Daily News Channel
Third seed Venus Williams stepped up her bid for her third U.S. Open title with a convincing 6-4 6-2 win over fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Wednesday. Williams was on the brink of defeat against her first round opponent Vera Dushevina of Russia, but cut out the unforced errors in her second match at Flushing Meadows
Former world number one Kim Clijsters made a triumphant return to tennis on Monday beating 12th seed Marion Bartoli of France in straight sets at the WTA event in Cincinnati. Clijsters, who retired over two years ago, swept aside Bartoli 6-4 6-3 in the first round of the $2 million tournament.
Marion Bartoli of France upset warm favorite Venus Williams 6-2 5-7 6-4 to win the WTA tournament at Stanford in California. It was the fifth tour title for Bartoli, who was beaten by Williams in the Wimbledon final in 2007. Bartoli, who was seeded eighth, took advantage of a lackluster display from Williams and led 6-2 5-3 before the second seed burst into life to win the next four games and level at one set all
Venus Williams and Roger Federer go into Wimbledon seeking singles title number six at the All England Club and casting aside any thoughts of retirement. Venus is third seed behind world number one Dinara Safina and her sister Serena, but is bidding for a hat-trick on her favorite grass
Fourth seed Elena Dementieva followed third-ranked Venus Williams in departing the French Open at the third-round stage after being upset by Samantha Stosur on Saturday. The 30th-seeded Australian won 6-3 4-6 6-1 to equal her best performance at a Grand Slam tournament
Seven-time grand slam champion Venus Williams crashed out of the French Open on Friday as she was thrashed 6-0 6-4 by Agnes Szavay of Hungary. It was the third straight year that Williams has gone out at the same stage on the clay of Roland Garros, but defeat to 29th seed was still unexpected. Third seed Williams had charted a perilous course to the last 32, saving a match point on Thursday against Lucie Safarova, but her luck ran out against Szavay
World number one Rafael Nadal reached the fourth round of the ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament at Key Biscayne in Florida on Monday with a 7-5 6-3 success over Portugal’s Frederico Gil. Nadal, who took the year’s first Grand Slam title by defeating Roger Federer in the Australian Open final, won 89 percent of his first serve points to just 57 percent for Gil. The Spanish star was joined at the next stage by Briton Andy Murray who defeated Nicolas Massu 6-4 6-4
The polite hush that descends on the crowd seconds before service is nowhere to be heard when it comes to the issue of equal prize money in women’s tennis. It may be two years since Wimbledon and the French Open joined the other major tournaments in offering women the same cash prize as men, but for some tennis fans the issue is far from resolved. “Admit it sisters,” screamed one recent headline on Australian Web site AdelaideNow, “this is not equal.” The author went on: “Political correctness, sexual equality and feminism all prevent many commentators from stating the bleeding obvious …