Triple champion Rafael Nadal and the man whose ambitions he has thwarted each time in winning those titles, Roger Federer, both made smooth progress into the third round at the French Open on Thursday. Second seed Nadal brushed aside French qualifier Nicolas Devilder 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 to take his Roland Garros record to 23 wins in 23 matches.
No image available
/ 20 January 2008
A rattled Roger Federer was given a major scare in a five-set epic at the Australian Open on Saturday, but he avoided the fate of number-two seed Svetlana Kuznetsova who skidded out of the tournament. Other casualties included women’s sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze and men’s seventh seed Fernando Gonzalez.
World number one Justine Henin goes into the Australian Open as the overwhelming favourite after an inspired 2007, but there is no shortage of challengers. Among them is superstar defending champion Serena Williams, who stunned the tennis world by winning the title last year in her comeback event following an injury-plagued 2006.
No image available
/ 26 December 2007
Self-confessed chocoholic Maria Sharapova will get a chance to taste some post-Christmas forbidden fruit in the privacy of her hotel as she arrives on Friday in Singapore for a weekend tennis exhibition. The Russian former number one is facing compatriot Anna Chakvetadze on Sunday night.
No image available
/ 29 October 2007
Maria Sharapova clinched the final place at the season-ending WTA Championships on Sunday. She has qualified every year since winning on her debut in 2004. ”This has been a very frustrating year for me physically but I’m a big competitor and am determined to compete at the WTA Championships,” Sharapova said.
No image available
/ 16 September 2007
Svetlana Kuznetsova saved two match points in the second set tiebreaker before beating Francesca Schiavone 4-6 7-6 7-5 in the first reverse singles on Sunday to give Russia their third Fed Cup title in four years. Kuznetsova’s victory gave the home team an unassailable 3-0 lead over last year’s surprise winners Italy in the final at Moscow’s Luzhniki arena.
No image available
/ 8 September 2007
Venus Williams left the US Open the same way Serena Williams did, undone by all those big shots off the racket of little Justine Henin. Henin became only the second woman to beat both Williams sisters at the same Grand Slam tournament, reaching the final at Flushing Meadows with a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory over Venus on Friday.
No image available
/ 8 September 2007
Svetlana Kuznetsova got off to a horrible start in her US Open semifinal on Friday. How horrible? Her opponent, Anna Chakvetadze, won the first set despite hitting only one winner. And then, slowly but surely, 2004 champion Kuznetsova began keeping the ball between the lines, and Chakvetadze began missing shots short, long and wide.
After a lavish ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Althea Gibson’s first United States title, Venus and Serena Williams, the two women who carry the hopes of the nation at this year’s US Open, played their first-round matches back-to-back in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.