broken once, but she still eliminated Radwanska with little drama. She defeated Radwanska's sister, Agnieszka, in the Wimbledon final this month.

Serena will next play Vera Zvonareva of Russia, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2010.

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Donald Young, 2012 Olympics, London

Andreas Seppi, Italy

It's back to the drawing board for American Donald Young who is now the holder of a fifteen-match losing streak. The fifteenth loss came in a place where winners go to win... the Olympic Games. Italy's Andreas Seppi defeated Young 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of play.

Which is why I have to admit that I too was surprised when Donald's name was released as one of the US's 2012 Olympians. He had not been having a great year, so why the selection?

Then again, we all know that Donald is a very talented lefty, who soared as a junior, but has just not been able to capitalize on that talent since joining the ATP Tour. So, in addition to the fact that others who may have gone, who are injured or out for other reasons, we could've done a lot worse than Donald Young.

Thankfully, he's still a young man and the promise is still there. It is the proof that is lacking.

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USA's Serena Williams waves to the crowd after effectively dismissing Serbia's Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-3.

With big sister Venus and America's First Lady, Michelle Obama, cheering her on, Serena Williams easily defeated Serbia's Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-1, and advanced to round two of the 2012 Olympic Games.


Just weeks after claiming victory in Wimbledon stadium for the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, Serena returns to the same stadium in pursuit of another Gold Medal to add to the impressive array of trophies and titles she has already earned.

Serena represented the USA proudly in a red, white and blue outfit with a red Nike headband adorning her hair.

Jankovic showcased some impressive shots and aces during the match, but none of it was sufficient to counter the powerful strategic game that Serena very effectively produced in a brief 61 minutes.

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July 24, 2010 New York Daily News headline.

Dear New York Daily News/Staff Writer Filip Bondy:

Over an hour ago I had the misfortune of reading the headline of an article dated July 24, 2010. That headline reads:

"Serena Williams comes to Olympics with millions in her pockets while Sarah Robles raises $20,000 to fly coach to London. Venus joked that she rarely shops in London, because the pound remains too strong a currency. That’s probably not a joke. She should try on the shoes of Robles, who has different kinds of money problems."

I sat in my "and???..." wonderment for a little while before returning to read the article in its entirety, hoping that the article backed off of the tone of the headline, an all too common ploy used to grab the readers attention, then the body of the story changes its tone, or reads entirely differently - but not here.

While the body does not completely fulfill the insinuation of the headline, it never substantiates that the disparity in the financial wherewithal between the American sisters and their compatriot weightlifter Sarah Robles has anything to do with fault, luck, favoritism or anything of the sort - which is what the headline intimates.

While I believe that it is common knowledge that two little African-American girls growing up in COMPTON, California learning to play the sport of tennis from their father on public tennis courts squarely negates a privileged upbringing, the fact that their talent, perseverance and hard work now affords them better choices in life should definitely be noted when their finances are being used as the base of a comparison against someone who has not yet achieved that level of financial success.

Wittingly or not, the underlying suggestion in the headline that the monetary disparity being discussed here is anything other than the bounty of career success, is a very unnecessary, bewildering, really cheap shot.


Shelia Johnson-Chatmon

P.S. Oh, and Mr. Bondy, I noticed that you were honored by the United States Tennis Writers Association, belated congratulations.

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