World number one Caroline Wozniacki's preparations for the Australian Open suffered a major setback when she was knocked out of the Sydney International in her first competitive match of the year on Tuesday.
Elena Dementieva lost 6-4, 6-2 to Italy's Francesca Schiavone at the WTA Championships on Friday before stunning the crowd by announcing her retirement from tennis.
Novak Djokovic demolished Spain's David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, while fellow-top seed Caroline Wozniacki was dragged into a battle of wills before she won the rain-delayed China Open final on Monday. Wozniacki lived up to her billing as the new world number one when she withstood some fierce rallies to tame second-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to claim the title 24 hours later than planned.
Some words of consolation from US Open champion Kim Clijsters made the bitter pill of a second successive Grand Slam final defeat easier to swallow for Vera Zvonareva.
Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki chalked up her US Open semi-finals loss Friday to Russia's Vera Zvonareva as a bad day at the office - one that may have cost her the number one ranking and a million-dollar bonus.
Kim Clijsters advanced to her fourth US Open final after winning a titanic centre court battle against Venus Williams. Russia's Vera Zvonareva upset the tournament's number one seed Caroline Wozniacki.
World number two Caroline Wozniacki breezed to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Vera Zvonareva in the final of the rain-hit Montreal Cup on Monday, confirming her status as the red-hot favourite for the US Open.
Serena Williams again showed the gaping chasm between her and the rest of the field when she retained her Wimbledon singles crown with a crushing 6-3, 6-2 win over Russia's Vera Zvonareva on Saturday.
American Serena Williams won her fourth Wimbledon singles title on Saturday when she crushed Russian 21st seed Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in the final at the All England Club.
Russian Vera Zvonareva beat unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the semi-final on Thursday. She will now face defending champion Serena Williams in the summit clash.
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.
Five-times champion and second seed Venus Williams was stunned 6-2, 6-3 by Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Venus Williams will play Vera Zvonareva in the final of the WTA Championships after both women achieved difficult three-set victories on Saturday. Wimbledon champion Williams overcame Serbian world number one Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, and Zvonareva beat fellow-Russian Elena Dementieva 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.
Venus Williams defeated unseeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 7-6, 6-2 in Sunday's Zurich Open final to all but guarantee the American a place at the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha. Third seed Williams, who had lost her last three meetings with Pennetta, took full control of their latest encounter after rampaging through the first set tiebreak 7-1.
Maria Sharapova fought her way into the semi-finals of the LA Championships on Friday with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Polish teenager Urszula Radwanska. Sharapova will face Flavia Pennetta in the last four after the Italian stunned second seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-4, 6-2.
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova shocked fifth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Montreal Cup third round on Tuesday. Dementieva was joined at the exit door by eighth-seeded compatriot Vera Zvonareva, who was upset 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 by Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano.
Russia's Vera Zvonareva made a successful defence of her Pattaya Open title after a tense and testing 6-4, 6-4 win over local favourite Tamarine Tanasugarn on Sunday.
Sania Mirza stormed in to the semi-finals of the Pattaya Open after upsetting home favourite and sixth seed Tamarine Tanasugarn 7-5, 6-4 in Pattaya, Thailand, on Friday. The Indian ace, who recently won the mixed doubles crown along with Mahesh Bhupathi, will meet eighth seed Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, who shocked second seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-4, 6-1.
Serena Williams continued her love affair with Melbourne by easing to an emphatic 6-3, 6-4 victory over an in-form Elena Dementieva to advance to a fourth Australian Open final in Melbourne on Thursday. The 27-year-old Williams will meet another Russian in the title match, taking on third seed Dinara Safina, who overpowered compatriot Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 7-6.
Second seed Serena Williams admitted closing the roof on Rod Laver Arena because of the soaring temperatures helped her battle back from a first set deficit to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday. The American's victory prevented a Russian sweep of the Australian Open semi-finals and she will now play Elena Dementieva in the last four on Thursday.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza, making a comeback from a wrist injury, went down fighting against her nemesis Ana Chakvetadze, resulting in team Asia-Pacific's 0-2 defeat against Team Russia at World Team Challenge tournament in Hong Kong on Thursday.
World number 10 Flavia Pennetta saved six match points and advanced to her second successive U.S. Open quarter-final with a 3-6, 7-6, 6-0 victory over Russian seventh seed Vera Zvonareva on Sunday.
Russian Maria Sharapova and Serbia's Jelena Jankovic waited for a deadly storm to pass before thundering into the Toronto Cup quarter-finals on Thursday. World number two Serena Williams avoided all the nasty weather, racing into the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-4 demolition of Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko before the storms hit.
Ana Ivanovic and Vera Zvonareva had contrasting victories on Saturday to reach the final of the Linz Open.
Roger Federer opens his title defence while Tim Henman starts another year of hope at Wimbledon on Monday.
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.
Venus Williams edged sister Serena 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (3) on Friday to reach the final of the Dubai Championships.
Defending champion Serena Williams battled to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over world number four Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the Sony Ericsson Open final on Thursday. The American, who had to cope with back trouble along with the hot and humid conditions, is bidding to equal Steffi Graf's record of five title successes in the tournament.
Jelena Jankovic reached the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open after Elena Dementieva retired with a back injury.
Russia's Vera Zvonareva beat Marion Bartoli of France 6-3, 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final. Bartoli made a bright start, opening up a 3-1 lead in the first set, but Zvonareva won the last 11 games in a row to seal a comprehensive victory in 68 minutes.
Venus and Serena Williams kept up their semi-final date with commanding victories over Vera Zvonareva and Anastasia Rodionova respectively at the WTA Tier II Bangalore Open on Friday. Venus won 6-4, 6-3, while Serena was through at 6-1, 6-4.
The 26-year-old American, winner of eight Grand Slam titles, had pulled out of the event last year due to illness.
Eleni Daniilidou of Greece won the Hobart International on Friday after her opponent, Russian Vera Zvonareva, withdrew from the final because of an injury.
Second seed Vera Zvonareva overpowered Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-1 to set up a final with Greece's Eleni Daniilidou at the Hobart International on Thursday.
Venus Williams defeated Russia's Vera Zvonareva 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 on Sunday to win the season-ending WTA Championships.
Venus Williams secured her place in the semi-finals of the WTA Championships when she completed her round-robin matches with a comprehensive 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 win over her sister Serena on Thursday. It was the first time Serena had lost a set 6-0 since the 2007 Miami final, after which she recovered to defeat Justine Henin for the title.
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 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.
Russia's Dinara Safina said the players were unhappy with the changes being made to the 2009 WTA Tour schedule.
Venus Williams overwhelmed third-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Grand Prix.
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