Serena Williams weathered an early challenge from Russian Vera Zvonareva before the former World No 2 crumbled to lose 7-5, 6-0 in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
Serena Williams, unable to defend her 2009 and 2010 titles last year due to a freak foot injury, found herself dive-bombed by crickets that made merry on a balmy evening at Rod Laver Arena.
Coco Gauff ended local heroine Lois Boisson's dream run at the French Open with a ruthless 6-1, 6-2 victory on Thursday to set up a final clash with top seed Aryna Sabalenka.
"I'm drama, and I don't want to be drama," Williams said after reaching the fourth round with a ill-tempered 4-6 6-3 6-4 win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
A Champagne cork popped somewhere on Centre Court four games into Serena Williams's Wimbledon semi-final and while it was a tad premature, her 6-2 6-0 thrashing of Elena Vesnina suggested she could celebrating something special come Saturday. The top-seeded American will be taking nothing for granted, having seen her bid to match Steffi Graf's modern era record of grand slam titles stuck one short on 21 for a year, but it was a menacing show of strength, albeit against an overawed opponent.
IMAGES from Day 9 of the US Open matches played on Tuesday
World number one Caroline Wozniacki might have been better off asking Serena Williams about how to win the biggest tournaments instead of seeking guidance about relationships.
Seven-times Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras returned to the All England Club on Sunday for the first time since 2002 for the chance to watch Roger Federer overtake his grand slam titles record.
Serena Williams' bid for the Italian Open was squashed in her first match on Tuesday when the American second seed lost 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to Swiss Patty Schnyder. French Open champion Ana Ivanovic beat Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-4 and seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia had a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over Slovak Daniela Hantuchova.
Images from Day 12 of the French Open at the Roland Garros on Thursday.
Venus and Serena Williams enter the women's Wimbledon quarter-finals on Tuesday with even their next opponents conceding they are strong favourites for another final appearance. Defending champion Venus faces Tamarine Tanasurgan and the unseeded Thai, who defeated second seed Jelena Jankovic to reach her first grand slam quarter-final, is not brimming with confidence.
Serena Williams, who has dropped to 172nd in the world after being sidelined for almost a year with injury and illness, has opted to use an injury-protected ranking to gain entry into the US Open, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Wednesday.
Williams, who played an exhibition match last December in the United Arab Emirates, where she lost to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, said in addition to working on her serve and returns, she needs to manage her time better now that she has her daughter in tow.
World number one Serena Williams raced into the quarter-finals of the Paris Open with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Croatian qualifier Karolina Sprem on Thursday. The American top seed, who won the tournament in 1999 and 2003, will face France's Emilie Loit for a semi-final spot on Friday.
Images from the US Open women's singles second round matches, at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Thursday.
The top seed celebrated her 23rd birthday with a come-from-behind win over Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.
Spain's Rafael Nadal and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia have been confirmed as the top seeds for this year's Australian Open, which begins on Monday.
The Williams sisters Serena and Venus fell by the wayside in the fourth round at Wimbledon on Monday. Defending champion Serena was beaten 6-3, 7-6 by Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli while five-time champion Venus was outplayed by Bulgaria's Tsvetsana Pironkova 6-2, 6-3.
Images from day seven of the 2010 Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on Monday.
Andy Murray will carry the weight of a nation on his shoulders as he bids to end 74 years of disappointment and become Britain's first men's Wimbledon champion since 1936 when he kicks off his campaign on Tuesday.
If Serena Williams wanted to sound like someone who did not really care whether she won another Wimbledon or not, telling the world she just wanted to have fun, nobody was fooled on Thursday.
The women's seedings at Wimbledon usually follow the WTA rankings list but can be tweaked by the All England Club in special circumstances.
US Open aces Wimbledon for top Grand Slam prize money.
McEnroe had claimed that Serena, who is the best player of her gender, would be ranked 700 if she plays on the men's circuit.
World No 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has claimed emotional instability is the major reason behind the lack of a consistently dominant group in women's tennis to match the men's big four.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has retorted to former tennis ace John McEnroe's comments, saying she would struggle on the men's circuit.
Serena Williams was in no mood to allow a painful tumble to divert her from her path to a sixth Australian Open title on Tuesday and duly delivered a resounding 6-0, 6-0 win to open her campaign at the year's first Grand Slam.
Petra Kvitova is not the type to talk herself up even if she does arrive at Wimbledon as the defending champion.
Justine Henin and Serena Williams will square up in a battle of former champions at the U.S. Open on Tuesday, while Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic headline the action in the men's event.
Venus Williams' return to Indian Wells lasted just one match but sister Serena looked poised for a long run after a dominant win at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday. Venus returned to the event for the first time since 2001, having boycotted it after being booed and heckled by fans during her previous trip, but made a quick exit after a 6-4 6-3 defeat to Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara in the second round. The 15-year-old incident had occurred when Venus withdrew from a semi-final match with Serena, drawing ire from the crowd aimed at the Williams family. This time, though, Venus was greeted warmly by the crowd before her match and throughout it, a consolation for her poor performance. "It was enough of a fairytale to come here and play," Venus told reporters. "A win would have been nice, but that means I have to come back, play next year."
With the whiff of a fifth Wimbledon singles title in the air, grass court predator Serena Williams cut down defending champion Petra Kvitova to move ominously into the semi-finals on Tuesday.
World No 1 Serena Williams edged an enthralling battle with third-seed Simona Halep.
The former world number one is suffering from a knee injury.\n\n
Agnieszka Radwanska could achieve all her tennis ambitions this weekend after becoming the first Pole to reach a Grand Slam final for 73 years by outwitting German Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon on Thursday.
Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard swatted aside an out-of-sorts Serena Williams 6-2, 6-1 at the Hopman Cup in Perth on Tuesday.
Sania Mirza exuded confidence that she and Rohan Bopanna are prepared to pose a strong challenge to their formidable rivals in the Hopman Cup.
Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are not just playing for Olympic gold at Wimbledon. There's a career Golden Slam on the line, too.
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