Sara Errani beat doubles partner Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-3 in a subdued all-Italian semi-final at the Dubai championships on Friday.
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.
'I think when I first started, you could win a lot of easy matches, then you're in the quarter-finals, that's when it starts to get a little more tough. Now, like, there's no easy match. Everyone's playing great. Everyone's just doing a lot better'
The 92nd Academy Awards nominations have been announced at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
Both will play their second-round singles matches on Thursday.
Erratic serving cost Petra Kvitova dearly as the fifth-seeded Czech was knocked out of the BNP Paribas Open by Russian Maria Kirilenko on Wednesday, losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro became the first player through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open as she dug herself out of a hole to beat Estonian Anett Kontaveit 4-6, 6-4 ,8-6 on Sunday.
An emotional Agnieszka Radwanska claimed her maiden WTA Finals title with a roller-coaster 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Czech Petra Kvitova in an absorbing encounter at a packed Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Rediff.com presents the early surprises at the year's first Grand Slam.
Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova claimed her 10th singles title after defeating Sara Errani 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 in the final of the Dubai Championships on Saturday.
World number four Agnieszka Radwanska overcame a misfiring serve to beat Kazakh teenager Yulia Putintseva 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of the Dubai women's tennis championships on Wednesday.
Maria Sharapova continued her untroubled progress at the Qatar Open on Friday, brushing aside Australia's Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
Serena Williams showed tennis was not just the domain of teenagers as she climbed back to the top of the world rankings on Friday, becoming the oldest female to hold the coveted position at the age of 31.
Images from Day 4 of the Wimbledon tennis championships played in London, on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic extended his unbeaten start to the season to 15 matches as he swatted aside German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-1 with ease on Wednesday to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-finals.
Champion Novak Djokovic and French Open winner Maria Sharapova were named top seeds for Wimbledon as the grasscourt Grand Slam mostly followed the rankings to draw up the list for the championships that begin on Monday. In the men's side, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray completed the top four while defending women's champion Petra Kvitova was seeded fourth.
Australian Nick Kyrgios did his best to enliven a damp and dismal Parisian day with some eye-catching play and colourful language as the French Open began without part of the usual furniture on Sunday.
The Czech Republic cruised to a 2-0 lead after the opening singles of the Fed Cup final against Serbia on Saturday, putting them well on course to successfully defend their title.
Tennis already sets the bar with equal prize money paid to women and men at Grand Slam tournaments
Holder Petra Kvitova was stunned at the WTA Championships on Tuesday with a defeat that reduced her to tears while Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova began their campaigns in top form at the end-of-season competition.
Top seed Roger Federer reached the Halle Open semi-finals on Friday, beating defending champion Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4 and edging closer to a ninth title at the Wimbledon tune-up event.
Here's how the models descended on the red carpet on Day 2.
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.
Images from Monday's action at the French Open.
Venus Williams, playing her first tournament since returning from an autoimmune disease, continued her inspiring comeback at the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday.
Petra Kvitova's preparations for the defence of her Wimbledon title suffered a setback when she was beaten by Russia's Ekaterina Makarova in the first round of the Eastbourne International on Tuesday.
Images from Day Seven of the US Open tennis tournament being played in New York.
Playing her first match as world number one, India's Sania Mirza crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix event with partner Martina Hingis, who was not at her best due to a back injury.
Maria Sharapova enjoyed a double celebration on Thursday as she reclaimed the world number one tennis ranking after blowing away Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-3 to reach her maiden French Open final.
Multiple Grand Slam champions Serena and Venus Williams withdrew from women's doubles competition at the Australian Open on Wednesday before first round action got underway.
Petra Kvitova, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga battled their way into the third round of the French Open on Thursday.
China's Li Na defeated a battling Venus Williams 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the final of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday after an enthralling two-hour nine minutes encounter.
Petra Kvitova overcame a mid-match slump to claim her first title of the season with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 victory over China's Li Na in the Montreal Cup on Monday.
Images from Sunday's action at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Serena Williams marked her first European appearance of the season with victory on the Madrid Open's striking blue clay courts on Monday, but her sister Venus crashed out in the second round.
Local favourite and sixth seed Sam Stosur became the highest ranked player to crash out of the Australian Open first round on Tuesday while men's fourth seed Andy Murray was pushed by Ryan Harrison before he overcame the American teenager in four sets.
Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic, however, had all ensured they spent as little time as possible in the heat with lopsided victories.
Roger Federer celebrated his return to the top of the world rankings with his second title of the season, swatting aside Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tournament in Rotterdam on Sunday.
Serena Williams hit top gear in deposing champion Petra Kvitova and ominously for her Wimbledon semi-final opponent Victoria Azarenka the four-times champion says she has nothing to lose in the last-four clash on Thursday.
Petra Kvitova's hopes of defending her Wimbledon title were shot to pieces in a hail of Centre Court cannon fire from Serena Williams who ousted the defending champion 6-3, 7-5 in their quarter-final on Tuesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances