Champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Russian Vera Zvonareva completed crushing victories on Friday to set up a title clash in the final of the WTA event at Indian Wells. Top seed Ivanovic pummelled 17-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavyluchenkova 6-2, 6-3 in the evening semi-final after fourth-seeded Zvonareva had swept aside her doubles partner Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-3.
Defending champion Ana Ivanovic beat Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the WTA event in Indian Wells on Monday. The Serbian fifth seed was not totally convincing but did enough to set up a clash with Italian 12th seed Flavia Pennetta.
World number ones Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic head a strong field at the Olympic tennis tournament in Beijing next month. The International Tennis Federation , which released the entry lists for the men's and women's singles and doubles on Wednesday, said Beijing would witness the best lineup since tennis returned as a full medal sport in Seoul 1988.
As the event goes into its second week, only six of the men's top 16 seeds and eight of the women's have made it through to the fourth round.
Order of play on the main showcourts on the first day of the June 23-July 6 Wimbledon tennis championships on Monday.
Roger Federer will begin his quest for a sixth consecutive singles title at Wimbledon with a first round match against experienced Slovak Dominik Hrbaty. Defending women's champion Venus Williams was paired with British wildcard Naomi Cavaday in Friday's draw at the All England Club, while women's top seed Ana Ivanovic will open against Rossana De Los Rios.
Indian ace Sania Mirza grabbed the last spot to be seeded 32nd at the Wimbledon championhips.
Ana Ivanovic and Vera Zvonareva had contrasting victories on Saturday to reach the final of the Linz Open.
Roger Federer and Justine Henin have been named as top seeds for next week's Australian Open.
Serbia's tennis titans locked in their second round Australian Open spots on Monday while Andy Roddick scorched a sacrificial Swede and Roger Federer schmoozed his way through on Day One of the year's first Grand Slam. Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic flew through early at Melbourne Park as did Roddick. Federer was a delight under the stars, finessing his way to round two with a 6-1 7-6 7-5 win over Italy's Andreas Seppi.
Super Serbs Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic locked in their second round Australian Open spots on Monday as Andy Roddick routed a sacrificial Swede on Day One of the year's first grand slam.
Doing enough but failing to dazzle, Ana Ivanovic safely navigated the first round of the Australian Open Monday with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Julia Goerges.
The opening day of the Olympic tennis turned into a nightmare for the organisers as rain washed out most of the schedule and women's top seed Ana Ivanovic pulled out with a swollen thumb. Just nine of Sunday's slated 45 matches survived the torrential downpours and thunderclaps that left fans frustrated and volunteers mopping the courts with towels.
Indian judoka Tombi Khumujam Devi's Beijing Olympics campaign lasted only two-and-a-half minutes. She was knocked out in the preliminary round of the women's 48kg event in Beijing on Saturday. The Manipuri judoka was outmaneuvered by Ana Hormigo of Portugal at the USTB Gymnasium.
Jelena Jankovic was upset 7-5, 6-2 by Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-finals of the Montreal Cup on Friday.
Dinara Safina shattered Jelena Jankovic's chances of securing the women's number one ranking with a 7-6, 6-1 victory in the semi-finals.
The ninth seeded Indo-Romanian rallied to shock the three-time champions 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(9), 7-6(5) in their quarter-final match.
Since Justine Henin's departure the field is without a clear leader.
Venus Williams won her second match in two days at the season-ending WTA Championships on Wednesday when she beat Elena Dementieva 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to leave herself on the brink of the semis with one round-robin match to play. Russian Vera Zvonareva also remained undefeated after a 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 victory over Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in the white group.
Ana Ivanovic survived two match points before beating France's Nathalie Dechy 6-7, 7-6, 10-8 in a second round thriller at Wimbledon.
Former French Open winner Ana Ivanovic will draw on lessons from her last Wimbledon clash with Venus Williams when she plays the five-time champion on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.
Ana Ivanovic claimed her first title since she lifted the French Open trophy in June, beating second seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-2, 6-1 on Sunday to win the Linz Open. It was the top-seeded Serbian's third title this year and came after a dramatic slump that followed her Paris victory and rise to number one in the world rankings.
Ana Ivanovic reached her second semi-final in two weeks by overcoming seventh seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-4 at the Linz Open on Friday. Although Pennetta came within two points of recovering the break as Ivanovic served for victory, the Serbian held on to set up a clash with third-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska.
Twelve suspects, arrested from across the country for their alleged links with terror group ISIS, were remanded in the NIA's custody till February 5 by a special court in New Delhi.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
An 18th minute goal by Junior Obagbemiro ended Mumbai FC's unbeaten run as Sporting Clube de Goa registered a hard fought 1-0 victory in the ONGC I-League match played at the Nehru stadium on Friday.
Venus Williams remained on course for a strong end to an inconsistent season when the American beat Italy's Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-3 to reach the Zurich Open semi-finals on Friday. Third-seeded Williams will face Serbian second seed Ana Ivanovic on Saturday after the world number four saw off Czech qualifier Petra Kvitova 6-1, 6-4.
The Serbian used her new-found stamina to beat a stubborn Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Ana Ivanovic will become the first player representing Serbia to be ranked world number one when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday. The 20-year-old Serb dislodged Russia's Maria Sharapova from the top when she defeated compatriot Jelena Jankovic to reach the final of the French Open on Thursday.
Ana Ivanovic became the second high-profile player to tumble out of the Kremlin Cup in two days after losing to Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-2, 7-6.
China's Zheng Jie thrilled home fans by upsetting world number four Ana Ivanovic to book a place in the China Open semi-finals.
World number four Ana Ivanovic eased past French teenager Alize Cornet 6-1 7-6 to reach the China Open quarter-finals on Thursday, while China's Zheng Jie delighted home fans by thrashing Japan's Ai Sugiyama.
World number two Ana Ivanovic suffered a surprise 6-2, 7-5 defeat by Elena Dementieva in the semi-finals of the German Open.
Sunil Chhetri scored a brace to put himself on par with Lionel Messi and lead the home side to Intercontinental Cup title triumph with a 2-0 win over Kenya in the summit clash, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
According to reports, the world's biggest energy group announced a first-quarter record profit of $10.9 billion but its oil production fell almost 10 per cent in the first three months of the year. Moreover, its refining profits also slumped. Reports said that the company's broader market rallied, but Exxon shares fell 3.6 per cent to $89.70.
Concerns are being raised about the shortage of registered nurses, which is set to get much worse in the coming years. According to figures released by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, over three million RNs will be employed in 2016, an increase of 20 percent from more than 2.5 million in 2006. Various factors such as alternate employment opportunities, nurses retiring or leaving and fewer new nurses joining the profession, will culminate in a massive shortage.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the state governments have been asked to identify Rohingya refugees in their regions and collect their biometric details.
Ana Ivanovic's preparations for her French Open title defence suffered a setback when she was knocked out of the Italian Open after a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 third round defeat by Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska on Wednesday.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki battled back after a mid-match slump to beat Angelique Kerber of Germany on Friday and book a place in the semi-finals of the Pan Pacific Open.
Ana Ivanovic's abrupt exit left the 20-year-old Serb a passive bystander among five women with a mathematical chance of emerging from the year's final slam as world number one.
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