London: Based on form, Serena Williams is a stand-out favourite to win a second French Open title but her record at Roland Garros means she approaches the tournament with a touch of apprehension and fearful of the "lady in the mirror".
Williams is world number one, unbeaten in 24 matches and has won four consecutive tournaments, yet she remains diffident after last year's debacle when she exited in the first round.
It is 11 years since she tamed the Parisian dust for the first and only time in 2002 but such is her current dominance, coupled with recent claycourt successes, that it is hard to see beyond the powerhouse American.
Last year's queen of the clay Maria Sharapova has already lost two 2013 finals to Williams while her hopes of laying down a marker in the last warm-up event in Rome were hit by illness....
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04:46 PM, May 23, 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
Rome: Rafa Nadal beat Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych 6-2 6-4 to reach the Italian Open final on Saturday with a dominant performance that he described as emotional after his long injury absence. Nadal, who returned to action in February after seven months out with a knee problem, will have the chance to win his sixth title since his comeback when he faces either Roger Federer or Benoit Paire in...
11:49 PM, May 18, 2013
London: After two days of being oppressed by New Zealand, England broke the stranglehold in impressive style to take charge halfway through the first Test at Lord's on Saturday. First, New Zealand was dismissed for 207 to give England a first-innings lead of 25, a significant amount on a tricky, soft pitch. That lead was then boosted from 25 to 205, as Joe Root and Jonathan Trott found runs easy...
11:36 PM, May 18, 2013
Rome: Serena Williams is on the longest winning streak of her career. The top-ranked American beat Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-0 Friday to reach the Italian Open semi-finals and extend her victory run to 22 matches. Williams had twice won 21 in a row before, although both of those streaks came a decade ago, in 2002 and 2003. In the other half of the draw, two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova...
06:43 PM, May 17, 2013
London: New Zealand will assess weather and pitch conditions on Thursday morning before making a final decision on whether to field four pace bowlers in the first Test against England at Lord's. On the eve of the first match in the two-Test series on Wednesday, captain Brendon McCullum said the final place would go to either Doug Bracewell or left-arm spinner Bruce Martin, who played in the drawn three-match series...
09:32 PM, May 15, 2013
Rome: Laura Robson overcame strong winds to beat Venus Williams 6-3, 6-2 at the Italian Open on Monday and set up a second-round match with top-ranked Serena Williams. Both players struggled with the wind at the Foro Italico, with Robson hitting eight double-faults and Venus six, although Venus' errors came at more inopportune times, notably two double-faults in the final game. Robson, who at No. 39 is ranked 15 spots...
08:34 PM, May 13, 2013
Madrid: Defending champion Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday to both retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title. With the top ranking at stake, Williams stormed out to an early lead as Sharapova struggled with her serve. The second-ranked Russian briefly recovered her poise in the second set, but Williams' form never dipped as she eased...
06:34 PM, May 12, 2013
Madrid: Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will play for the No. 1 ranking and the Madrid Open title after winning semifinals in straight sets Saturday. The top-ranked Williams will have a chance to win her 50th title after beating Sara Errani of Italy 7-5, 6-2. No. 2 Sharapova got her 500th win at all levels after defeating Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-3. Sharapova has won all 10 sets she has played...
05:06 PM, May 11, 2013
With cricket world busy watching Indian Premier League, Bangladesh landed in Zimbabwe for a full fledged bilateral series hoping to dispatch the hosts' challenge but they were greeted by a resilient Zimbabwe who did well to draw the Tests series 1-1 and went on to win the ODI series 2-1. Two T20 International fixtures are left, and the Bengal tigers would be looking to end their disappointing tour on a...
08:21 PM, May 10, 2013
Madrid: Top-ranked Serena Williams outlasted Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 0-6, 7-5 to reach the Madrid Open semi-finals on Friday. Williams appeared to wear down against the scrappy Spaniard on the red clay court, and after getting blanked in the second set she fell behind 4-2 in the decider. But the defending champion rallied back to break Medina Garrigues' serve twice to move on. "It was definitely a battle," Williams said....
05:36 PM, May 10, 2013
Madrid : Rafael Nadal cruised into the Madrid Open quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory Thursday over Mikhail Youzhny that featured an array of creative shots. Top-ranked Serena Williams and No. 2 Maria Sharapova also reached the quarterfinals in straight sets. Having already established control by winning Youzhny's second service game, Nadal kept a point going with a deft no-look backhand flick before nailing a winner down the line to...
07:01 PM, May 09, 2013
Madrid: World number one and defending champion Serena Williams continued her serene progress at the Madrid Open tennis when she eased past Spanish wild card Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-2, 7-5 in the second round on Tuesday. Chasing a fourth title of the year and the 50th of her career, Williams had too much power for the slightly-built Dominguez Lino, who nonetheless managed to unsettle her illustrious opponent with some clever...
08:48 PM, May 07, 2013
London: Prince Harry has reportedly revealed the sex of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first child, saying it will be a boy and that he is excited about welcoming his first nephew. And while Prince Williams and Duchess of Cambridge, whose maiden name is Kate Middleton, have made no official comment about the baby due in mid-July, Harry has found it hard to keep the secret, reports mirror.co.uk. "Harry has...
10:59 AM, May 06, 2013
Madrid: Top-ranked Serena Williams won her opening match on the red clay of the Madrid Open on Sunday. She and other stars are glad the tournament returned to the traditional surface after its trial with blue "Smurf" clay flopped last year. After dispatching Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 7-6 (5), 6-1, the defending champion said she liked the new courts at the Caja Magica. "I think these clay courts are really...
11:01 PM, May 05, 2013
Bulawayo: Sean Williams hit a career-best 78 not out as Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by six wickets in the second one-day international in Bulawayo on Sunday to set up a series decider. Playing in only his second one-day match since the 2011 World Cup, Williams was aided by Malcolm Waller's unbeaten 39 as he calmly saw Zimbabwe to their target of 253 with 13 balls to spare. Abdur Razzak's maiden half-century...
09:06 PM, May 05, 2013
Madrid: Former world number one Venus Williams has been forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open due to a back problem, organisers said on Sunday. The 32-year-old American, now ranked 21, was due to play her first-round match against Spanish wild card Anabel Medina Garrigues on the clay at the premier event on Sunday. She will be replaced in the draw by 56th-ranked Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland. ...
03:52 PM, May 05, 2013
London: Development driver Susie Wolff is pushing Williams to give her a proper test in July and keep alive her distant dream of one day racing alongside the men in Formula One. "For me the next logical step is to do the young drivers test, and do it well, and then see what the next step is after that," the 30-year-old Scot told Reuters at a sponsor event on Thursday....
10:41 PM, May 02, 2013
London: Formula One Team Williams made a pre-tax loss of 5 million pounds ($7.76 million) last year due to several long-term investments, including one that makes hybrid systems for public transport. The British-based team announced on Monday its revenue increased 22 percent to 127 million pounds ($197 million) compared to 104.5 million pounds ($162.2) in 2011. But it still swung to a loss, compared to profits of 7.4 million pounds...
06:32 PM, Apr 29, 2013
London: Wimbledon is increasing prize money by 40 percent this year and plans to build a retractable roof over Court No. 1. Total prize money for the Grand Slam event will be 22.6 million pounds ($34.4 million), an increase of 6.5 million pounds ($9.9 million) from last year, the All England Club said on Tuesday. The club called it the largest single increase and biggest total prize fund in the...
06:07 PM, Apr 23, 2013
