DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska led several of the top seeds into the Dubai Championships quarterfinals on a Wednesday overshadowed by the withdrawal of Serena Williams because of a back injury. Williams, who became the oldest top-ranked woman Monday, said she's had a sore back and ankle

Richard Gasquet shortened the sweeping backswing of his backhand, the shot that had tormented Tomas Berdych for much of the day, sending the signal the drop shot was coming. Recognition kick-started fast-twitch fibers into action: Berdych raced forward, stretched for the ball and could see an inviting stretch of court

Ball kids held umbrellas to shield the players from the sun during changeovers, but 10 minutes into this match, Marinko Matosevic looked like a man in dire need of a bunker for protection from the barrage Rafael Nadal unleashed. The streaking Spaniard won four consecutive games to open the match

Scattered shoe marks littered the red clay, reminiscent of a chalk outline at a crime scene. Tennis terminator Rafael Nadal laid to rest the ghosts of a 10-month title drought and seven-match losing streak to Novak Djokovic with a rousing 6-3, 6-1 victory over a listless world No. 1 in

The pink-and-peach ensemble Maria Sharapova wore on court was reminiscent of the Art Deco structures on South Beach, but by the time Sharapova was finished deconstructing Li Na's forehand with bruising efficiency, a black-and-blue color scheme might have been more appropriate. Sharapova stopped a four-match losing skid to Li in

Former doubles partners Maria Sharapova and Maria Kirilenko squared off with a trip to the Indian Wells semifinals on the line. Sharapova lost the battle between the lines for a set and a half, but ultimately won the war between the ears. In a streaky match that featured audacious winners

The second-set lead had slipped from her grip as if slathered in suntan lotion and as Ana Ivanovic focused on the impending tie breaker she turned her back to the net and bounced on her toes. Ivanovic stared at the back wall and then watched Daniela Hantuchova hit the wall.

PARIS -- Serena Williams came from behind in the third set Tuesday and advanced to the French Open semifinals for the first time since 2003 when she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Williams had been beaten the last four times she reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals, most recently in

PARIS -- Tommy Haas' resurgence at age 35 reached a new peak Monday, when he became the oldest French Open men's quarterfinalist since 1971 by beating Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. Haas also became the oldest man to reach the quarters at any major event since Andre Agassi at the

Posted by TW Contributing Editor Andrew Week 1 of the Australian Open started, I think, fairly slowly - most of the seeds cruising through (Murray and Ljubicic being exceptions on the ATP side), a train wreck of a third set for Paszek - Jankovic. And then - metaphorically - kablooey.

Serena Williams is through to the semis, after crushing an injured Amelie Mauresmo, and you'd almost think she'd read my previous posts, judging from some of her post-match remarks. What stands out most is her spirited response to suggestions that the Williams dynasty is crumbling: "I don't appreciate that language,

Mornin'. This operating on three, four hours sleep a night isn't as bad as some of you might think. The trick is to get a coffee IV hook-up (I prefer Kenyan), although dragging that danged aluminum tower and all those tubes around sure is cumbersome and noisy. My gut feeling

Sorry, I just couldn't resist echoing that headline from the other day, despite its questionable relevance to the story about Kazakhstan appearing in the Davis Cup World Group draw for the first time. But it's a modest workday for me and this Bulgarian boy, 19-year-old Grigor Dimitrov, is really lighting

It seemed odd when sixth seed Tomas Berdych’s opening match against Ernests Gulbis was placed on Centre Court; after all, Gulbis—once the shining light of the next generation—has lost in the first round in eight of the last nine Grand Slams. In the end, the All England Club can congratulate

After spending the day sliding and slipping in lunging pursuit of Roger Federer's drives, Somdev Devvarman seemed to have the second seed right where he wanted him. With a wide expanse of red clay ahead and a day of frustration behind him, Devvarman set up for a routine mid-court smash

The French sports daily L'Equipe gave Gael Monfils the moniker "roi du pétrole" (oil king) after his authoritative, straight-set victory over Rafael Nadal yesterday, but now that he’s suffered a 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in their first-ever ATP final, it is clear that the latter Frenchman deserves the

LONDON -- Laura Robson toed the baseline, then vaulted into her serving motion. The ball landed five feet behind the line. Moments later, she bounced her second serve into the net. Those were the ugliest of the ugly for the British 19-year-old on Monday at Wimbledon and they couldn't have

WASHINGTON -- Coaches often tell players to practice the way you play. That strategy didn't work out for Sloane Stephens. Playing her first match since Wimbledon, the No. 2-seeded Stephens fell to Olga Puchkova 7-5, 6-3 in the first round of the Citi Open on Monday. "Leading up, I didn't

BELGRADE, Serbia -- The Czech Republic retained the Davis Cup title by beating Serbia 3-2 in the final Sunday after Radek Stepanek swept past Dusan Lajovic in the decisive singles match. The Czech veteran beat the 117th-ranked Lajovic 6-3, 6-1, 6-1, converting his first match point with a volley. That

PARIS (AP) -- Moments after Andy Murray won his first match at the French Open in two years, he got an offer from a coach. Or at least from someone who might be a coach someday. Murray returned to Roland Garros on Tuesday after missing last year because of a