ROME (AP)—John Isner celebrated his 25th birthday by rallying past Horacio Zeballos 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 Monday in the opening round of the Rome Masters. Isner, the top American in the draw after Andy Roddick’s withdrawal, had 20 aces and faced only one break point—which he lost. The 6-foot-9 Isner

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.(AP) Mary Joe Fernandez was perfectly content with her current Fed Cup roster, particularly after a marathon effort by Bethany Mattek-Sands. Mattek-Sands recorded back-to-back singles and doubles wins in Sunday's semifinal matchup with Russia for a 3-2 win. She and doubles partner Liezel Huber breezed by Russia's Elena Dementieva

U.S. Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez hasn't ruled out asking Venus and Serena Williams to play the Fed Cup final against Italy in November, even though both sisters turned down requests to play ties in February and April this year. Fernandez praised her core group—Melanie Oudin, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and

ROME(AP) Having finally won the French Open last year, Roger Federer is feeling far less pressure entering the clay-court season. The top-ranked player is preparing to play both singles and doubles at the Rome Masters this week. ``Questions are already very different. It doesn't start off with, 'Oh, are you

Italy has once again made the most of having two competent and committed Fed Cup players, wiping out the Czechs 3-0 when Flavia Pennetta put down Petra Kvitova 7-6(3), 6-2. Pennetta and another longtime Fed Cup player, Francesca Schiavone, also won their singles matches on Saturday. It’s the fourth time

ROME (AP)—Having finally won the French Open last year, Roger Federer is feeling far less pressure entering the clay-court season. The top-ranked player is preparing to play both singles and doubles at the Rome Masters this week. “Questions are already very different. It doesn’t start off with, ‘Oh, are you

97808242 by Pete Bodo Mornin'. Been a hectic week for me, but it looks like a sunny weekend and I'm straining at the leash. But I wanted to update you on my visit with John Isner, whom I met up with on Wednesday for a big feature that will run

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Second-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden cruised into the Barcelona Open semifinals Friday by beating Eduardo Schwank 6-2, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands. De Bakker upset third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 for his first career win over a

I can only recollect it in my imagination now, but there it remains a favorite sign of spring to me. In the old main stadium at the Italian Open, the black-haired girls who worked as ushers—by American standards, I use that word extremely loosely—liked to dance together to the music

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Robin Soderling reached the quarterfinals in his first clay-court tournament of the season at the Barcelona Open when he rolled past Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday. Soderling, the surprise French Open finalist last year, evened his career record against Lopez at 4-4. Next up for

Howdy. Just wanted to jump on to say hi and give you a place to schmooze because I have a quick story to turn around here. If I have time a bit later, I'll tell you about my trip to Saddlebrook and my visit with John Isner. It was a

Venus Williams ended a few weeks of speculation on Wednesday by deciding not to play this weekend’s Fed Cup tie against Russia, leaving the U.S. without a Top 30 player to compete against Russia and two-time Grand Slam finalist Elena Dementieva. U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez had left

Travel disruptions caused by the cloud of volcanic ash that has swept across much of Europe are impacting this weekend’s Fed Cup ties. In order to reach Hasselt, Belgium, the Estonian Fed Cup team had to take a ferry from Tallinn to Stockholm and then drive another 850 miles. Serbia’s

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Qualifier Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain advanced to the third round of the Barcelona Open on Wednesday after defeating fourth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3. Ramos-Vinolas, ranked 161st, missed two set points in the tiebreaker but rallied in the third to clinch the biggest win of

Charleston’s doubles finalists have something rather important in common – winning. The first time they played together, they won the title. That first tournament together was this week’s Family Circle Cup for Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova, who beat Vania King and Michaella Krajicek 6-3, 6-4 to win the doubles

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Rafael Nadal’s French Open preparations are being guided by his delicate knees. Nadal is skipping this week’s Barcelona Open, where he is a five-time champion, after injuries to both knees last year hampered his goal of a fifth straight title at Roland Garros and forced him out of

51956363 by Pete Bodo Mornin.' I took Bucky the Wonder Pet on my run this morning, expecting a flat-learning curve for the 11-month old dog. Well, he trotted along with me, four-and-a-half miles, like a champ - then spent 15 minutes in the dog run, making the other dogs chase,

Reading between the lines: TENNIS.com's Monday morning quarterback recaps last week's pro tennis action—and offers his reaction. Last Week's Tournaments

Samantha Stosur became the first Australian to win Charleston by crushing Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-3. It was only Stosur’s second title, but by far her biggest one -- she won her first title last fall at Osaka. Her 52-minute victory over the Russian was the fastest in tournament history. Down

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP)—Samantha Stosur earned her first title on clay by overwhelming Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-3 to win the Family Circle Cup on Sunday. It was the second career title for the 26-year-old Australian, who won last year at Osaka. Stosur, who will reach No. 10 in the world