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.
Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and other top tennis players hammed it up in exhibition matches on the eve of the Australian Open to raise money for victims of the country's devastating floods on Sunday.
Facing the prospect of empty stands at the first fanless Grand Slam since the coronavirus outbreak, top contenders at this year's US Open admit that the unprecedented new hush will take some getting used to.
The professional tennis career of Kim Clijsters officially ended on Saturday when the Belgian lost in the second round of the mixed doubles event at the U.S. Open.
With Virginia Wade the last Briton, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 1977, the 18-year-old has to deal with plenty of expectation on her shoulders.
Disappointed but content, Kim Clijsters signed off her singles career with a second-round defeat at the US Open on Wednesday, beaten but unbowed and with the praise of her peers ringing in her ears.
Images from the US Open matches played at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.
Kim Clijsters has pulled out of next month's Indian Wells WTA tournament in California because of an injured left ankle, the Belgian former World No 1 said on Tuesday.
Kim Clijsters was courage personified as the defending champion shook off a painful ankle injury and saved four match points to overhaul China's Li Na 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 and reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Kim Clijsters waved goodbye to Wimbledon on Monday after she was thrashed 6-1, 6-1 by German eighth seed Angelique Kerber.
Kim Clijsters may have eased through the draw so far, but her experience on important points, knowing when they were and how to win them also helped her against Daniela Hantuchova.
Images from day three of the Australian Open 2012 tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Wednesday.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki will play 107th-ranked local Anastasia Rodionova in the first round of the Australian Open when she begins her bid for a maiden Grand Slam title.
As Kim Clijsters and Novak Djokovic set out to defend their titles at Melbourne Park, rediff.com takes a look at a few interesting facts and figures related to the year's first major tournament.
Former World No 1 Kim Clijsters has confirmed that she will bring down the curtain on her second career at the end of this year's US Open, Belgian news agency Belga has reported.
World number two Kim Clijsters has withdrawn from Wimbledon due to a foot injury, the tournament said in a statement on Wednesday.
Former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters will miss the French Open after failing to recover from a hip injury, the Belgian said on Tuesday.
A lingering shoulder problem has given world number two Kim Clijsters increased cause for concern with the WTA Tour's claycourt season fast approaching.
Serena Williams will make her long-awaited return to the Arthur Ashe centre court on Tuesday when she opens her latest US Open campaign against Bojana Jovanovski.
Fourth seed Maria Sharapova overcame a second set rally by Petra Kvitova to advance to her third Australian Open final with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 victory on Thursday. She will now meet third seed Victoria Azarenka in the final on Saturday after the Belarusian earlier beat 2011 champion Kim Clijsters 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Victoria Azarenka reached her first grand slam final with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory over defending champion Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open on Thursday.
Images from day nine of the Australian Open 2012 Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Tuesday.
The Dane says it is just a matter of time before she reclaims her crown.
Caroline Wozniacki was dumped out of the quarter-finals of the Australian Open by Kim Clijsters on Tuesday and will lose her world number one position when new rankings are released next week.
American eighth seed Mardy Fish, however, became the first men's top-10 player to depart the tournament when he crashed out in straight sets to Colombia's Alejandro Falla 7-6, 6-3, 7-6.
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.
Kim Clijsters suffered an injury scare ahead of her Australian Open defence when she was forced to retire from her Brisbane International semi-final against Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova on Friday.
Kim Clijsters avoided following US Open champion Sam Stosur out of the Brisbane International tournament when she beat Iveta Benesova 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday to advance to the semi-finals.
If men's tennis in 2011 was about a one-man domination, the women's equivalent was anything but that.
Trailblazer Li Na already has the distinction of being Asia's first to break into a Grand Slam singles final after her brilliant run at the Australian Open in January.
One French Open pundit this week described world number one Caroline Wozniacki as playing 'moonballing nonsense' and after the Dane and second seed Kim Clijsters crashed out, the women's game generally is under fire.
China's ninth seed Li Na suffered the same fate as Kim Clijsters as she was dumped out of the US Open on Friday by British teenager Laura Robson.
Since exploding onto the tennis scene as a 14-year-old, Serena Williams has achieved everything on a tennis court - but her incredible collection of titles and trophies barely define the imprint the American has left on her sport.
Andrea Petkovic pulled off another upset at the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday, defeating sixth seed Jelena Jankovic to reach the semi-finals, while Kim Clijsters needed all her big-match experience just to stay in the tournament.
One magical point from Roger Federer capped an exhilarating first day at the US Open on Monday as a host of former champions each took their turn in the Flushing Meadows spotlight.
Australian Open organisers have decided to leave Belgian duo Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin as potential banana skins in the tournament draw, refusing to tinker with world rankings in naming their seeds on Thursday.
Maria Sharapova will meet Kim Clijsters in the final of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday after the pair came through contrasting semi-final ties.
Ana Ivanovic will meet Kim Clijsters in the Cincinnati Open semi-finals after progressing along with Russian teenager Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Maria Sharapova on Friday.
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.
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