MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP)—Top-seed Andy Roddick and defending champion Sam Querrey advanced Thursday to the quarterfinals at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships with straight set victories. Roddick, a two-time Memphis champion, defeated Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic 6-1, 7-6 (8) and fellow-American Querrey won 6-3, 7-6 (3) over Argentina’s Brian Dabul to reach

PARIS (AP)—Novak Djokovic extended his perfect season into the French Open, beating Thiemo de Bakker 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 Monday in the first round. The second-seeded Serb improved his 2011 record to 38-0—and stretched his winning streak to 40—on the second day of the tournament at Roland Garros. And he barely

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP)—Jelena Jankovic opened her title defense in the BNP Paribas Open on Friday with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Coco Vandeweghe in the second round at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. “I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Jankovic, who beat current No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki

Flavia Pennetta is popular these days. She also has a secret. "I don't have a motorbike because my dad doesn't want me to, but Francesca Schiavone has one—so nice!" she said, speaking of her Italian colleague on the WTA Tour. "I cannot tell my dad that I use the motorbike

The Australian Open announced that 2009 champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from this year's tournament with a stomach virus. "I am sorry and very sad to announce that I will not play in the Australian Open," Nadal said in a statement. "My knee is coming along okay, but a stomach

Every Friday, after the weekend's matches have been determined, we'll predict the winner of each tournament. Auckland, WTA (Final): Flavia Pennetta vs. Zheng Jie Flavia Pennetta recently released her memoir. Zheng Jie mashed hip hop and hilarity by channeling Jay-Z in a video parody. This clash of pop culture vets

Kim Clijsters' white sneakers squealed as she stopped, set her feet, and blasted a backhand winner with such conviction that the ball bounded off the back wall with a deep thud. Watching the defending Australian Open champion rip winners almost at will was a bit like listening to a soprano

When you think of Liezel Huber, you think of doubles. And chances are, when you think of doubles, you think of Liezel Huber. She is, after all, the top women’s doubles player in the world, having overtaken both Venus and Serena Williams to regain the No. 1 ranking on August

WASHINGTON (AP)—Serena Williams sprinted along the baseline to smack a cross-court backhand winner, then pumped a fist—a familiar pose. And then she smiled. She didn’t dare glare in the direction of her teenage opponents Thursday, students at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center. Yes, Williams did seem rather pleased to

TORONTO (AP)—In a season full of talk about the parity in women’s tennis, unheralded Galina Voskoboeva became the latest to step up and prove that point. The 26-year-old from Kazakhstan, ranked just 135th in the world, beat fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday at the Rogers Cup as two

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP)—American teenager Sloane Stephens upset No. 7 seed Julia Goerges 6-3, 7-5 despite a potentially costly and embarrassing mistake in a second-round match Wednesday in the Mercury Insurance Open. Stephens, 18, beat her German opponent with a steady ground game and won despite squandering a set point when

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—Li Na returned to the tournament that launched her onto the global stage last year, breezing to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan on Monday in the first round of the Australian Open. Li was a trailblazer for China last year, reaching a Grand Slam

MASON, Ohio (AP)—Jelena Jankovic is hoping to get tournament-tough with a long string of matches. Kim Clijsters just wants to get back into the flow. Living up to their Cincinnati Open seeds will help both players reach their goals. The second-ranked Jankovic is the defending champion and No. 1 seed

The intersection of tennis and music is well-traveled. Perhaps no one knows this better than Serena Williams, who first appeared in a rap video in 2005 (for Memphis Bleek and Jay-Z's "Do My") and just this May serenaded a Miami nightclub crowd with Destiny's Child's "Survivor":

(AP)—Maybe Patrick McEnroe and Donald Young can work this thing out at a Cee Lo concert. One of America’s most respected names in tennis and one its top young hopefuls are using the media—social and traditional—in a war of words that began with Young’s expletive-laden rip on the USTA via

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Rafael Nadal opened his Wimbledon title defense with a convincing victory Monday, beating Michael Russell 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 on a “fantastic” day while his parents watched from the Royal Box. In keeping with tradition, the defending men’s champion played the first match on Centre Court at the All

**The Oldest: Yaka of Togo “Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes - Gadonfin Yaka’s record-setting Davis Cup story began with a faulty alarm clock. “I was Togo’s captain, and we were traveling to Mauritius to play a

NEW YORK (AP)—Andy Roddick’s legs felt fatigued. The crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium was hushed. And defending champion Rafael Nadal was at his court-covering, groundstroke-whipping, serve-stopping best. Hardly a good combination for the last American man in the U.S. Open. Overwhelming Roddick right from the start, Nadal compiled a stunning

NEW YORK (AP)—It’s funny what questions some people will and won’t answer. Take the world’s top-ranked tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki. Her boyfriend? Sure, she’s been seeing Rory McIlory of late. Her new coach? Well, that, Wozniacki insists, must remain a mystery. Wozniacki opened her latest quest for her first Grand

Ron Silver RIPI’m a little late on this but Ron Silver, the acclaimed Tony Award-winning actor, died on March 15 at the age of 62. I mention Silver’s passing here because he played the role of Bobby Riggs in the ABC television movie “When Billie Beat Bobby,” the story