Serena Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match at the Italian Open on Friday due to a back problem, and older sister Venus Williams was beaten by defending champion Jelena Jankovic. Jankovic will next play second-seeded Maria Sharapova, who rallied past 2005 runner-up Patty Schnyder 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2 to gain the semifinal with her 300th career win.
Defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the semifinals of the Hamburg Masters by defeating Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3 on Friday. Novak Djokovic also made the final four, downing Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic will face Rafael Nadal, who defeated Carlos Moya, 6-1, 6-3. "I played a very good match against a very good player tonight and I will have to play best to win tomorrow," Nadal said.
Maria Sharapova will assume the No. 1 ranking in tennis because of Justine Henin's retirement. The 25-year-old Henin, who retired Wednesday, asked to be removed from the rankings, the WTA Tour said Thursday. Sharapova will automatically become No. 1 when the next rankings are released Monday. It will mark the fourth time the Russian has held the top ranking.
Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten was given a wild-card entry into this year's tournament by the French tennis federation on Thursday. The 31-year-old Brazilian will be playing his final tournament at Roland Garros, where he won his only majors in 1997, 2000 and 2001. The clay-court tournament begins May 25, with the main draw two days before.
The determination that helped Justine Henin beat bigger, stronger opponents time and again was fading. "I decided," the 25-year-old Belgian said, "to stop fooling myself and accept it." Henin retired from tennis Wednesday, an abrupt ending to a career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and spent more than 100 weeks ranked No.
Maria Sharapova reached a compromise with the WTA Tour and completed a promotional photo shoot before the Italian Open began Monday. The second-ranked Russian was opposed to the shoot because she does not like distractions before tournaments, and claimed the WTA threatened to fine her more than $300,000 if she refused.
Serena Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match at the Italian Open on Friday due to a back problem, and older sister Venus Williams was beaten by defending champion Jelena Jankovic.
Rafael Nadal spoiled the birthday of Andy Murray to reach the quarterfinals of the Hamburg Masters along with the other top stars Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Defending champion Roger Federer, clay-court king Rafael Nadal and Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic all cruised into the Hamburg Masters semi-finals today with straight-set wins. Nadal saw off c...
The Australian Open women's singles final will be a night match in 2009, and defending champion Maria Sharapova thinks it will be a good move. 'The atmosphere at Melbourne Park at night is great and ...
World number six Serena Williams pulled out of the WTA Rome International today after hurting her back while training, but thinks she will recover in time for the French Open less than two weeks away....
