Sports

Serena Williams Advances, Venus Out of Australian Open

Published

10 years ago

January 28, 2015

Serena Williams of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

DENNIS PASSA, AP Sports Writer

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Venus Williams lost her quarterfinal match against Madison Keys on Wednesday at the Australian Open. Serena Williams, the other sister in a family that has won a combined 25 Grand Slam singles titles, will attempt to right the wrong in the semifinals on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Keys overcame a left thigh injury to beat No. 18-ranked Venus 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and advance to the last four against top-ranked and 18-time major winner Serena, who had little trouble beating last year’s finalist, Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2.

In men’s play, top-seeded Novak Djokovic didn’t face a break point against hard-serving Milos Raonic in beating the Canadian 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2 in exactly two hours to advance to his 25th Grand Slam semifinal. Djokovic has only dropped his serve once this tournament.

He broke Raonic early in each of the second and third sets and will play defending champion Stan Wawrinka, who earlier beat Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (6). Wawrinka let slip a 6-1 lead in the third-set tiebreaker and eventually needed six match points to close the victory on Rod Laver Arena.

Serena Williams made her win look easy despite suffering from a bad cold.

“I’ve been sick the past few days, and it’s just getting worse and worse, but hopefully it will get better,” Williams said. “I heard there’s a virus going around with a lot of the players, and I think I caught it.”

There had been some hope that the semis might feature an all-Williams matchup at a major for the first time in more than five years. The Williams sisters last met in a Grand Slam match at Wimbledon in 2009, when Serena won the final.

The semifinalists from the other half of the women’s draw have already been determined — No. 2 Maria Sharapova will play No. 10-seeded Ekaterina Makarova, also on Thursday.

Serena’s win doesn’t bode well for the other three women left — all five past times Williams has advanced to the semifinals at Melbourne Park, she’s won the tournament.

Venus Williams’ loss ended an encouraging 10 days at Melbourne Park for the 34-year-old, seven-time Grand Slam singles champion. She hadn’t advanced to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam since the U.S. Open in 2010 and had struggled to recapture her earlier form after being diagnosed in 2011 with Sjogren’s syndrome, an auto-immune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain.

“It already feels like a long season already, so many matches in a row,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to keep this up.”

Regardless of the quality of the match, in which the two players combined for 83 unforced errors, Keys was pleased to be through to the semis.

“It’s amazing, you just have to embrace the moment,” said Keys, who is now coached by three-time major winner Lindsay Davenport. “And I get to enjoy another moment next round.”

She later identified her injury as a left adductor, and was optimistic it wouldn’t affect her in her match against Serena. The same injury forced her to retire from her third-round match at Wimbledon last year.

Djokovic looked impressive as he proceeds towards a fifth Australian Open title, adding to the ones he captured in 2008 (his first major), and three years in a row from 2011.

With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal gone from the other side of the draw, Andy Murray, if he beats Tomas Berdych in the other semifinal on Thursday, could be his major opposition for another trophy.

Djokovic said he was impressed with how well he played.

“Great, great performance,” Djokovic said about himself. “Definitely no complaints. I returned very well, tried to get as many of the balls back in play.”

Wawrinka looked to be cruising in his tiebreaker with Nishikori, but the Japanese player saved match point after match point with a combination of great shots and errors by Wawrinka.

Nishikori made the biggest error at the wrong time, however, attempting a drop shot from the back of the court that bundled into the net. That set up another match point for Wawrinka, which he converted with an ace, his 20th of the match.

“Phew, I’m still nervous,” Wawrinka said in his post-match interview on court. “It’s never easy with his returning. You have to go for it.”

Nishikori said he had a difficult day.

“I was struggling with my serve … I couldn’t get good rhythm in the first and second set,” Nishikori said. “He played really aggressive, great tennis. Mentally I was fine, I was ready to go. But he was a little bit better today.”

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Bay Area

Love Life Organization Shows Love

As part of Love Life Week, the Love Life Foundation was honored to produce the 1974-75 World Champion Golden State Warrior Day. It’s a shame that our first Bay Area World Championship team’s unique accolades had been lost in the pre social media era and the cultural revolution of the 1970s.

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

Members of the 1975 NBA championship team, Charles Dudley (left) and Clifford Ray (right) embrace Love Life Foundation leader Donald Lacy for his antiviolence mission. Courtesy photo.

City of Oakland Celebrates 1975 NBA World Championship Team

By Donald Lacy

Special to The Post

As part of Love Life Week, the Love Life Foundation was honored to produce the 1974-75 World Champion Golden State Warrior Day.

It’s a shame that our first Bay Area World Championship team’s unique accolades had been lost in the pre social media era and the cultural revolution of the 1970s.

The 1975 NBA World Championship team were invited back to the City of Oakland last Friday, to be properly celebrated for their ground-breaking performance in 1975.

The heartwarming ceremony highlighted the recent passing of the legendary coach of that team, Al Attlles, and his former players Clifford Ray and Charles Dudley were on hand to represent the “Cardiac Kids” as they were called back then for their ability to make great comeback victories during their run for the title.

Warriors great Chris Mullin and former spiritual advisor Gary Reeves gave heartfelt testimonies of their experiences under Attles’ leadership and their relationship with the inspiration they received from the NBA 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors.

The City of Oakland provided proclamations to all parties with speeches made by city leadership including Mayor Sheng Thao and Deputy Mayor Dr. Kimberly Mayfield and activity host Love Life non-profit founder and Executive Director Donald E. Lacy Jr..

There will be a celebration of life event Nov. 9 honoring Attles’ legacy at Alameda College.

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California Black Media

Several Black Californians Are Playing Key Roles in LA 28 Olympics Planning

From politicians and businesspeople to athletes and community leaders, a number of Black Californians are contributing to the thought leadership that is shaping the planning of LA28, the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. At the forefront is Los Angeles’ first Black woman mayor, Karen Bass, who has, in many ways, become the face of the Games in the City of Angels.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 22, 2024

Oakland Post

From left to right: IOC Member Hong Zhang, IOC Vice President Nicole Hoevertsz, Rex Richardson, Mayor of Long Beach, LA28 President Casey Wasserman, James T. Butts, Mayor of Inglewood, IOC President Thomas Bach, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the President of the Los Angeles City Council (IOC/Greg Martin)

By Lila Brown, California Black Media

At the forefront is Los Angeles’ first Black woman mayor, Karen Bass, who has, in many ways, become the face of the Games in the City of Angels.

“The 2028 Games present an incredible opportunity to unite our city and lift up every corner of Los Angeles,” said Bass during a historic event at Los Angeles City Hall on Sept. 13, when the Olympic and Paralympic flags were unveiled and installed.

The event marked the return of the Olympic flag to L.A. since 1984, when the city hosted the Olympics for the second time. It was the first time the Paralympic flag was raised in California’s largest city.

“From creating jobs to supporting small businesses, we are committed to ensuring that these Games benefit all Angelenos — not just for the summer of 2028, but for decades to come,” Bass added.

Nearly two months after the Olympic flag handover from Paris to Los Angeles, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach visited Los Angeles.

Bach toured several of the city’s newest world-class sporting venues, including the SoFi Stadium and the recently opened Intuit Dome, both located in Inglewood. At the stadiums, he was joined by two other Los Angeles County Black mayors, whose cities will be key to hosting LA28 events: Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson.

SoFi Stadium, known as the home of NFL teams the LA Rams and LA Chargers, will host swimming competitions during the LA28 Games, with a temporary pool set to make it the largest swimming venue in Olympic history, boasting 38,000 seats. Intuit Dome, Inglewood’s newest state-of-the-art venue and home to the LA Clippers, will host the Olympic basketball tournament in the 18,000-seat arena.

In an interview with California Black Media ( CBM), Butts highlighted Inglewood’s central role in the upcoming Games, stating, “Inglewood will host the Opening and Closing ceremonies, basketball, and swimming competitions of the 2028 Olympic Games. This will be our second hosting of Olympic Basketball, the first in 1984.”

Marqueece Harris-Dawson, President of the Los Angeles City Council, also attended the tour.

Harris-Dawson is one of the leading backers of PlayLA, a parks development program that promises to provide sports programming to “young Angelenos of all abilities.” The initiative is funded by a $160 million investment from the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the International Olympic Committee.

Black Californians serving on the LA28 Board include Businesswoman Mellody Hobson; decorated Paralympian Lex Gillette; former Netflix Executive Dana Smith; President of the LA County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Yvonne Wheeler; and television host, retired sprinter and four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson.

Rosalyn Brant Clark, a 1976 Olympic silver medalist and mother of three-time Paralympian Breanna Clark, said while the “Games for All” theme is promising, she is looking for more concrete action that impacts the lives of ordinary people, including Black Californians.

“They are going to need to show me more on that one before it gets my stamp of approval,” she added, challenging organizers to ensure genuine inclusivity.

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Bay Area

Ohemaa Nyanin Named GM of Valkyries WNBA Team

The Bay Area is filled with excitement, and much of the conversation is about the Bay Area’s newest WNBA team — the VALKYRIES! The Golden State Warriors were awarded the 13th team in the WNBA last October, and just four months ago, the team’s General Manager was announced — Ohemaa Nyanin.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 22, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Y’Anad Burrell

Nyanin’s parents are from Ghana, and she was born in Maryland. Nyanin’s experience in this industry precedes her both as a former college player and on the business side. Nyanin is an American University alumna who played on the Eagles’ women’s basketball team. In 2019, Nyanain joined the WNBA team, The New York Liberty, initially serving as the director of basketball operations before she became assistant general manager.

“No excuses,” Nyanin said. “We are here, first and foremost, as humans, and secondly to win basketball games. So how do we do that, and how do we do that in the most inclusive way?”

From viewing interviews that Nyanin has done since her arrival in the Bay Area, a constant theme in her conversations is talking about taking a “people first” approach. Nyanin talks about how she will be focused on the players, staff, and fans as she navigates and executes her role as general manager. Health, both mentally and physically, is important to Nyanin, as I’ve seen in her many interviews.

Just days ago, The Golden State Warriors announced the head coach for the Valkyries — Natalie Nakase.

Nakase has been the assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces for the past three seasons, where she was a part of the Aces’ back-to-back championship run in 2022 and 2023. Before joining the Aces’ coaching staff, Nakase spent ten seasons with her hometown team, the Los Angeles Clippers, and their G League.

The Valkyries will practice at downtown Oakland’s Golden State Warrior space and play games at Chase Center in San Francisco. This is an excellent opportunity to experience both sides of the water.

The Valkyries WNBA season opens May 2025 at Chase Center in San Francisco, and the Valkyries website shows over 18,000 season-ticket deposits. For clarity, if someone is ‘interested’ in purchasing season tickets, a $25 deposit is required. The Chase Center’s capacity is a little over 18,000, so you can imagine how electrifying the stadium will be during all home games.

Ohemaa, welcome to the Bay and The Town!