The leading ladies have exited stage left but the understudies kept this most volatile of Wimbledon scripts bubbling along on Tuesday to ensure a new name will be engraved on the trophy come Saturday.
Svetlana Kuznetsova had been steamrolled in the second set and was a break down in the decider of her WTA Finals opener against defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska on Monday. So what did the Russian do to turn the match around?
Britain's Laura Robson and Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro conjured up big first-round upset victories at the Madrid Open when they surprised fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and ninth-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur on Monday.
Taste of Tennis acted as a kick-off to the US Open. The tennis stars were present in their glamorous outfits and tried their culinary skills.
After two years in the spotlight as Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka was reduced to a spectator against Agnieszka Radwanska as she crashed out of the quarter-finals in a bout of self-flagellation on Wednesday.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga powered France to their first Hopman Cup title against tournament debutants Poland on Saturday.
Serena Williams is now one match away from reinforcing her stranglehold on the women's game by holding all four grand slam titles at the same time, a feat she will achieve for the second occasion if she beats 20th-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in Saturday's final.
World No 1 Serena Williams was handed the best possible draw for her WTA Finals title defence with the 33-year-old American grouped with two injury doubts and avoiding the in-form players.
Maria Sharapova recovered from a second-set wobble to dispatch third seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday and set up a Madrid Open final clash against rising talent Simona Halep.
Former golden girl Eugenie Bouchard's hopes of rehabilitation at the Australian Open came to a swift end on Wednesday as wily Agnieszka Radwanska sent the Canadian spinning out of the tournament with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat in the second round.
Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams will square off for the Madrid Open title after the current and former World No. 1's swept into the final with a minimum of fuss on Saturday.
Serena Williams is playing at another level, says beaten Agnieszka Radwanska
Defending champion Stan Wawrinka avoided a repeat on Wednesday of his first-round scare, though he was still made to work hard in a straight-sets win over Japan's Taro Daniel. The Swiss third seed won 7-6(7) 6-3 6-4 and is now on a six-match winning streak on clay, having warmed-up for Roland Garros by winning the title in Geneva last week. Progress was by no means straightforward against a skilful opponent ranked 93rd in the world and Wawrinka has yet to switch to his A game. But he says it's there when he needs it. "If you look at the first two matches, for sure I'm not playing my best tennis, but I know I have my best tennis in me," the 31-year-old Wawrinka, playing in his 45th consecutive grand slam tournament, told reporters.
World No 1 Victoria Azarenka enjoyed another walk in the park against Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday, beating the Pole for the fifth time this year to reach the Stuttgart Grand Prix final.
Maria Sharapova's U.S. Open title defence ended in tatters on Saturday when she was stunned 6-4 1-6 6-2 by Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round.
Maria Sharapova suffered a shock 7-6(4), 6-3 defeat to compatriot and wildcard Daria Gavrilova.
Caroline Wozniacki breezed into the final of the Indian Wells WTA tournament with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 victory over her good friend Agnieszka Radwanska on Friday.
Sania Mirza failed to break the second round jinx at the French Open, crashing out of the tournament after a straight sets defeat to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the women's singles, in Paris, on Thursday. The Indian ace lost 2-6, 4-6 to the 12th-seeded Radwanska in an hour and 16 minutes.
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.
Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame a bout of mid-match nerves to grind down Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 and clinch the San Diego Open on Sunday.
Women's World No 1 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Madrid Open because of flu, the organisers said on Friday.
Ana Ivanovic and Vera Zvonareva had contrasting victories on Saturday to reach the final of the Linz Open.
Venus Williams and Dinara Safina scored contrasting quarter-final victories at Wimbledon. The American scored a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, while top seed Safina came from a set down to reach her first Wimbledon semi-final with an unconvincing 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory over the unseeded Sabine Lisicki.
Those not familiar with seeing Swiatek close up can expect to see her sliding on Wimbledon's grass, as she does on the clay
Second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova swept past Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals at the Pacific Life Open on Wednesday. Kuznetsova, who was upset by Radwanska in the third round of the Australian Open in January, broke her 19-year-old opponent in the first and third games of the opening set on the Stadium Court.
Andy Roddick blasted 19 aces to defeat Sweden's Thomas Johansson 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 in the third round.
Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin pounded their way into the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday but Martina Hingis fell to a Polish teenager
She was beaten by 17-year-old Polish qualifier Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round of the Luxembourg Championship.
Silencing the voices of doubt that plague Li Na's mind has been mission impossible at times for coaches and her stoic husband Jiang Shan, but the 30-year-old Chinese appears to have finally found harmony on and off the court.
Top-ranked Roger Federer continued his dynamic US Open form in near-tropical conditions on Saturday while fourth seed Serena Williams braved the steaming heat to avenge a shock defeat she suffered in January.
Maria Sharapova fought back from a set down to oust China's Li Na 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 on Friday and claim a place in the last four of the Madrid Open.
Maria Sharapova will face Vera Zvonareva in an all-Russian final at the Qatar Open.
Women's champion Serena Williams, bidding for her 22nd Grand Slam title, will have to overcome No 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the first singles semi-final at the Rod Laver Arena.
Dominika Cibulkova, the first Slovakian woman to reach a Grand Slam final, will take on China's Li Na in the Australian Open women's singles final at Melbourne Park, on Saturday.
Czech Petra Kvitova defeated titleholder Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4 in the Dubai Championships on Thursday to set up a semi-final against Caroline Wozniacki.
Serena Williams has yet to drop a set in the showpiece tournament while Maria Sharapova has only conceded one set.
Check out the head-to-head record of Sabine Lisicki and Marion Bartoli ahead of the women's singles final at Wimbledon.
Ana Ivanovic says she is a more complete player than when she won the French Open title in 2008 but lacks the confidence of her younger self.
After four days of play, the French Open was left without a Williams sister in the draw on Wednesday when former runner-up Venus joined 2002 champion Serena in making an early exit.
World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka had to dig deep to overcome the hugely talented Mona Barthel of Germany 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 to reach the Stuttgart indoor tournament semi-finals on Friday.
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