Third seed Venus Williams was eliminated in the third round of the French Open, beaten 6-0, 6-4 by Hungary's Agnes Szavay on Friday.
Elena Dementieva downplayed any suggestions she was the favourite for the Australian Open title after she romped into the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-2 demolition of Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova on Monday. The victory, in just 76 minutes, was the 14th in a row for the fourth-seeded Russian, who won the Auckland and Sydney tournaments before arriving at Melbourne Park. She is unbeaten in 2009 and plays Spain's unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro in the last eight.
The courts are not the same as they used to be in the past are not in good condition.
Top three seeds Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray continued their serene progress at the Qatar Open on Wednesday, reaching the quarter-finals with straight-sets victories.
Former Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli beat seventh seed Caroline Wozniacki 7-6, 6-4 at the Stuttgart Grand Prix on Thursday to set up a quarter-final against world number three Elena Dementieva. World number one Dinara Safina also moved into the last eight with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win over Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and will now meet Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.
Members of Ireland's women's soccer team threatened on Tuesday to boycott their next international match unless the country's football association tackles what they described as "humiliating" working conditions.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Hamburg led a trio of former European champions into the UEFA Cup knockout phase on Thursday and previous winners Valencia also secured a last 32 place. Aston Villa and Ajax Amsterdam progressed from Group F along with Hamburg, whose 2-0 victory at Slavia Prague meant Villa qualified despite a 2-1 home defeat by Slovakia's Zilina.
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova shocked fifth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Montreal Cup third round on Tuesday. Dementieva was joined at the exit door by eighth-seeded compatriot Vera Zvonareva, who was upset 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 by Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano.
Indian shooter Manu Bhaker won gold in women's 10m Air Pistol in Youth Olympics on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the Euro 2020 qualifiers played on Thursday
Order of play on the main showcourts on the first day of the June 23-July 6 Wimbledon tennis championships on Monday.
International models Sylvia from Poland and Marieta from Slovakia share their fitness and fashion mantras.
Venus and Serena Williams won the 2009 Australian Open women's doubles title, beating Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova and Japan's Ai Sugiyama, 6-3, 6-3 in the final in Melbourne on Friday. The tenth-seeded American sisters captured their eighth Grand Slam doubles title in the process, having also won the Australian Open in 2001 and 2003.
Jelena Jankovic was upset 7-5, 6-2 by Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-finals of the Montreal Cup on Friday.
India's Isha Lakhani bowed out in the first round of the $ 25,000 Greater Noida ITF women's circuit tournament in Noida on Monday.
The Czech Republic's Frantisek Cermak and Slovakia's Michal Mertinak became the latest players to be banned and fined for betting on tennis matches, the ATP said on Monday. As the governing body of men's tennis continues to crack down on gambling in the sport, the two Eastern European doubles specialists became the first non-Italians to be sanctioned under the ATP's anti-corruption programme.
Sania's Mirza's winning run at the AEGON Classic came to a halt in the semi-finals when she was beaten by Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-3, 0-6, 3-6 in Birmingham on Saturday.
Roger Federer began his quest for a modern-era record sixth consecutive Wimbledon title with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty.
Manchester United will welcome David de Gea back into the fold even if, as expected, the goalkeeper refuses to sign a new contract following his failed attempt to move to Real Madrid, British media reported on Thursday.
Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty thrashed Russian sixth seed Dmitry Tursunov 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of the St Petersburg Open.
Top seed Jelena Jankovic reached the quarter-finals of the China Open on Wednesday with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak, while Zheng Jie restored some pride for the host nation.
England's performances at Euro 2016 so far will leave none of their opponents scared at the prospect of a knockout clash with the country, according to former striker Alan Shearer.
Top Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, P V Sindhu, K Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap reached the second round of Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after scoring easy victories in Lucknow.
Maria Sharapova captured her first claycourt title when she defeated Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 7-6, 6-3 in the final of the Amelia Island Championships on Sunday. Sharapova became the first woman to win three titles this season following her success at the Australian Open and Qatar Open and improved her 2008 win-loss record to 22-1.
Top-seeded Maria Sharapova advanced to the semi-finals of the Amelia Island championships after a 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko. The Australian Open champion will meet former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport. The American beat Hungary's Agnes Szavay 6-4 7-6, while Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova will play Alize Cornet in the other semi-final. Cornet beat Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-2 while Cibulkova beat France's Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 7-6.
Russian seventh seed Dinara Safina overwhelmed Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-1 to claim the Montreal Cup.
Spain's Garbine Muguruza reached her second Wimbledon final in three years with a thumping 6-1, 6-1 win over Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova.
Former champion Maria Sharapova maintained her perfect start to the season to join fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-finals of the Pacific Life Open on Wednesday. Sharapova, the Australian Open champion and fourth seed, stormed back from 5-2 down in the first set to beat holder Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 7-6, 6-1.
Big-serving Andy Roddick crashed out of the Pacific Life Open on Sunday while second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced after a battling 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win over Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova. Much smoother progress was made by Swiss world number one Roger Federer, Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova and women's title-holder Daniela Hantuchova, who all won their respective matches in straight sets.
Paths to the final in the women's singles at the U.S. Open (prefix denotes seedings)
Spain's Garbine Muguruza beat Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 to win the French Open on Saturday and claim her first Grand Sam title. Take a look at the career of the 22-year-old.
Sunitha Rao shrugged off a poor start to beat Kristina Kuvoca of Slovakia in a tough three-setter and advance to the singles second round of the US $50,000 ITF women's tennis tournament in Boston, USA. The United States-based Indian, seeded fifth, rallied to beat her Slovakian opponent 1-6 6-4 7-6(4) in the first round of the hardcourt event.
Petr Nitka's advice for Indians: 'It's time we destroyed prejudices and stereotypes'
Chris Froome got a brutal reminder of the unpredictable nature of the Tour de France when he crashed to the ground in Sunday's second stage, recovering to finish with torn shorts as German Marcel Kittel powered to victory at the end of a huge sprint.
Zomato is on an acquisition spree, has taken over 5 firms in the past one year.
Wily Czech Radek Stepanek, the oldest player in the men's singles, will take his bag of tricks out on Philippe Chatrier Court against World No 2 Andy Murray as the French Open plays catch-up on Monday.
Korean qualifier Hyeon Chung produced the first upset of the ATP Chennai Open by ousting last year's finalist Borna Coric with a straight-set win in the opening round of the $505730 hard court event in Chennai on Monday.
According to the latest rankings issued on Monday, the left-handed Sharan is ranked 50th after gaining a place. He had reached the final of the last three tournaments he participated in, winning the ATP 250 European Open, while ending runner-up at Challenger events in Brest and Tashkent with different partners.
The Indo-American duo beat Janette Husarova and Michaella Krajicek 6-3, 2-6, 11-9 in the first round.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances