Professional Tennis
Serena Williams defeated China’s Li Na on Wednesday at the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul in straight sets 7-6(2), 6-3. With two wins from her opening two matches so far in Istanbul, it would now take an unlikely passage of events to deny Serena a place in the final four. Williams had six…
Russian Maria Sharapova defeated Italy’s Sara Errani in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, in opening round action at the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. "It was a slow start—I gave Sara a lot of time, and that’s what she likes," Sharapova said. "Her variety is what has won her so many matches…
Agnieszka Radwanska defeated defending Istanbul champion Petra Kvitova on Tuesday, 6-3, 6-2 to kick off action at the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships. The previous three meetings between the two had all gone Kvitova’s way. "I’m just very happy about my performance," Radwanska said. "The first match is always tough and adjusting to a new surface is…
Serena Williams was a 6-4, 6-1 straight sets winner on Tuesday over Angelique Kerber at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. In her last appearance at the tournament three years ago, Serena played two sets of near-flawless tennis to defeat her sister, Venus Williams. The last time Serena went head to head with Kerber, she came…
Former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero retired from professional tennis on Tuesday at the Valencia Open 500, after a 7-5, 6-3 loss to fellow Spaniard and close friend Nicolas Almagro in the first round. The 32-year-old Ferrero won 16 tour-level titles, including 2003 Roland Garros. "I simply want to thank everyone for all their support,…
Venus Williams was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Monica Niculescu of Romania to win the 2012 Luxembourg Open title on Sunday. Unseeded at the event, Venus had to defeat ninth-seeded Mona Barthel in the second round and top-seeded Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, both in straight sets, and faced a tough semifinals match against Andrea Petkovic,…
World number 11 Caroline Wozniacki defeated Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the finals of the 2012 Kremlin Cup to win her 20th career WTA title. Wozniacki dominated early against Stosur, but then looked to be in trouble after Stosur leveled the match and then broke to love in the first game of the third set….
U.S. Open champion and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Andy Murray will face the recently-retired American Andy Roddick on a white court at the 2012 Miami Cup. The event is the first of its kind to launch in the U.S. and will feature six of the top-ranked ATP professionals, including Murray, Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Nicolás Almagro,…
Germany’s Tommy Haas has become the fourth active tennis player to win 500 matches on the ATP Tour, joining Roger Federer with 871 wins, Rafael Nadal with 583 and Lleyton Hewitt with 566. The 34-year-old Haas, who turned pro in 1996 and has won 13 career titles, reached the mark with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over…
Barclays ATP World Tour Finals hopeful Tomas Berdych defeated Estonia’s Jurgen Zopp 6-1, 6-4 in opening round action at the 2012 If Stockholm Open. The second-seeded Czech, who also recorded a straight-sets win over Zopp in the second round of the U.S. Open, broke serve three times en route to win over Zopp. Berdych has now reached…