France’s Aravane Rezai earned the biggest win of her career Sunday with a 6-2, 7-5 upset of Venus Williams in the Madrid final. En route to the title, the go-for-broke Frenchwoman powered her way past former world No. 1s Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Williams, who lost a 5-2 lead in the second set, as well as six set points.
“It's the best week of my career and I'm very happy,” said Rezai. “I played very well, I'm very proud of myself because it was a very tough tournament and a lot of players were here. I just believe in myself.”
Although Venus failed to win the title, she still has a chance to grab the No. 1 ranking at Roland Garros if she wins the tournament, and her sister Serena fails to reach the fourth round.—M.C.