Russian Vera Zvonareva, Czech Petra Kvitova and Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova -- names that are barely household names in their native towns let alone in the wider world -- earned their golden tickets to the semi-finals after a day of topsy-turvy tennis at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
French Open champion Li Na retired injured from her first-round match against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova at the Paris Open on Tuesday.
Russian Vera Zvonareva beat unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the semi-final on Thursday. She will now face defending champion Serena Williams in the summit clash.
Fourth-seeded Venus Williams outpowered Bulgarian Tatiana Poutchek 6-1 6-2 to move into the second round of the Istanbul Cup on Tuesday.
Sixth seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, eighth seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy and India's Sania Mirza moved into the second round of the $1.3 million Qatar Open on Monday.
Serena Williams showed glimpses of what lies in store for rivals this season
- At 18 years and 109 days, Bencic is the youngest player to win a premier-level title since Caroline Wozniacki won in New Haven almost seven years ago - Uzbek Istomin wins men's title
Serena Williams was forced to dig deep to secure a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 US Open quarter-final victory over unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova on Wednesday, keeping alive her latest bid for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title.
Serena Williams sounded a warning for her fellow Australian Open contenders with a sleek win
Novak Djokovic continued his Wimbledon preparations by beating American Donald Young 6-2, 7-6(9) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Aegon International tournament at Eastbourne.
Sam Stosur powered into the French Open quarter-finals with a 7-6(0), 6-3 win against Simona Halep in Paris on Tuesday, adapting better to damp and heavy conditions than her higher-ranked Romanian opponent.
Images from Day 5 of the French Open in Paris on Thursday.
Images from Day 3 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros in Paris on Tuesday
Stanislas Wawrinka had to dig deep to beat Borna Coric at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Wednesday and conceded his thoughts had been far from tennis over the past few days.
Images from Wednesday's matches at Roland Garros
US Open champions Marin Cilic and Serena Williams kicked off their China Open campaigns with straight sets victories against battling underdogs on Monday, but Rafael Nadal suffered defeat in a rare doubles outing on his return from injury.
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