An improbable scenario that would have prompted a polite chuckle among tennis fans two weeks ago is set to play out on Thursday when Marion Bartoli, Kirsten Flipkens, Sabine Lisicki and Agnieska Radwanska do battle in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Wimbledon champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams were on course for further success at the All-England Club after booking their places in the Olympic singles semi-finals on Thursday.
Leander Paes and Sania Mirza entered the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles of the tennis event, beating the Serbian pair of Nenad Zimonjic and Ana Ivanovic in staright sets. The Indian pair won 6-2, 6-4 in only 64 minutes and set up a last eight meeting with top seeds Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
Thanks to rain, Victoria Azarenka, Venus Williams and 20 other women at the Olympics who have yet to complete a singles match could end up on court six consecutive days if they reach the gold medal round.
In the men's draw, the "Big Four" look poised to scrap it out for yet another Grand Slam crown over the next week after Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray all won on Monday to join Novak Djokovic in the last eight.
Check out the sexiest female tennis players at this year's French Open.
Serena Williams withdrew from the Dubai Championships because of a lower back injury just minutes before she was due on court for a second round match against Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli on Wednesday.
Victoria Azarenka holds a 5-4 record over Li Na and has won their last four matches, however, the Chinese is 2-0 up in Grand Slam encounters.
Maria Sharapova swept aside any fears about her fitness with a ruthless 6-0, 6-0 victory over Olga Puchkova on Monday as a trio of top women progressed with ease on the first morning of the Australian Open.
The pair beat Liezel Huber of USA and Jamie Murray of UK 6-7, 7-6, 10-5 in the semi-finals.
Even though she won four big titles during the year, Serena Williams will still end 2012 ranked No 3 behind Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. After backing up her victories at Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open with the WTA Championships title on Sunday, Williams concurred with Sharapova and World No 8 Li Na that she is in fact the world's top female tennis player.
Serena Williams has yet to drop a set in the showpiece tournament while Maria Sharapova has only conceded one set.
Following is a list of American Serena Williams' 22 grand slam singles titles as she equalled Steffi Graf's professional era record with victory at Wimbledon on Saturday
Factbox on American Serena Williams, who won her 15th Grand Slam singles title at the US Open on Sunday with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
Serena Williams, through sheer force of will as much as her skill with the racket, beat World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in a dramatic US Open final on Sunday to capture her 15th singles Grand Slam title.
Caroline Wozniacki was the latest player left spread-eagled on the slippery All England Club turf as she limped out of Wimbledon following a 6-2, 6-2 second-round defeat by Czech Petra Cetkovska on Wednesday.
All the ingredients are in place for a classic finish to the US Open women's singles tournament with a stellar cast set to take the court on Friday in semi-final action at the year's final Grand Slam.
Images from Day 12 of the French Open at the Roland Garros on Thursday.
Rafael Nadal made short work of his great rival Roger Federer to win the Italian Open, his sixth trophy of the year, 6-1, 6-3 on Sunday.
Serena Williams crushed Romanian qualifier Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0 to book her place in the Italian Open final and extend her winning streak to 23 matches on Saturday.
Playing in his first competitive singles match on the ATP Tour since August 5, the 20-times Grand Slam champion showed no signs of rust in his second round win against Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis.
Images from Day 4 of the French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
A merciless Maria Sharapova whizzed past unheralded Romanian Alexandra Cadantu 6-0, 6-0 to book her place in the second round of the French Open on Tuesday.
IMAGES from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on Saturday.
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.
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.
Li Na's bid for a second Grand Slam title ended tearfully with an injured ankle, a bruised head and a heart-breaking defeat to Victoria Azarenka, but she could still laugh off her 'stupid' falls after a gallant failure in the Australian Open final.
China's Li Na sent a wayward Maria Sharapova crashing out of the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday and says there will be no repeat of her capitulation to Kim Clijsters in the 2011 Melbourne Park final.
Juan Martin del Potro suffered the first real upset and Victoria Azarenka had a big scare, but Serena Williams and Andy Murray eased through challenging ties to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open on Saturday.
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.
A look at the some of the sexiest female players who will compete at this year's Australian Open.
Sixth-seeded Paes and Damm knocked out the Czech pair 6-1 6-2.\n\n
Here is a Factbox on Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who beat American Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0 to win her first Wimbledon singles title on Saturday:
Samantha Stosur's win over world number one Caroline Wozniacki was not the only surprise for an unsuspecting crowd at the WTA Championships, where music, dance and even a frightened feline vied with the tennis for attention.
Maria Sharapova was frustrated by her three-set defeat to World No 1 Victoria Azarenka in Friday's US Open semi-final, but the Russian preferred to look on the bright side.
India's tennis campaign at the London Olympics met with a disappointing end, as Leander Paes and Sania Mirza were knocked out in the mixed doubles quarter-finals on Saturday. Paes-Sania lost 5-7, 6-7(5) to the top seeded pair of Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. The match was spread over two days after bad light halted play on Friday, with the Belarus pair leading 7-5, 3-2.
The Indian pair of Leander Paes and Sania Mirza were down 5-7, 2-3 in their mixed doubles tennis quarter-final against the Belarusian pair of Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka when play was suspended for the day because of bad light.
Leander Paes and Sania Mirza looked like regular partners on the circuit as they demolished the Serbian pair of Ana Ivanovic and Nenad Zimonjic in the first round of the mixed doubles at the London Olympics, on Thursday and Paes had big praise for his partner after the win.
The Cincinnati Open claimed two more high-profile victims on Thursday with Grand Slam champions Li Na and Petra Kvitova crashing out, while Russian pair Maria Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva crunched their opponents en route to the quarter-finals.
Veteran Leander Paes was the lone Indian left in the fray at Wimbledon after reaching the mixed doubles quarter-finals on Thursday.
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