After missing the 2010 event to recover from wrist surgery, 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro returns to the place where he won his sole major with a win over Filippo Volandri. "I am feeling very special these couple of days, because I wasn't here last year so

NEW YORK (AP)—Sixth-seeded Robin Soderling withdrew from the U.S. Open because of illness. The Swede was scheduled to face 618th-ranked qualifier Louk Sorensen in the first round Wednesday. “Lucky loser” Rogerio Dutra da Silva of Brazil took his spot. His agent said in a statement that Soderling started feeling “really

NEW YORK (AP)—The U.S. Open’s most stunning loss Wednesday was bigger than just the Grand Slam tournament, with Venus Williams withdrawing and revealing she’s suffering from an autoimmune disease. The seven-time major champion said in a statement that she was recently diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, “an ongoing medical condition that

201009131508545094505-p2@stats_com by Pete Bodo NEW YORK—Today, we're going to try something a little different. With 23 players from the U.S. in action in various events on sundry courts, I'm going to keep a running diary of their fortunes, all the way until the end of tonight's feature match on Ashe

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Victoria Azarenka both say they have recovered from injuries. Djokovic pulled out of the Cincinnati final with a shoulder injury, while Azarenka did not play Cincy due to a wrist injury. "The shoulder in Cincinnati didn't feel good obviously, and throughout the whole week

Each day during the 2011 U.S. Open, coach Nick Bollettieri will discuss three of the most intriguing matches on the schedule and offer his predictions. Sabine Lisicki [22] vs. Alona Bondarenko (Court 17, first match) Like Heather Watson and Maria Sharapova, who played each other on Day 1, Lisicki grew

NEW YORK (AP) Men to watch at the U.S. Open, which begins Monday: NOVAK DJOKOVIC Ranked/Seeded: 1/1 Age: 24 Country: Serbia 2011 Match Record: 57-2 2011 Singles Titles: 9 Career Singles Titles: 27 Major Titles: 3 - Wimbledon ('11), Australian Open ('08, '11) Last 5 U.S. Opens: '10-Lost in Final,

All of the major tournaments have players who have become synonymous with the event—inseparable from it, as if they were born to play there. Andre Agassi at the Australian Open. Björn Borg, Chris Evert and Rafael Nadal at the French Open. Martina Navratilova, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer at Wimbledon.

In the best shape of his life, 29-year-old Mardy Fish gears up for what may be the best chance he'll get at America's Grand Slam. From the outside, the Hotel de Sers is nondescript, a four-story building with a tiny sign on a quiet, ritzy Right Bank side street in

CINCINNATI (AP)—Maria Sharapova rallied to beat Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the Western & Southern Open final on Sunday. The fourth-seeded Sharapova fended off Jankovic’s seven breakpoint chances in the last set alone to claim her second title of the season. Sharapova’s best moments came in the tiebreaker,

The injury toll amongst the men’s Top 20 has mounted just eight days prior to the U.S. Open. All four men who reached the semifinals of Cincinnati have suffered some sort of recent injury, with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic retiring in the second set of the final with Andy

There was a lot at stake for Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro when they met in the second round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Tuesday night. A Federer loss and the defending champion not only would have earned next to nothing in the rankings,

Juan Martin del Potro and Roger Federer will face off for the first time since 2009 when the two meet in the second round of Cincinnati. The Argentine stunned the Swiss in five sets in the 2009 U.S. Open final and then beat him again in the ATP World Finals

MASON, Ohio (AP)—Juan Martin del Potro didn’t have to play a full set to advance at the Western & Southern Open. His next match will be a much tougher challenge. The Argentine advanced against an injured Andreas Seppi on Sunday, setting up a second-round rematch with Roger Federer. Del Potro

Serena Williams captured her second title in as many tournaments with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Samantha Stosur that should ensure she will be seeded for the U.S. Open. The match could have been billed as a serving duel between the two best servers in the women’s game. But both

TORONTO (AP)—Serena Williams earned a 6-0, 6-3 first-round victory against Ukraine’s Alona Bondarenko at the Rogers Cup on Tuesday. The winner of 13 Grand Slam tournaments aced her second serve of the match. No. 2 seed Kim Clijsters withdrew from her second-round match in the second set while leading 6-3,

Andy Roddick has pulled out of next week's Montreal Masters with an oblique muscle injury. It's the second consecutive week he has withdrawn from an event. The Montreal Gazette also reported that fifth-ranked Robin Soderling (wrist), Jurgen Melzer (quad), Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (appendicitis) and Xavier Malisse (personal) also withdrew from the

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Juan Martin del Potro battled back in the second set to beat James Blake 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Farmers Classic. The No. 2 seed and Blake traded the final eight games of the set, leading to the decisive tiebreak. Del Potro

UMAG, Croatia (AP) Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain advanced to the second round of Croatia Open when Maximo Gonzalez retired with a back injury. Ferrero lost the set before Gonzalez retired with the score 3-6, 6-3, 1-1 on Tuesday. Ferrero, who is returning from wrist and knee injuries,

UMAG, Croatia (AP)—Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain defeated Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina to advance to the second round of the Croatia Open on Tuesday. Ferrero—coming back from wrist and knee injuries—had overcome a slow start and rallied to go into the third set when Gonzalez retired because of