Top-seeded Novak Djokovic was handed a danger filled path to the final of the US Open and a possible showdown with No 2 Roger Federer after Thursday's draw for the season's final Grand Slam.
Serena Williams finished her last U.S. Open tune-up in style by blowing away Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-1 to win her first title at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati on Sunday.
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.
Serena Williams made a winning return to action after nearly a year out with victory over Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova at Eastbourne on Tuesday.
Serena Williams, who has a history of blood clots and pulmonary embolisms, said she has concerns over travelling to New York and is living in a rented house instead of the official players' hotel as a precaution.
After 17 trips to Flushing Meadows and six US Open titles Serena Williams did something on Thursday she had never done before -- win a match indoors.
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were named men's and women's world champions for 2015 by the International Tennis Federation on Tuesday. The Serb ended the year as men's world number one for the fourth time after taking three majors - the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open, as well as finishing runner-up to Stan Wawrinka in the French. Williams also narrowly missed a calendar-year grand slam, winning the Australian, French and Wimbledon and reaching semi-final at US Open.
Serena Williams trounced Maria Kirilenko at the Australian Open on Monday, setting up an all-American quarter-final with her would-be successor Sloane Stephens after Andy Murray had put flagging Frenchman Gilles Simon out of his misery.
World No 2 Serena Williams shook out any cobwebs from four months away from tennis with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over France's Pauline Parmentier in the first round of the Auckland Classic on Tuesday.
Serena Williams, winner of eight Grand Slam tennis titles, says she has been inspired by her fellow American, boxing great Muhammad Ali.
Venus Williams stands in the way of younger sister Serena's bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam after reaching the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-1 rout of Estonian teenager Anett Kontaveit on Sunday.
Former world number one Serena Williams believes the only reason she is not in the conversation for being 'greatest tennis player of all time' is simply because she is a woman. Insisting that being a woman brings in a whole set of problems from society, the American said the scenario would have been completely different had she been a man, Sport24 reported.
The US Open turned over Arthur Ashe Stadium to the Williams sisters on Thursday for a prime-time first round doubles match that could have been Serena's last after the pair fell 7-6(5), 6-4 to the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova.
The fifth-seeded Ukrainian reached her second straight Grand Slam semi-final after also making the last four at Wimbledon in July.
Making her Grand Slam comeback in Paris following the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia last September, Serena Williams will renew her fierce on-court rivalry with Maria Sharapova on Monday when they meet in a highly-anticipated fourth-round showdown at the French Open.
There were no wild celebrations or fist pumps from Serena Williams after she beat Caroline Wozniacki at the WTA Finals on Saturday.
?Andy Murray's preparations for this month's Australian Open suffered a setback on Wednesday when the world number two went down in straight sets to local favourite Nick Kyrgios at the Hopman Cup in Perth.
Serena Williams will be wary of another semi-final slip-up when she takes to the Arthur Ashe Stadium court on Thursday to face 10th seed Karolina Pliskova for a spot in the US Open final.
Roger Federer and Serena Williams had contrasting 2013 seasons but both kick off their new campaigns at the Brisbane International this week showing no signs just yet of calling time on their illustrious careers.
Fatigue and a busy schedule was not going to get in the way of Serena Williams returning to the place she says launched her comeback and gave her the confidence to believe she could win another Grand Slam.
Images from Day 2 of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on Tuesday.
Also making it to the last eight were Svetlana Kuznetsova and Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova.
World number one Serena Williams brushed past a weary Conchita Martinez 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the $1.3 million Family Circle Cup
IMAGES from Day 6 of the matches played at the US Open at Flushing Meadows on Saturday.
World number one Serena Williams credited an on-court coffee for her recovery after she stormed back from a first set bagel to beat Italy's Flavia Pennetta in her opening match of the year at the Hopman Cup on Monday.
The veteran American set up a showdown with Romanian former world number one Simona Halep in Saturday's final.
Serena Williams stormed into the US Open quarter-finals in record-smashing style on Monday by easing past Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2, 6-3 to claim her record 308th Grand Slam match win.
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.
Serena Williams has pulled out of the US Open because she is still recovering from surgery on her right foot, the American world number one said on Friday. Williams, who won her 13th Grand Slam at Wimbledon earlier this year, cut her foot on broken glass at a restaurant in July and has not played since.
Serbia's Ana Ivanovic stunned World No 1 Serena Williams at the Australian Open on Sunday with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 fourth-round upset at Rod Laver Arena.
A summary of the first day's play at the US Open.
Garbine Muguruza's chances of winning her maiden grand slam title -- and achieving the rare feat of beating Serena Williams twice in three years at Roland Garros -- may well depend on which version of the world number one turns up on Sunday.
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.
Serena Williams roared into a her seventh Wimbledon singles final with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Victoria Azarenka on Thursday. She will face Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in Saturday's final.
Images from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday.
Serena Williams easily won her eagerly-awaited clash with Sloane Stephens at the US Open on Sunday as normal service resumed at the last Grand Slam of year.
The unseeded Bencic, who also beat former world number ones Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic in Toronto, wore a look of disbelief after the 18-year-old's forehand winner whizzed past Williams to seal the match.
Serena Williams lives by the worlds of Muhammad Ali: 'Being a champion isn't about what you do when you are on top; it's about what you do when you are knocked down'.
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