Paris: Defending champion Maria Sharapova overcame 11 double faults and earned a return trip to the French Open final with a noisy victory over Victoria Azarenka, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 on Thursday. Sharapova's opponent on Saturday will be either No. 1 Serena Williams or Sara Errani. Sharapova beat Errani in the final last year to complete a career Grand Slam. The two most notorious grunters in tennis shrieked with nearly every...
09:48 PM, Jun 06, 2013
Paris: Third-seeded Victoria Azarenka became the first woman representing Belarus to reach the semifinals of the French Open by defeating Maria Kirilenko of Russia 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Wednesday. The two-time Australian Open champ won five straight points to lead 6-1 in the tiebreaker before hitting a backhand crosscourt winner to take the first set. Kirilenko, who has never advanced past the quarterfinals in any Grand Slam tournament, double-faulted to...
08:02 PM, Jun 05, 2013
London: Kate Middleton influences beauty junkies women who are fond of beauty products in Britain, reveals a new study. The study, conducted by Europe's online beauty retailer Feel Unique, shows that 30 percent of women in Britain who polled said they were more likely to buy products used by the Duchess of Cambridge, reports eonline.com. The second spot went to supermodel Kate Moss. Fifteen percent of women said they would...
10:41 AM, Jun 05, 2013
Los Angeles: Retired celebrity footballer David Beckham insists his wife Victoria Beckham is "just as beautiful today" as when they first met 16 years ago at a Manchester United match. He also reveals how he was very shy to strike a conversation with her initially. David, who married Victoria in July 1999, said: "I was playing with Manchester United against Chelsea in London, and she came down with my manager....
10:12 AM, Jun 05, 2013
Paris: Women's third seed Victoria Azarenka screeched past Italian former champion Francesca Schiavone into the quarter-finals of the French Open on Monday, winning 6-3, 6-0 on Chatrier Court. Neither player found any rhythm on serve with five consecutive breaks but once Azarenka found her range, she pulled away to advance to the last eight for a third time. The match began in front of a quarter full stadium with Azarenka's...
04:58 PM, Jun 03, 2013
Paris: Former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka overcame a slow start and 10 double-faults on Saturday to rally past Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and reach the fourth round of the French Open. Seeded third, Azarenka advanced despite being broken six times. She blew an easy overhead to lose the first game of the final set, then swept the last six games thanks to relentless baseline play that wore down...
05:26 PM, Jun 01, 2013
Paris: Bethanie Mattek-Sands skipped backward across the clay, her wagging tongue framed by a smile as she savored yet another surprising victory for American tennis at the French Open. Rejuvenated by a rain delay, Mattek-Sands rallied past 2011 champion Li Na 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 Thursday in the second round at Roland Garros. Following the second interruption of the match, Mattek-Sands swept seven consecutive games from Li to take a 5-0...
11:37 PM, May 30, 2013
Paris: Third seed Victoria Azarenka overcame a first-set stumble to reach the French Open third round with a rain-disrupted 6-4 6-3 win over German Annika Beck on Thursday. The Belarussian, Australian Open champion the last two years, raced to a 5-0 lead and was 5-1 up when the match was interrupted by rain on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Beck benefited from a series of unforced errors from Azarenka to reduce the...
10:11 PM, May 30, 2013
Paris: A cacophony of noise on Chatrier Court signalled the belated appearance of women's third seed Victoria Azarenka at the French Open on Wednesday as the Belarusian eased into the second round. The stadium was barely one-third full as Azarenka went through her paces but the low decibel level from the crowd on another chilly day in Paris was countered by the grunts, howls and groans coming from the two...
04:51 PM, May 29, 2013
Paris: Victoria Azarenka used to create the impression on court she was contending with more than an opponent. There seemed to be demons at play as well. Consider her fourth-round meltdown against Nadia Petrova at Wimbledon in 2009. She began mimicking her own movements before sarcastically shaking a linesperson's hand and telling the chair umpire, "You guys have so much power to ruin the whole match." She is now a...
02:19 PM, May 24, 2013
Rome: Serena Williams won her fourth consecutive title of the year in dominating fashion Sunday, beating third-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3 in the Italian Open final. The top-ranked American will enter the French Open, which starts next Sunday, on a career-best 24-match winning streak. Williams was coming off consecutive titles in Miami; Charleston, South Carolina; and Madrid last week. Williams' only previous title at this clay-court event came in 2002,...
06:58 PM, May 19, 2013
Madrid: Maria Sharapova rallied from a break down in the first set to beat Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 7-5, 6-2 on Monday and reach the second round of the Madrid Open. The second-seeded Russian said she was still adjusting to changing weather conditions in Madrid and "the altitude as well" after winning the title in Stuttgart last weekend. "It was a tough match," Sharapova said. "I was really happy that...
11:24 AM, May 07, 2013
Sydney: Pakistani asylum-seeker Fawad Ahmed has signed to play with Australian state side Victoria for the next three seasons, Cricket Victoria said on Friday. Leg-spinner Ahmed, who could be in contention to play for Australia in the Ashes series in England in July if he is granted citizenship on time, was named in Victoria's squad for the next Australian season. "Fawad Ahmed was the success story from last year and...
09:57 AM, Apr 26, 2013
Azarenka withdrew from the Sony Open before her opening match because of a lingering right ankle injury. ...
08:48 AM, Mar 23, 2013
The United States is looking forward to timely, free and fair elections in Pakistan, a State Department official said on Friday, after the announcement of the schedule of the national elections in Islamabad. ...
08:46 AM, Mar 23, 2013
Playing again at No. 1, Serena Williams routed Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-1, 6-1 in the second round of the Sony Open. ...
06:50 AM, Mar 22, 2013
