'I knew I was the underdog and I was just enjoying it'
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.
On the men's side, the fields have already been divided into two ATP 250 tournaments.
Rafael Nadal survived a fightback from Alexander Zverev to win a record eighth Italian Open 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 on Sunday.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played on Friday.
A summary of Friday's tennis action from around the world.
Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas slayed another tennis giant on Saturday, saving a match point as he toppled big-serving Kevin Anderson 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(7) in a thriller to set up a Rogers Cup final against top seed Rafael Nadal.
Tennis already sets the bar with equal prize money paid to women and men at Grand Slam tournaments
Victoria Azarenka defeated Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-1, 6-3 to set up a second round meeting with Jelena Jankovic.
World No 1s Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber have been named top seeds for the first major of the season, Australian Open, which will commences on January 16.
Images from Sunday's action at the Australian Open.
Venus Williams said she was 'overjoyed' that Wimbledon organisers gave women the spotlight on the tournament's main showcourts on Wednesday.
Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic capped a brilliant run to the Rogers Cup title on Sunday.
Images from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday
Defending doubles gold medallists Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka were stretched by Japanese pairing Kei Nishikoir and Go Saeda on Monday, with the Swiss only winning the thrilling match 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 as darkness fell.
Images from Day 7 of the 2019 French Open in Paris on Saturday.
The older Serena Williams gets, the more dominant she becomes. At 33, an age when most players start to fade, her grip on women's tennis looks as secure as ever.
Simona Halep will take over as the new number one in the WTA world rankings after progressing to the China Open final with a dominant 6-2 6-4 victory over Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in Beijing on Saturday.
Nadal needed all his experience to keep Pouille at bay in the decider and the match looked to be heading for another tiebreak before he pounced to break Pouille's serve for the first time to go 6-5 up in the third.
Dominika Cibulkova kept her hopes of reaching the last four of the WTA Finals alive with a gritty 6-3, 7-6(5) Red Group victory over Simona Halep at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
Images from Day 2 of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on Tuesday.
IMAGES from matches on Day 9 at the French Open at Roland Garros
Serena Williams is a year short of spending a quarter of a century as a professional player but the learning has never stopped for the 23-time Grand Slam winner.
Angelique Kerber showed more passion in the media centre than on the court when she crashed out of last year's WTA Finals, the German angered by the format and frustrated by her inability to win the set off an eliminated opponent she needed to advance.
World number one Simona Halep saved three match-points before edging past an inspired Lauren Davis 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 in a thrilling marathon to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
The 15-year-old's popularity has soared off the charts in a memorable week at the All England Club, with organisers also recognising her potential to grab attention and giving her a Centre Court match-up in the third round.
Simona Halep crushed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday to join Serena Williams in the championship decider at the WTA Finals.
Osaka, 21, said she lacked maturity when as a relative unknown player she won the tournament last year to kick off her meteoric rise through the rankings.
New coach Rainer Schuettler's experience as a former player at the top level has been invaluable for Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber and the world number two believes her poor end to last season is truly behind her.
The sixth seed, a winner in Madrid last weekend for the second year in a row, will meet either Spain's French Open champion Garbine Muguruza or Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in Sunday's final.
A summary of Day Three's matches at the Wimbledon Championships.
IMAGES from Day 6 at Wimbledon on Saturday.
World No 2 Rafael Nadal brushed aside American Jared Donaldson 6-1, 6-1 and will next face Diego Schwartzman after the Argentine beat Roberto Carballes 6-3, 6-1.
Perry said she had been in touch with the local organising team on a daily basis as they prepare to start the tournament on October 19, pending government approval and confirmation that players will be able to travel.
Former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic suffered a shock 6-7(4), 1-6 loss against Denisa Allertova of Czech Republic in the women's singles first round at the 2016 US Open on Tuesday. Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open winner, started off well but failed to maintain her momentum. With the scored tied 6-6, the first set went into tie-break and the Serbian star failed to keep her nerves.
American veteran Venus Williams was sharpening her reactions for the barrage of big serves she can expect in her Wimbledon semi-final against British favourite Johanna Konta on Thursday, going through a relentless practise routine on the eve of battle.
Britain's Johanna Konta faces an anxious 24-hour wait before discovering whether she will make her debut at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
US Open champion Sam Stosur made a premature exit at the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Monday while second seed Maria Sharapova advanced in straight sets.
Agnieszka Radwanska has added 18 time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova to her coach staff.
Earlier on Wednesday, Czech Karolina Pliskova was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a viral illness.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances