Andy Murray is more afraid of losing his wedding ring than a tennis match these days but that did not stop him from storming to a 10th successive win on clay at the Rome Masters on Wednesday.
Following is a list of Serena Williams' 23 grand slam singles titles after the American surpassed Steffi Graf's professional era record with victory at the Australian Open on Saturday:
IMAGES from the matches played at the PNB Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Sunday
List of Australian Open women's singles champions since the event began in 1922 (Australian unless stated):
World number one Novak Djokovic is on a French Open semi-final collision course with nine-times champion Rafael Nadal after the draw was made on Friday.
A tortured and tormented Venus Williams whimpered out of the French Open on Friday while a Portuguese teenage upstart made a very noisy departure. Four-times champion Nadal barely broke into a sweat as he overcame potential banana skin Lleyton Hewitt to extend his Paris record to 31-0.
Holder Ana Ivanovic underlined her credentials for a second French Open title with a 6-0, 6-2 demolition of Czech Iveta Benesova in the third round on Friday. The Serbian eighth seed needed just over an hour to set up a meeting with either ninth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, seeded 22nd.
Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo had to forfeit her Brisbane International semi-final against compatriot Marion Bartoli Friday after receiving treatment on her lower back and left leg. The Frenchwoman, who had stunned top seed Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals on Thursday, was serving at 0-4 when she called for the trainer.
Serena Williams remains the 'queen' of women's tennis but don't be surprised if she's no longer No 1 by the end of the year, Martina Navratilova said Thursday.
Serena Williams has been vulnerable this Grand Slam season but unbeaten in the year's first three major championships.
An injury-hampered world number one Serena Williams suffered a shock 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 defeat to Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic in the first round of the Andalucia Tennis Championships on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Johanna Konta progressed to the Italian Open semi-finals on Friday, but Roger Federer and Naomi Osaka were forced to withdraw with injury problems. World number one Osaka pulled out of her quarter-final meeting with Kiki Bertens due to a thumb injury before 37-year-old Federer announced his withdrawal because of a problem to his right leg.
Kvitova to decide on participation on Friday
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.
Top seeds Sania and her Brazilian partner Bruno Soares edged past Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez.
Jelena Jankovic won a fierce scrap with Venus Williams 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday to set up a Stuttgart Grand Prix final against Nadia Petrova. Unseeded Russian Petrova's 6-4, 6-4 victory over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the opening semi-final was straightforward by comparison.
Serena Williams took some coaching advice from a fan during her fourth round match.
Sixth-seeded Paes and Damm knocked out the Czech pair 6-1 6-2.\n\n
On the men's side, the fields have already been divided into two ATP 250 tournaments.
Defeat is never an option for Serena Williams, but the World No 1 came close to an embarrassing second-round exit at the French Open after an 'unprofessional' display on Thursday.
Second seed Jelena Jankovic came through another bruising battle at the U.S. Open on Friday, edging past Zheng Jie 7-5 7-5 to reach the fourth round. The Serbian, chasing her first grand slam title, scrambled into the last 16 after two hours nine minutes and will meet 14th seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or Caroline Wozniacki, the Danish 21st seed.
World number one Dinara Safina came from behind to win an epic contest with Venus Williams 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday and set up an all-Russian final at the Italian Open in Rome. Safina rallied from a set and 2-0 down to earn the right to face her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova, who barged past Belarussian Victoria Azarenka with a 6-2, 6-4 win.
Israel's Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram won their first grand slam title with a 7-5, 7-6 victory over Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in the Australian Open men's doubles final on Saturday.
Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko came from a set down to win their first women's doubles title at the Australian Open.
Russian Dinara Safina lost her chance to become the world number one when she was beaten 6-7, 6-1, 6-3 by Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals of the WTA event in Indian Wells on Wednesday. The top seed, who would have replaced Serena Williams as the world's top ranked player had she reached the final, was well beaten by the 19-year-old eighth seed.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic is the top seed in the men's draw which includes five-times US Open champion and 17-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer as seventh seed - his first time the Swiss has been placed outside the top three in a Grand Slam in over ten years.
India's Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna fell by the wayside at the Australian Open on Monday.
Naomi Osaka continued her stunning run of form with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, the latest big win for the 20-year-old Japanese player.
China's Li Na continued her giant-killing run at the Australian Hardcourt Championships, beating fourth seed Patty Schnyder to reach the final.
Top seed Jelena Jankovic battled to an impressive 7-5, 6-4 win over Nadia Petrova to reach the semi-finals of the Los Angeles Classic on Friday. Jankovic, who is closing in on the world No.1 ranking, will face Dinara Safina in the last four after the Russian crushed Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-1.
A look at the records of Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova and Japan's Naomi Osaka before their semi-final match at the Australian Open on Thursday (prefix number denotes seeding):
Second seed Jelena Jankovic outlasted Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Los Angeles Classic on Friday.
World No 3 Maria Sharapova withdrew on Monday from the end-of-season WTA Championship in Istanbul due to the shoulder injury that also kept her out of the US Open.
Germany's Angelique Kerber, who will try to prevent Serena Williams winning an eighth Wimbledon title on Saturday, never went away but she too is making a comeback of sorts.
Daniel Nestor of Canada and Elena Likhovtseva of Russia claimed the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open.
Serena Williams is third on the list of female Grand Slam title winners. She is one of only five women, after Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, to hold all four Grand Slam titles at same time.
As Russian Maria Sharapova and American Serena Williams get ready to slug it out in their big-ticket semi-final, records and history tells us who has had the upper hand.
In Saturday's semi-finals, Tulyaganova beat No 6 seed Olga Poutchkova while Sun ended the fine run of 17-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
Olga Poutchkova beat the Indian 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in the quarterfinal of the event.
Top seed Maria Sharapova won her seventh straight match on US soil by defeating holder Elena Dementieva 6-3 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Los Angeles Classic on Friday.
