The job of reclaiming his aborted pro career after losing three years to back trouble and two surgeries seemed so daunting a task to Taylor Dent that he found himself reaching for a pencil and paper - not to scrawl a suicide note, but to write down some goals. Not

NEW YORK—Unless bagel sets and night-session blowouts are your thing, this won’t go down as a U.S. Open to remember. But its champions certainly will. Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal moved even higher on the historical totem pole, and partially redeemed the tournament with their final-round performances. Now it’s time

NEW YORK(AP) At any Grand Slam where Melanie Oudin wasn't becoming a star, any of these other women would make a fine story. Their names are Caroline Wozniacki, Kateryna Bondarenko and Yanina Wickmayer. Like Oudin, they won matches Monday to make it to their first Grand Slam quarterfinals. Like Oudin,

ROME (AP) Roger Federer was not concerned about losing to 15th-ranked Dominic Thiem 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the third round of the Italian Open on Thursday. After withdrawing from last week's Madrid Open with lower back pain, Federer was just glad he was able to play two matches on the

NEW YORK—Minutes after posting a picture on Facebook of the email, Max Levy got a reply. The email informed him that he had made the cut and been selected as a ball person at this year’s U.S. Open. The reply was from Jenna Loeb, a former coach of his and

• Picby Pete Bodo* **WIMBLEDON, England—I can't think of a town or city so thoroughly dominated by a fleeting, two-week event as Wimbledon. Nor are many globally renowned athletic events known, simply, by the one-word name of the place or city where they take place (even Forest Hills, in the

ROME (AP) — Rafael Nadal's preparations for the French Open continued apace as he swept past 13th-seeded Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4 Thursday to ease into the Italian Open quarterfinals and extend his winning streak to 17 matches. Fourth-seeded Nadal broke Sock's serve twice in the second set and served out

PARIS (AP) — John Isner stayed on track for the last spot at the ATP Finals by beating Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 in the Paris Masters quarterfinals on Friday. The American was the runner-up last year and needs to win the tournament to reach the finals

In the least suspenseful award presentation since* Titanic* won the Oscar for best picture, TennisWorld's new Poet Laureate is: Highpockets (Madame 'Pockets, if you wish). Ray Stonada/Asad will be passing over the official TW divining rod, our heavily highlighted and dog-eared Official Irish Poet's Guide to Getting Through Life Without

The 2012 ATP season became a decrescendo and then an all-out nosedive for Donald Young, the relatively diminutive but crafty southpaw from Atlanta. He had a sterling 2011 campaign by his standards, ducking into the Top 30 in the world, beating Andy Murray at Indian Wells, upsetting Stanislas Wawrinka in

RMC Sport of France reports that world No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is in search of a new coach. Tsonga has not had a coach for a year and a half. Larry Stefanki’s name has popped up, as the longtime U.S. coach is now available with Andy Roddick’s recent retirement. “If

VIENNA -- Top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro and Janko Tipsarevic won in straight sets on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Erste Bank Open. Del Potro defeated Marinko Matosevic of Australia 6-2, 6-2 to line up a match against Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Second-seeded Tipsarevic was leading 6-2, 4-2

SIBIU, Romania(AP) Dimitry Tursunov rallied from two sets down Sunday to beat Romania's Victor Hanescu, while Teimuraz Gabashvili later defeated Victor Crivoi to give Russia a 4-1 victory in the Davis Cup first-round series. Tursunov prevailed 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in a match lasting nearly four hours to give

NEW YORK(AP) It was an ungainly site, Roger Federer skidding and falling to the ground, helpless on the court. It lasted only a moment, though, and despite that and a few other scares Saturday, the world's top player advanced to the fourth round of the U.S. Open. Federer defeated No.

NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) Rafael Nadal swept past Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-3 Friday to reach the Thailand Open semifinals. The top-ranked Spaniard had nine aces in beating his 93rd-ranked opponent. Earlier, Jarkko Nieminen of Finland reached his second semifinal of the year with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) -- Top-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-6 (1), 6-1 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Grand Prix Hassan II. Montanes struggled on his first serve but converted three of his four break points to set up a semifinal match against fellow

PARIS (AP) Although Gisela Dulko missed the birth of her brother's twins because of the French Open, her sacrifice was rewarded Friday. The 51st-ranked Argentine upset 2010 French Open finalist Sam Stosur 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 on center court to reach the fourth round and match her best result at the

World No. 20 Taylor Fritz is a big favorite against world No. 99 Jaume Munar at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, and for good reason, even in their first career meeting. While qualifier Munar is coming off an impressive upset victory over world No. 16 Pablo Carreno Busta,

MATCH POINT: Halep rolls in Madrid opener

WATCH: Scenes in 's-Hertogenbosch! Sabalenka closed out a thrilling three-setter that featured a tiebreaker and a tense ending.