Robin Soderling and Andy Murray served up reminders that there are more than two contenders for the men's title at the Australian Open with dominant third-round victories on Saturday.
Two surprise Grand Slam final appearances have given Vera Zvonareva the world number two ranking and the confidence to go one better at the Australian Open, but remarkably, the Russian remains saddled with the 'dark horse' tag.
Serena Williams, who has dropped to 172nd in the world after being sidelined for almost a year with injury and illness, has opted to use an injury-protected ranking to gain entry into the US Open, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Wednesday.
A furious David Nalbandian blasted the chair umpire for over-ruling a point and denying him a Hawk-eye challenge towards the end of his marathon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 10-8 loss to American John Isner in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Caroline Wozniacki's first match since losing the world No.1 ranking ended dramatically on Wednesday at the Dubai Championships when opponent Anna Chakvetadze collapsed on court while serving for the second set.
World number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered another Grand Slam nightmare as she was comprehensively beaten 6-1, 6-3 by Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova in Paris, on Friday.
Sania Mirza failed to break the second round jinx at the French Open, crashing out of the tournament after a straight sets defeat to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the women's singles, in Paris, on Thursday. The Indian ace lost 2-6, 4-6 to the 12th-seeded Radwanska in an hour and 16 minutes.
Tennis ace Rafael Nadal pipped star footballers Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta to clinch the World Sportsman of the Year, whilst the World Cup winning Spanish football side expectedly walked away with the World Team of the Year trophy at the Laureus World Sports Awards night in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
National pride turned into a "rally of abuse" for tennis player Li Na after she shouted at Chinese spectators not to teach her how to play tennis during Saturday's tense final against Kim Clijsters in the Australian Open.
France's Marion Bartoli shrugged off a stomach bug to reach the Indian Wells WTA tournament's semi-finals with a 6-4, 7-6 victory over former world number one Ana Ivanovic on Wednesday.
Caroline Wozniacki took just 75 minutes to defeat 16th seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 in the final of the Dubai championships on Sunday.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki regained her status as world number one when she defeated Israeli Shahar Peer 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Dubai tennis championships on Friday.
Andy Murray sent an ominous warning to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal about his intentions to win the US Open when he cruised through his first match at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday after Victoria Azarenka sent a shiver through the tennis world when she fainted on court.
Images from day two of the 2010 US Open tennis tournament in New York, on Tuesday.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki was named top seed of a grand slam tournament for the first time on Tuesday for the US Open starting next Monday.
Caroline Wozniacki rolled up her sleeves and battled back from a set down to defeat Francesca Schiavone of Italy 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 at the WTA Championships on Thursday, sewing up the year-end world number one ranking.
Justine Henin has ruled herself out of this year's US Open after discovering that an elbow injury she suffered at Wimbledon was worse than initially thought.
A nagging knee injury has forced Venus Williams to skip the rest of the 2010 tennis season, including next month's Fed Cup final between the United States and Italy.
On Sunday, the most famous tennis court in the world had become an indoor arena for the first time in its 87-year existence, complete with a translucent roof and bright floodlights.
Normal service resumed at the Australian Open on Saturday as Roger Federer and Serena Williams booked their places in the second week of the championship.
Venus Williams fell short of a happy ending to her storybook run at the US Open after her vaunted serve deserted her in the semi-finals against defending champion Kim Clijsters on Friday.
List of Australian Open women's singles champions since the event began in 1922 (Australian unless stated):
Poland's Caroline Wozniacki, who justified her top seeding at the US Open by defeating former champion Maria Sharapova, insists that she is a much improved player now and potent enough to beat top stars.
Images from Day 4 of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York.
World number two Caroline Wozniacki breezed to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Vera Zvonareva in the final of the rain-hit Montreal Cup on Monday, confirming her status as the red-hot favourite for the US Open.
Caroline Wozniacki said she was looking on the bright side after losing the world number one ranking to Kim Clijsters.
Serena Williams was fined $10,500 on Sunday by officials at the US Open and could face further sanctions after an investigation was launched into her angry outburst during her semi-final defeat by Kim Clijsters.
The return of Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin to the Australian Open, which begins on Monday, has added even more spice to a women's tournament already overflowing with talent.
Serena Williams, who won the Australian and Wimbledon Grand Slam titles last year, was voted the WTA Tour 2009 Player of the Year for a second successive season, at a ceremony in Miami on Wednesday.
Former world number one Justine Henin is poised to announce her comeback to professional tennis, Belgian media reported on Tuesday. Henin, 27, would make the announcement on evening news shows in Belgium, a number of newspapers reported.
It took about two years for Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin to come out of retirement. Kimiko Date Krumm waited 12 years before letting the fire inside her burn again and Dinara Safina felt the full heat in Paris.
Roger Federer and Serena Williams will begin the defence of their US Open titles at Flushing Meadows on Monday, while Kim Clijsters returns to grand-slam tennis for the first time in two years.
Ask any of the top seeds at next week's U.S. Open who they would least like to play in the early rounds and there will only be one name uttered - Kim Clijsters.
Third seed Venus Williams's return to Canada ended in a shock 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 second-round defeat by Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko at the Toronto Cup on Tuesday.
Mike Bryan of the United States claimed his 17th Grand Slam men's doubles title when he and Jack Sock beat Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 in a thrilling Wimbledon final on Saturday.
Germany's Angelique Kerber, who will try to prevent Serena Williams winning an eighth Wimbledon title on Saturday, never went away but she too is making a comeback of sorts.
The Indian ace will meet Uzbek wild card Iroda Tulyaganova in the first round at the Australian Open, which begins on Monday.
Serena Williams has given birth to a baby girl, the first child for the former world number one tennis player, her coach Patrick Mouratoglou said on Twitter on Friday.
List of French Open women's singles champions:
Roger Federer opens his title defence while Tim Henman starts another year of hope at Wimbledon on Monday.
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