Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza and Zimbabwean Cara Black started their Sony Open campaign on a positive note. Check out Friday's sports action.
Sania Mirza and Cara Black brushed aside the challenge of Jelena Jankovic and Alisa Kleybanova to reach the women's doubles quarter-finals but Rohan Bopanna's campaign ended at the French Open following his defeat in the mixed doubles quarter-finals.
World No 2 Li Na finally made her first appearance at the Sony Open on Sunday, taming Madison Keys in an unsteady effort while three-time champion Venus Williams was also made to work under a blazing Florida sun for her spot in the fourth round.
Alisa Kleybanova says she will bring a whole new approach to her tennis career when she returns to tournament action on Tuesday after a ten month battle with cancer.
French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and her fellow Russian Elena Dementieva won their opening round matches at the Sydney International Sunday, one of the major lead-up events to the Australian Open.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki battled her way into the last eight at the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Tuesday while twice champion Kim Clijsters retired hurt with a painful shoulder.
Kim Clijsters came through a major test of her early season form to reach the Sydney International final with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory over Alisa Kleybanova on Thursday.
Sania Mirza's campaign ended with a straight-set defeat in the women's doubles' third round on a disappointing day for the Indians at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday.
Ana Ivanovic ended the season on a positive note by defeating Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 7-6 in the final of the Tournament of Champions in Bali on Sunday.
Ana Ivanovic celebrated her 23rd birthday by defeating Kimiko Date Krumm 7-5, 6-7, 6-2 to reach the final of the Tournament of Champions in Bali on Saturday.
The Indian ace and Russian partner Vera Dushevina lost to 11th seeds Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-7(3) in a first round match.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova continued her salvage operation at the Pan Pacific Open by screeching into the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Jelena Jankovic came from 2-4 down in the second set to book her place in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells WTA tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Russian Alisa Kleybanova on Thursday.
Jelena Jankovic had to fight her way into the fourth round of the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Monday while former world number one Kim Clijsters was upset by Russian Alisa Kleybanova. Serbian sixth seed Jankovic beat Italian Sara Errani 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in an error-strewn marathon on the stadium court before twice champion Clijsters of Belgium tumbled out 6-4, 1-6, 7-6.
Alisa Kleybanova beat top seed Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-2 in a rain-disrupted all-Russian final to claim her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open on Sunday.
Fourth seeded Dementieva advanced to her fourth final of the year with a clinical 7-6, 6-1 win over world number two Serena Williams. She will play Maria Sharapova, who scored a gritty 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 over Alisa Kleybanova.
Alisa Kleybanova won a riveting three hour, 16 minute 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 slugfest over fifth-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic and her gritty performance earned her a loud ovation from an appreciative crowd and a Saturday date with Maria Sharapova.
World number three Venus Williams followed her sister Serena out of the Madrid Open Tuesday when she was beaten 6-3 3-6 7-5 by unseeded Russian teen-ager Alisa Kleybanova in the second round.
Top seed Justine Henin will face qualifier Timea Bacsinszky in the Antwerp tournament semi-finals.
The former made it to the second round in the girls' doubles while the latter couldn't.
The Indian girl and Alisa Kleybanova defeated Emma Laine of Finland and Nadja Pavic of Crotia 6-1, 6-2 in the quarters.
Sara Errani romped to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Alisa Kleybanova in Cagliari to hand Italy an unassailable 3-0 lead over Russia and their third Fed Cup title in five years on Sunday.
Sumit Nagal entered the history books as only sixth Indian to win a Grand Slam junior title after winning the boys doubles trophy at the Wimbledon Championships with partner Nam Hoang Ly on Sunday.
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis got past the Spanish pair of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja to move into the ladies doubles quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
Diagnosed after the 2011 Australian Open with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, the 24-year-old marked her return to the Grand Slam stage with a tenacious three-set victory over Puerto Rico's Monica Puig.
India's Sania Mirza and her partner Martina Hingis staged a superb comeback to clinch the women's doubles title after a thrilling victory against Russian duo of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova in the final, on Saturday.
'Even if we ate our chappatis with pickle, we ensured proper food for Sumit.'
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