Henin, Serena fall in Aussie quarters

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Justine Henin and defending champion Serena Williams both lost their quarterfinal matches Tuesday at the Australian Open.

In the marquee match of the day, fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova swatted 30 winners on her way to stunning the 2004 Melbourne titlist Henin 6-4, 6-0. Sharapova was last year's Aussie Open runner-up to the three-time champion Williams.

Sharapova dismissed Henin in 1 hour, 38 minutes. The big Russian needed 61 minutes to capture a tight first set, and then cruised in the second in eye-popping fashion.

The Russian recorded 19 more winners than her Belgian counterpart and broke Henin's serve five times, while losing her powerful serve only once throughout the bout...Full Story

Serena advances at U.S. Open

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - American Serena Williams downed Marion Bartoli in straight sets to advance to the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Sunday.
The eighth-seeded Williams overcame a persistent thumb injury to top the 10th- seeded Frenchwoman 6-3, 6-4.
Williams will now move on to face the winner of a night match between No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 15 Dinara Safina.

Henin, Serena reach QFs; Venus survives third-rounder at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Top-seeded and 2006 runner-up Justine Henin and two-time winner Serena Williams will square off in the quarterfinals, while three-time champion Venus Williams survived her third- round match Monday to setup a fourth-round showdown with Maria Sharapova at a rain-plagued Wimbledon.
The world No. 1 and two-time Wimbledon runner-up Henin cruised past 15th- seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-2, 6-2 on yet another rain-interrupted day at the All England Club. Henin will now meet Serena in a quarterfinal showdown here.
Henin erased the lefthanded Schnyder in 56 minutes to reach her fifth Wimbledon quarterfinal.
The 25-year-old Henin is a six-time major titlist, including a third straight and fourth overall French Open title last month. The Belgian stalwart lost to Amelie Mauresmo in last year's Wimbledon final and gave way to Venus in the 2001 title bout here.
Henin still needs Wimbledon to complete a career Golden Slam. She already owns Australian, French, U.S. Open and Olympic titles, not to mention a Fed Cup championship. She's trying to reach her sixth Grand Slam final in as many tries, as she appeared in all four major finals last year, skipped this year's Aussie Open and returned to the French Open final last month.
The diminutive Henin has won her last 15 matches on tour, including a grass- court title in Eastbourne the week before Wimbledon 2007 commenced.

Henin, Jankovic, Serena win third-rounders at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Belgian Justine Henin, Serbian Jelena Jankovic and two-time champion and former world No. 1 Serena Williams were a trio of third-round winners Friday at Wimbledon 2007.
Henin, who captured a third straight and fourth overall French Open title earlier this month, giving her six career Grand Slam titles, easily defeated Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 after the match was delayed about an hour in the second set due to rain.
Henin, the two-time Wimbledon runner-up, still needs a title here to complete a career Grand Slam.
Henin, now 25-6 at the All England Club, having won nine of her last 10 matches here, will meet 15th seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the fourth round. Schnyder outlasted 24th seed Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 in their third-round bout.
A third-seeded Jankovic came from behind to down Czech Lucie Safarova 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to advance to round four. The rising star Jankovic reached the French Open semis three weeks ago, then captured a grass- court title in Birmingham by beating Maria Sharapova in the final and was a runner-up last week in The Netherlands.
In the fourth round, Jankovic will meet Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, the 18th seed, who easily defeated No. 16 Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-2.
The seventh-seeded Williams improved to an impressive career record of 36-5 at Wimbledon after whipping Venezuelan Milagros Sequera 6-1, 6-0 in just 43 minutes.
The eight-time Grand Slam event champion Williams captured Wimbledon back-to- back in 2002 and 2003 and was the 2004 runner-up here to Sharapova. The American star captured this year's Australian Open by pasting Sharapova in the finale in Melbourne.
Up next for Williams will be No. 10 Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, who rebounded from an opening set loss to defeat No. 19 Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In an upset, five-time major titlist Martina Hingis was sent packing, as the ninth-seeded veteran lost to American Laura Granville 6-4, 6-2. Hingis captured Wimbledon as a 16-year-old 10 years ago, as she corralled three of the four Grand Slam titles back in 1997. The "Swiss Miss" hasn't secured a major championship since the 1999 Aussie Open.
There was another upset on Day 5 as No. 31 Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands outlasted eight seed Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 7-6 (10-8), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.
On Saturday, the second-seeded Sharapova battles Ai Sugiyama as third-round action continues while No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo will play 26th seed Mara Santangelo. Svetlana Kuznetsova, the fifth seed, squares off against Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 6 Ana Ivanovic will play Aravane Rezai. Venus Williams will also be in action as she will take on Akiko Morigami.

WTA: Venus and Serena will play in Fed Cup semi against Russia

White Plains, NY (Sports Network) - Eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, five-time major titlist Venus Williams, the world's No. 1 women's doubles player Lisa Raymond and Vania King comprise the United States' team that will host Russia in the 2007 Fed Cup World Group semifinals next month.
The Americans and Russians will square off in a best-of-five tie from July 14-15 at the Stadium at Topnotch in Stowe, Vermont. This same American team, captained by Zina Garrison, routed Belgium 5-0 in a quarterfinal at Delray Beach, Florida.
"Venus, Serena, Lisa and Vania are committed to continuing their success as a team," Garrison said. "Russia is certainly a formidable opponent and we look to play our very best tennis in front of a loud, patriotic crowd in Stowe."
The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, with the last coming in 2000.
The U.S. and Russia have met five times in Fed Cup play, with the Americans leading the all-time series 4-1. Russia won the most recent matchup, however, defeating the U.S. in the 2005 semis on the way to its second consecutive -- and second-ever -- Fed Cup crown.
The USA-Russia winner will meet either France or Italy in the World Group Final.