The queen has abdicated. The throne is bare and the pretenders are circling at the French Open, which began on Sunday, with expectations high for an unusually large number of women players who feel they have been handed the rarest of opportunities. For the first time in almost a decade, winning at Roland Garros will not mean having to beat Justine Henin.
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/ 24 January 2008
Maria Sharapova’s father on Thursday escaped punishment for a throat-slitting gesture at the Australian Open, but the ”gutter behaviour” cemented his place in the club of infamous tennis parents. Yuri Sharapov has been a fixture courtside at the season-opening Grand Slam, often unshaven and wearing dark glasses.
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/ 15 January 2008
Five or six players on the Women’s Tennis Association tour have been approached to throw tennis matches, tour chairperson Larry Scott said on Tuesday. ”I’ve said several initially, and I think five or six would be in the ballpark,” Scott said. ”I don’t want to go into any more details because it’s part of an investigation.