Venus Williams

Serena Williams only need an hour-and-a-half to defeat Dinara Safina in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. Williams really just let Safina implode: the Russian had 41 unforced errors, and won only 29 percent of points off her second serve.

After the match, Venus Williams was waiting for her kid sister outside the women's locker room with Hank Kuehne. An absolutely elated Arlen Kantarian, the CEO of the USTA, strolled by and tapped Venus Williams arm and then began clapping his hands. He gave her a thumbs up, and smiled ear to ear.

It's the first time the USTA has been able to feature a Williams sister in the Open final since 2002.

And it looks like that primetime final will be even more primetime: If rain hits, there's a good chance that match will be on Sunday night at 9 p.m. on CBS.

A lot is being made today of Venus' "uncharacteristic" play last night: she made 45 unforced errors, and blew 10 set point opportunites. But really, this is the Venus Williams we've seen over the last couple years at the Open.

Last year, when she played Jelena Jankovic in the quarters, she commited 56 unforced errors, and then hit another 35 in her semifinal loss to Justine Henin. Afterward, everyone was wondering if something was seriously wrong with Venus; her mother, Oracene Williams, made the now-ridiculous seeming claim that her daughter would be checked into the Mayo clinic afterwards.

I caught up with Carlos Fleming, Venus' agent, before the Open began on the rooftop of the Empire Hotel and he told me she was just exhausted last year--nothing more.  read more »

The Women's Tennis Association is clearly troubled by the injuries and disaffection that have plagued the tour in the last few years, and yesterday they announced a plan to do something about it.

In a "roadmap," the WTA announced that the amount of required tournaments will be scaled back from 12 to 10 (in addition to the four Grand Slams), and if players decide to skip out any of them, they risk suspension. The season will be shorter, the court surface transitions (hard court to clay to grass to hard court) will be smoothed out to reduce jarring changes from one tournament to another.

This is clearly an attempt to prevent everything that went so wrong for women's tennis in this U.  read more »

Serena's been talking all year now about how much she wants to up her ranking, and how much she wants to be feared (and respected) again.

She's moving closer toward that goal. Even though her sister blew 10 set points last night, Serena showed a focused intesnity that we haven't seen since the days she dominated the tour. Before the tournament began, we wondered if she even had any good tennis left in her. Her determination has been back for the better part of the year, but she just wasn't winning, and it was hard to tell why. In the past if she wanted to win, like at the 2007 Australian Open, she won.  read more »

Venus Williams was the popular pick for tonight's match, but 45 unforced errors later, Serena Williams is heading to her first semifinal at the Open since 2002 with a dramatic, hard-knocked 7-6, 7-6 win.

Moments after Serena won, she was greeted at the entryway of the women's locker room by Venus' companion Hank Kuehne who told her congratulations. She barely seemed to notice, and offered a half-hearted, "Yeah, oh, thank you." She was too busy smiling, a far different picture after her quarterfinal loss last year against Justine Henin when she entered the locker room sobbing. 

"Definitely can't believe I won," she offered to no one in particular, her voice full of glee, as she made her way into the locker room.

We tried it three times last year and it went well, so here goes for the first time in 2008: a live blog! Follow along by clicking "READ MORE" and please hit me up on aim at johnkoblin if you'd like to chat.

8:31: There are about 20,000 people filing in all at once, so we're not entirely filled up yet.

8:33: Early question: awkward tennis from the Williams sisters (as we usually see) or fun tennis (as with their Wimbledon final two months ago)?

8:35: It is cold here! Both players are wearing jackets in warm-ups (Serena in a Nike jacket, Venus in an Eleven jacket, the brand she started) and I'm in short sleeves and kind of shivering!

8:47: Early break for Venus in the third game; she's up 2-1 in the first set.  read more »

I wanted to pick Serena Williams tonight, if for no other good reason than to buck conventional wisdom by going against the Wimbledon champ, Venus Williams. But a friend of mine who served as our unofficial resident Serena/Venus expert last year has convinced me otherwise. 

Goldburn: this is the best i've seen venus play at the beginning of a grand slam in a long time. even the last three wimbledons she won, she started out slow. she's moving great and her forehands are staying in. serena is playing well but not A+ like when she beat sharapova at the australian. i think its truly a toss up.

 read more »

I just caught up with Bud Collins and asked for his pick tonight in the Williams sisters quarterfinal.

"I picked Venus to win the [Open], so I guess I have to stick with her," he said. "It's very interesting. When [Venus] came along, Richard Williams said Serena was going to be better. And she did get better results, but I always felt Venus would be the better player because of the reach and her speed. And now she's starting to come to the net, which is nice. I'll stick with her. The winner of the tournament comes out of that match."

Tonight, we'll have a rematch of the Wimbledon final, but in the quarterfinals. Serena versus Venus. Serena desperately wants to get back to the semis here--she hasn't done it since 2002. Venus is red-hot after the Wimbledon final, but wants to win her first non-grass Grand Slam since 2001.

I'll be running around the tennis center today looking for expert opinions on the match, which may serve as the women's de facto final.

Taken at face value, the fourth-round match of Marion Bartoli and Sybille Bammer on Aug. 31 had a lot going for it. Both athletes played the grinding, gutsy tennis that New Yorkers adore, and the 3-hour, 3-minute match that ensued was tied for the longest in U.S. Open’s women’s history. 

No one cared. 

Throughout Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing, where the epic match was being played, many—too many—of the attending fans were holding little digital American Express TVs, keeping track of a sleepy Roger Federer-Radek Stepanek third-round match being played next door at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The PA system at the Ashe match dominated the quiet sound-space of Armstrong with songs like “Still the One” and “Welcome to the Jungle” at top volume between the Federer match and the Andy Roddick one that followed.  read more »

The one problem with a two-week-long tournament, from a home-spectator standpoint, is that you have to endure the same commercials over and over again. But this one, starring the Williams sisters and the Manning brothers, isn't bad. Acting!

Every question from reporters for the next two days will be focused on Serena and Venus Williams. Both players won tonight in straight sets which means they'll duel in the quarters on Wednesday night in what pretty much amounts the de facto women's final of this tournament.

Andy Murray also won tonight in three quick sets over Stanislas Wawrinka, and the red hot Argentine Juan Martin Del Porto won again moving him into the quarters

Honestly, this might be the best day at the Open in years. Each marquee match offers a lot:

Mardy Fish v. Gael Monfils:

Fish is finally coming into form with an impressive victory over James Blake, and now he plays the wonderfully entertaining Gael Monfils who had that fantastic run to the French Open semis this year. Our pick: MONFILS

Rafael Nadal v. Sam Querrey:

We've fallen in love with Querrey, and with some crowd support he should be able to give Nadal a run. But we're still rooting for Nadal because the propsect of that Nadal-Federer final is just far too attractive an idea.  read more »

Week 1 of U.S. Open tennis draws to a conclusion at the end of the day, and with few upsets, we're looking at an incredibly promising second week. Top seeds today all moved to the next round fairly easily.

Rafael Nadal won in straight sets, making very quick work of up-and-comer Viktor Troicki, 6-4, 6-3, 6-0.

Serena and Venus Williams appear headed toward a titanic quarterfinal match with the two sisters defeating Ai Sugiyama and Alona Bondarenko, respectively, by a score of 6-2, 6-1. Both are playing great, according to everyone except them.

("I think I'm definitely at my best now," said Venus after her match.  read more »

Venus Williams cruised past Samantha Stosur, 6-2, 6-3, and Roger Federer had just as easy a time with Maximo Gonzalez, winning 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 on the second night of the 2008 U.S. Open.

Mardy Fish, one of a crop of promising young American players, also moved on to the second round, defeating Australian Robert Smeets, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. He will meet Paul-Henri Mathieu, who won in another four-setter with two early tiebreakers against fellow Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2.

On Aug. 21, the same day that the women's draw was announced, I asked Serena Williams at the Nike store on Mercer Street how she felt about her unlucky draw where she's scheduled to play sister Venus in the quarters.

"Oh really?" she asked, sounding surprised. "No, I didn't see it. So, hopefully one of us gets to the semis."

I tried to move the interview along and asked her about her tennis game, but she really couldn't get past her misfortune in the draw.

"Um. You know. What do I want to do more consistently? I don't know. I don't know I just--I don't know.  read more »

On Friday night, Channel 2 news showed the highlights of the Venus Williams-Justine Henin match. Somehow, Foxy Brown got involved in the mix.

Justine Henin has been known as a great player with an unpredictable mind. If her nerves stayed in check she could beat anybody. But it's that 'if' that has prevented tennis pundits from calling her the unquestionable number one player in the world. If Serena or Venus are on their game, if Sharapova has her serve, then well ... Henin can't stand up to that.

Tonight, Justine Henin made those reservations seem a little silly. She won her seventh Grand Slam and second U.S. Open in the most dominating and convincing effort of her career.  read more »

After her stellar straight-sets semifinal victory, a reporter told Justine Henin that Venus Williams said she wasn't feeling 100 percent today.

"I'm surprised," interrupted Henin, in a deadpan voice.

This evening, Justine Henin become the first player since Martina Hingis at the 2001 Australian Open to beat both Williams sisters in one Grand Slam.  read more »

What's wrong with Venus Williams?

"I just was feeling dizzy, a little sick to the stomach," she said. "Was just having some energy problems. I'm not really sure what's wrong with me."

Neither does anyone else. After making 56 unforced errors in her agonizingly close quarterfinal match with Jelena Jankovic, Venus made 35 this afternoon—compared to 26 winners—in a straight-sets loss to Justine Henin.

Williams said she's been feeling strange—dizzy, tired, depleted—since she got two days off after the fourth round. That's when she told her mom, Oracene Williams, that something was wrong.

Oracene spoke to a group of reporters afterwards and revealed that Venus was feeling was sick after Wimbledon and was diagnosed with anemia.

"She was happy when she found out she had anemia and she thought that was it," said Oracene. "Now there's something else wrong. We need to get this checked out."

Venus told Oracene she was feeling sick after her match against Ana Ivanovic. It was a match where Richard Williams told me that something seemed a little off. Oracene recalled Venus telling her that when she hits a ball it feels like the ground beneath her is moving (sort of like vertigo). Oracene spent the last two days racing to Whole Foods buying up oranges for Venus, finding anything that could boost her energy.

Venus' boyfriend, Hank Kuehne, told me last week that he spends her matches paying close attention to her body language. While packing up the Williams family Lexus this evening he told me: "She looked zapped. I won't know what's wrong until I get in in the car with her tonight."

Venus was asked if she told her sister Serena about the apparent illness. "Serena was my opponent in the draw, too. I didn't tell her how I was feeling," she said laughing.

Maybe it's just fatigue after playing a three-set match the other night, or maybe it's something serious. The only thing that we do know: Venus didn't have the energy to keep up with Justine Henin today.

I tried it once, and nothing terrible happened.

So here, for our second attempt at live-blogging the Open, I'll be presenting a running account of the women's semifinal between Venus Williams and Justine Henin at Arthur Ashe.

If you feel like taking part in the coverage, chime in in the comments section or get me on AIM at ‘Jets20012.’

4:14: If Venus and Justine have a rally that lasts more than 10 seconds this sellout crowd might freakout. They were dead silent in the first match

4:15: Three early errors from Venus and an early break. Might she be nervous?

4:20: Janet Jackson is sitting in the Williams' family box, again. She was here earlier in the tournament.

Click 'Read More' for more live action!  read more »

As Jelena Jankovic was picking up some final things at Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday after her loss to Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, I asked her if Venus needed to pick up her level of play to beat Justine Henin later today, especially since she made 56 unforced errors in their match.  read more »

If Venus Williams goes on to win tomorrow night and then in the final, it will give the Williams sisters three of this year’s four Grand Slams -- an enormous comeback for them.

Yet, if we return to Mary Carillo’s point from two weeks ago -- that the Williams sisters haven’t lived to their potential -- here’s something that underscores it.

Serena Williams has finished only one year at number one; Venus Williams never has.  read more »

It wasn't a work of art from Venus in her match against Jelena Jankovic. She hit 56 unforced errors and had 8 double-faults. But when it came to a deciding third-set tiebreaker, she played her best tennis of the night.

"I felt really strong in the tiebreak, I felt fairly fresh," she said, "and I stopped missing, so that helped."

By contrast, Jankovic made errors at the key point and said she was so nervous that when she spoke to the crowd afterwards her voice was shaking.   read more »

Jelena Jankovic took advantage of a sluggish Venus Williams early in the first set and propelled herself to a 6-4 first set win. Venus Willimas was spraying balls and hitting sloppy errors. Venus found energy by the end of the set, but the wayward shots were still there. In the first set, Williams had 18 unforced errors and 3 double faults.

We've got a match.

UPDATE: The sleeping giant is up. Venus Williams just took the second set in less than 30 minutes, 6-1.

UPDATE 2: Venus prevails in tiebreak, 7-6 (4) in the third set.  

Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams just finished hitting some last-minute balls on the practice courts before their quarterfinal match tonight.

Jankovic was walking back into Arthur Ashe Stadium when she told me how she could win tonight. “I’m gonna have to lift my game from where it’s been over the last few matches,” she said.

Jankovic has played in two consecutive three-set matches, while Venus Williams has cruised to the quarters without dropping a set.  read more »

While everyone buzzes about the Venus Williams-Jelena Jankovic match later tonight, the semifinal on the bottom half is now set. It's the battle of Russians, if not exactly notable (or pronouncable) names. 2004 U.S. Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova will take on Anna Chakvetadze.

Both won easily today: Chakvetadze beat Shahar Peer 6-4, 6-1; Kuznetsova beat Agnes Szavay 6-1, 6-4.

One good thing for the USTA to make up for the lack of star power: They're both playing their best tennis.

No doubt freaked out that Svetlana Kuznetsova or Anna Chakvetadze would be the marquee players for a quarterfinals match on primetime on Wednesday night, the USTA just announced it has bumped the Venus Williams-Jelena Jankovic match from Tuesday to Wednesday.  read more »

There's probably only one person in the world who wasn't impressed with Venus Williams thoroughly swift dispatch of Ana Ivanovic. Her dad.

“I don’t think she played that great today,” said Richard Williams. “The second serve wasn’t doing anything. Venus wasn’t turning. She wasn’t meeting the serve return. She hit too many serves out.”

But Mr. Williams, she won 6-4, 6-2 against the no. 4 player in the world.

“Sometimes tennis scores doesn’t reflect how a person plays. In my opinion, Venus played bad.”  read more »

It’s the match of the tournament: the streaking Venus Williams versus the future star Ana Ivanovic.

The Serbian has never beaten Venus—or Serena for that matter.

“They both play very powerful,” she told me two weeks ago. “It’s still something I have to practice hard on because they don’t give me much time to play my game. They dominate—they are the ones dictating.”  read more »

Venus Williams' boyfriend, the injured PGA pro Hank Kuehne, has always preferred women's tennis.

"It's shorter and you have some better rallies," he said yesterday from the player's lounge. "I liked watching Michael Chang back in the day. Obviously Agassi. That's it as far as the men are concerned. I mainly watch women."

After enduring the anxiety of watching his girlfriend play this afternoon, tonight he'll also watch his friend Roger Clemens pitch
against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. They met through mutual friends in 2001 when Kuehne injured his shoulder in what he described as a "baseball injury."

"He's done a lot for me by helping me rehab my shoulder and getting me back into business," he said.

"I get really into it and I don't want to miss anything. I watch their body language a lot, and with Roger I'm watching his release point,
different things, just to know even if he struggles a little bit or somebody gets on base, I know he'll be fine if I see certain things."

Between watching Clemens and his girlfriend Williams, who he has been dating for eight months, it's taken a toll.

"It's fun to watch, but I'm getting old -- all the grays," he said, rubbing his salt-and-pepper goatee.

Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Marat Safin have all cruised to straight-set victories.

Venus looked a little shaky -- she had six double faults -- and Ivanovic was broken early before both settled down and steamrolled their opponents.

The most impressive performance of the afternoon goes to American Robby Ginepri, now ranked 64th, who won a blowout match 6-0, 6-3, 6-1.

Ginepri was a semifinalist in 2005 (he lost to Agassi) and was inside the Top 15 before turning in a 9-16 performance this year and falling to pieces.

According to this very good profile in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ginepri a month ago named as his coach Jose Higueras, the guru who once guided Pete Sampras, Michael Chang and Jim Courier.

After a slow day yesterday, we're back to a really strong lineup of matches today.

Rafael Nadal debuts at the Open at Arthur Ashe, right after Ana Ivanovic and Venus Williams finish up against their unknown opponents.

Streaky Marat Safin plays at 11 this morning on Louis Armstrong, followed by Justine Henin. Next door, at the very loud Grandstand there will be a delightful lineup full of Americans: Meghann Shaughnessy, Robby Ginepri, Mardy Fish and upstart Ahsha Rolle.

On Court 11, Elena Dementieva plays the second match, followed by former French Open Champion Carlos Moya. Over at Court 13 there are back-to-back matches featuring Spaniard Tommy Robredo and the lovable Marion Bartoli.

Match of the Day: giant American John Isner takes on South African Rik De Voest (10 inches shorter!) in the battle of 100-something seeds at night time in Louis Armstrong. The winner gets a crack at Roger Federer. Expect electricity.

Are the Williams sisters still a major mental block for the number one player in the world?

During a press briefing on Saturday, Justine Henin explained her shocking semifinal loss at Wimbledon to the delightfully out-of-shape Marian Bartoli by saying that she may have focused too much on Serena and Venus Williams.  read more »

TV analyst and ex-pro player Mary Carillo told reporters last week she thought five years ago that the Williams sisters would dominate and forever change women's tennis.

"I was dead wrong at that," she said.

It's not a new sentiment for Carillo, who told me last year in an interview that the Williams sisters "created a Tiger-like buzz" when they started winning, but never made a Tiger Woods-like imprint on the game because "they play so seldom."

   read more »

Welcome to the New York Observer's U.S. Open blog.

For the next 14 days, Spencer Morgan and I will be in and around the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing gathering stories, game analysis and observations from the tournament.

Stay with us, and please keep in touch (as often as you like) about what we’re doing and what else you’d like to see. We’ll do our best to oblige.  read more »