The female touch has brought a little more fun into the routine of former world number one Ana Ivanovic as she tries to claw her way back up the world rankings.
Russia's Elena Dementieva lost 6-1, 6-3 to compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the rain-hit Cincinnati Open on Wednesday, but Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters both advanced to the third round.
Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva breezed into the quarter finals of the Stanford Classic on Wednesday, crushing their second-round opponents with equal efficiency.
Sara Errani romped to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Alisa Kleybanova in Cagliari to hand Italy an unassailable 3-0 lead over Russia and their third Fed Cup title in five years on Sunday.
Serena and Venus Williams' stranglehold of women's doubles was ended at Wimbledon on Wednesday when the American sisters were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Vera Zvonareva and Elena Vesnina.
It took Kim Clijsters a few minutes to familiarise herself again with the layout at Wimbledon after a four-year absence. Once on court though, the returning Belgian wasted little time in swatting aside Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-0, 6-3 to ease into the second round on Monday.
Images from Wednesday's men's and women's singles matches at the Australia Open in Melbourne.
Russia's Elena Dementieva defeated a hobbling Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2 at the Olympic tennis centre on Friday to win the Sydney International for the second year in a row.
Elena Dementieva and Melanie Oudin won their opening singles matches on Saturday to leave the Fed Cup semi-final between Russia and the United States tied at 1-1.
Marta breaks Klose record in Brazil win
London Olympic champion and world record holder Elena Lashmanova of Russia continued her dominance, clinching gold in the 20km walk race at the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Moscow on Tuesday.
Alisa Kleybanova beat top seed Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-2 in a rain-disrupted all-Russian final to claim her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open on Sunday.
World number one Serena Williams marched into the semi-finals of the WTA Championships on Thursday with a comfortable win over Elena Dementieva while sister Venus kept her title hopes alive long after midnight.
Education in Russia is affordable and offers some attractive incentives, especially for prospective med students.
Fifth-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur saved four match points in a thrilling third set and came back to beat Russian Elena Dementieva 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 to reach the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open on Sunday.
Russia's Elena Dementieva became the latest high-profile casualty at the Pan Pacific Open when the third seed was upset by Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko in the second round on Tuesday.
Comeback queen Justine Henin issued an ominous warning to her rivals at the Australian Open by knocking out Russian fifth seed Elena Dementieva 7-5, 7-6 in the second round on Wednesday.
Serena Williams survived a scare from France's Aravane Rezai on Thursday before booking her spot in the Sydney International final against Russian Elena Dementieva. The Australian Open champion was teetering on the brink of defeat after losing the first set and trailing 5-2 in the second but she raised her game to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
He leads the men's seedings ahead of defending champ Roger Federer, with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov seeded third.
World number one Dinara Safina sailed through to the Slovenia Open quarter-finals when she beat fellow Russian Ksenija Pervak 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday.
Serena Williams stands just one match away from setting up another family showdown in the Wimbledon final after she hurtled into the last four with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Belarussian Victoria Azarenka on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old American romped to a 5-0 lead against Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska and completed a 6-1 6-2 victory on auto-pilot as slumbering Court One fans applauded politely in temperatures soaring into the 30s Celsius again.
Dressed as a mermaid with shells covering his nipples, Brazilian Murilo Sousa voiced hope that the record number of openly gay athletes at the Rio Games would boost acceptance in his South American nation, amid a backlash over same-sex marriage.
World number two Rafa Nadal stopped Marat Safin's Beijing revival in its tracks on Friday with a clinical 6-3, 6-1 victory to reach the semi-finals of the $6.6-million China Open.
'I have probably made the Produnova vault more famous than Elena Produnova ever did' 'I am kind of dreading going home empty-handed' 'There has been a lot of sadness and pain over the last four days. If I had won a medal, then I would have been in a rush to go back (and show it to everyone)'
Elena Dementieva overpowered Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 at the Sydney International on Thursday to set up an all-Russian final against Dinara Safina.
Taking a cue from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Hockey India advertised for the position for the first time on its website http://hockeyindia.org.
Russia won their third successive Olympic rhythmic gymnastics group gold with two dynamic and intricately choreographed routines on Sunday. Their flawless exhibition of agility and dexterity earned them 35.550 points, 0.325 more than surprise silver medallists China. Belarus took the bronze.
American teenager Melanie Oudin's spectacular run at the US Open gathered momentum when she beat Russian 13th seed Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals on Monday.
Andy Roddick, hailed as the next great American player after he won the US Open in 2003, said he got a kick out of watching teenage compatriot Melanie Oudin scamper to an upset victory on Thursday.
Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova stunned world number one Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 to win the Stuttgart Grand Prix on Sunday. Kuznetsova, the world number nine, was more consistent than fellow Russian Safina, holding her serve throughout to clinch her first tournament of the year after an hour and 19 minutes.
World number nine Svetlana Kuznetsova marched into the Stuttgart Grand Prix final on Saturday, crushing fellow Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 in just 67 minutes.
Maria Sharapova turned a corner in her comeback by reaching the final of the Toronto Cup on Sunday only to find a long road still ahead to get back to the top.
Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva picked up her third title of the year and denied compatriot Maria Sharapova a comeback win with a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the final of the Toronto Cup Sunday.
Fourth seeded Dementieva advanced to her fourth final of the year with a clinical 7-6, 6-1 win over world number two Serena Williams. She will play Maria Sharapova, who scored a gritty 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 over Alisa Kleybanova.
Alisa Kleybanova won a riveting three hour, 16 minute 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 slugfest over fifth-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic and her gritty performance earned her a loud ovation from an appreciative crowd and a Saturday date with Maria Sharapova.
World number two Serena Williams brushed aside qualifier Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Toronto Cup and set up a mouth-watering clash with Elena Dementieva.
German Sabine Lisicki clinched her first WTA title by upsetting fifth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 in the Family Circle Cup final on Sunday.
World number two Karolina Pliskova beat Croatia's Petra Martic 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the inaugural Zhengzhou Open on Sunday to win the 15th WTA singles title of her career and her first in China.
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