Martina Hingis

Martina Hingis (born September 30, 1980 in Košice, Slovakia) is a retired professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, one Wimbledon, and one U.S. Open). She also won nine Grand Slam women's doubles titles, winning a calendar year Grand Slam in 1998, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. Hingis set a series of "youngest-ever" records before ligament injuries in both ankles forced her to withdraw temporarily from professional tennis in 2002 at the age of 22. After several surgeries and long recuperations, Hingis returned to the WTA tour in 2006. She then climbed to World No. 6 and won three singles titles. On November 1, 2007, after suffering from injuries for much of the year, Hingis announced her retirement from tennis while admitting she had tested positive for cocaine during Wimbledon in 2007. She denied using the drug. On January 4, 2008, she was banned from tennis for two years due to the cocaine offense. She has stated that she will not return to professional tennis when this ban expires.

Grand Slam success and period of dominance
In 1996, Hingis became the youngest Wimbledon champion when she teamed with Helena Sukova to win the women's doubles title at age 15 years and 9 months. She also won her first professional singles title that year at Filderstadt, Germany. She reached the singles quarterfinals at the 1996 Australian Open and the singles semifinals of the 1996 U.S. Open. Following her win at Filderstadt, Hingis defeated the reigning Australian Open champion and co-top ranked (with Steffi Graf) Monica Seles 6–2, 6–0 in the final at Oakland. Hingis then lost to Graf 6–3, 4–6, 6–0, 4–6, 6–0 at the year-end WTA Tour Championships.
In 1997, Hingis became the undisputed World No. 1 women's tennis player. She started the year by winning the warm-up tournament in Sydney. She then became the youngest Grand Slam singles winner in the 20th century by winning the Australian Open at age 16 years and 3 months (beating former champion Mary Pierce in the final). In March, she became the youngest top ranked player in history. In July, she became the youngest singles champion at Wimbledon since Lottie Dod in 1887 by beating Jana Novotna in the final. She then defeated another up-and-coming player, Venus Williams, in the final of the U.S. Open. The only Grand Slam singles title that Hingis failed to win in 1997 was the French Open, where she lost in the final to Iva Majoli.
In 1998, Hingis won all four of the Grand Slam women's doubles titles, only the fourth in women's tennis history to do so, (the Australian Open with Mirjana Lucic and the other three events with Novotna), and she became only the third woman to simultaneously hold the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. She also retained her Australian Open singles title by beating Conchita Martinez in straight sets in the final. Hingis, however, lost in the final of the U.S. Open to Lindsay Davenport. Davenport ended an 80-week stretch Hingis had enjoyed as the No. 1 singles player in October 1998, but Hingis finished the year by beating Davenport in the final of the WTA Tour Championships.
1999 saw Hingis win her third successive Australian Open singles crown as well as the doubles title (with teammate Anna Kournikova). She then reached the French Open final and was three points away from victory in the second set against Steffi Graf, but ended up losing 4–6, 7–5, 6–2. During the match, Hingis had infuriated an already partisan crowd by arguing with the umpire over several line calls (crossing the net in one instance), taking a bathroom break early in the final set, and twice delivering a rare underhand serve on match point. In tears after the match, Hingis was comforted by her mother as she returned to the court for the trophy ceremony. After a shock first-round 6–2, 6–0 loss to Jelena Dokic at Wimbledon, Hingis bounced back to reach her third consecutive U.S. Open final, where she lost to Serena Williams. Hingis won a total of seven singles titles that year and reclaimed the No. 1 singles ranking. She also reached the final of the WTA Tour Championships, where she lost to Davenport 6–4, 6–2.
In 2000, Hingis again found herself in both the singles and doubles finals at the Australian Open. This time, however, she lost both. Her three-year hold on the singles championship ended when she lost to Davenport 6–1, 7–5. Later, Hingis and Pierce, her new doubles partner, lost to Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. Hingis captured the French Open women's doubles title with Pierce and produced consistent results in singles tournaments throughout the year. She reached the quarter final at Wimbledon and played great tennis but was beaten by Venus Williams in a thrilling match. Although she did not win a Grand Slam singles tournament, she kept the year end No. 1 ranking because of nine tournament championships, including the WTA Tour Championships where she won the singles and doubles titles.

Injuries and hiatus from tennis
In 2001, Switzerland, with Hingis and Roger Federer on its team, won the Hopman Cup. Hingis was undefeated in singles during the event, defeating Tamarine Tanasugarn, Nicole Pratt, Amanda Coetzer, and Monica Seles.
Hingis reached her fifth consecutive Australian Open final in 2001, where she lost to Jennifer Capriati 6–4, 6–3. She briefly ended her coaching relationships with her mother Melanie early in the year but had a change of heart two months later just before the French Open. Hingis underwent surgery on her right ankle in October 2001.
Coming back from injury, Hingis won the Australian Open doubles final at the start of 2002 (again teaming with Anna Kournikova) and reached a sixth straight Australian Open final in singles, again facing Capriati. Hingis led by a set and 4–0 and had four match points but lost 4–6, 7–6, 6–2. In May 2002, she needed another ankle ligament operation, this time on her left ankle. After that, she continued to struggle with injuries and was not able to recapture her best form.
In 2003, at the age of 22, Hingis announced her retirement from tennis. In several interviews, she indicated she wanted to go back to her country and coach full time.
During this segment of her tennis career, Hingis won 40 singles titles and 36 doubles events. She held the World No. 1 singles ranking for a total of 209 weeks (fourth most following Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert). In 2005, TENNIS magazine put her in 22nd place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Mary Pierce

Mary Pierce (born January 15, 1975, in Montreal, Canada) is a tennis professional playing on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour. She is a French-American who plays under the French flag.
Pierce has won four Grand Slam titles, two in singles and two in doubles. She has reached six Grand Slam singles finals, most recently at the U.S. Open and French Open in 2005. Her Grand Slam singles titles came at the 2000 French Open and the 1995 Australian Open. She won the 2005 Wimbledon mixed doubles championship and has reached three Grand Slam doubles finals. She has won 18 WTA singles titles and 10 WTA doubles titles, including five Tier I singles events. She also has twice reached the final of the season-ending WTA Tour Championships, most recently in 2005.

Early career
Pierce was introduced to tennis at the age of 10 by her father Jim Pierce. Just two years later, she won the US national 12-and-under junior title. In 1989, she became the youngest American player to make her debut on the professional tour, aged 14 years and 2 months. (This record was broken the following year by Jennifer Capriati.) She quickly gained a reputation for being one of the all-time hardest hitters on the women's circuit.
During her first few years on the tour, Pierce was better known for the behavior of her father, more so than her performances on court. Jim Pierce, who also coached Mary, often shouted abuse at her opponents during matches. On one occasion when he was sitting in the stands, he notoriously screamed, "Mary, kill the bitch!" He was also reportedly often verbally and physically abusive to Mary during practice sessions and after defeats. Jim Pierce was ejected from the French Open in 1993 after he punched a spectator, following which he was banned from all Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour events until 1998. The incident also prompted the WTA to pass a new rule (commonly referred to as the "Jim Pierce Rule") which prohibits abusive conduct on the part of players, coaches, and relatives. Mary dropped her father as her coach in 1993 and took out a restraining order against him. A few weeks later, he got into a fight with her bodyguard at a hotel where she was staying. He then sued her claiming that he had been promised 25% of her earnings as a tennis player, and she paid him US$500,000 to drop the suit and to leave her alone. She withdrew from the Wimbledon tournament in 1994 after a British tabloid newspaper threatened to smuggle her father into the grounds.
1994 - 2003
In 1994, Pierce reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open. She was the first player ever to reach this tournament's fourth round while dropping only two games. She conceded just 10 games during her route to the final, which included a 6–2, 6–2 defeat of World No. 1 Steffi Graf in the semifinals. In the final, however, Pierce lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6–4, 6–4.
In 1995, Pierce won her first Grand Slam title by defeating Sánchez-Vicario in the final of the Australian Open 6–3, 6–2. She reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 that year. Pierce also won the Japan Open, defeating Sanchez-Vicario in the final 6–3, 6–3.
In 1996, Pierce suffered a series of setbacks, including her split with Nick Bollettieri after failing to defend her title at the 1996 Australian Open. Aside from a runner-up finish in Amelia Islan, Florida and a semifinal finish in Hamburg, the highlight of the year for Pierce was her first appearance in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
In 1997, Pierce was back in the Australian Open singles final, where she lost to Martina Hingis 6–2, 6–2. She also lost in that year's WTA Tour Championships final to Jana Novotná. Pierce was a member of the French team that won the 1997 Fed Cup, and her only title that season was the Italian Open, defeating Conchita Martinez in the final 6–4, 6–0. Pierce won the Comeback Player of the Year award for ending the year at No. 7 in the world after starting at No. 21.
Pierce won four titles in 1998: Paris, Amelia Island, Moscow, and Luxembourg. In addition, she was the runner-up in San Diego.
Pierce won her second Grand Slam singles title and her first Grand Slam doubles title at the 2000 French Open. In the singles final, she defeated Martínez 6–2, 7–5 to become the first French woman to claim the title since Francoise Durr in 1967. And she partnered Hingis to win the women's doubles crown. (The pair also were the runners-up at the Australian Open earlier that year.)
Pierce helped France win the Fed Cup for a second time in 2003.

2004 - 2005
After a few quiet years on the tour, Pierce won her first title since the 2000 French Open at 's-Hertogenbosch in 2004.
She then burst back into the top ranks of the women's game in 2005. At the French Open, she reached the singles final for the third time, where she lost to Justine Henin 6–1, 6–1. She then reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the first time since 1996. Pierce faced Venus Williams in that quarterfinal and lost the match after a long second set tiebreak consisting of 22 points. Pierce also won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering Mahesh Bhupathi. In August, Pierce won her first singles title of the year in San Diego, defeating Ai Sugiyama in the final.
Pierce then reached the final of the 2005 U.S. Open. In the fourth round, she defeated Henin for the first time in her career and avenged her French Open final defeat by winning 6–3, 6–4. In the quarterfinals, Pierce defeated third seed Amélie Mauresmo 6–4, 6–1 to reach her first U.S. Open semifinal. After the victory, Pierce remarked, "I'm 30 and I have been on the tour for 17 years and there are still firsts for me. That's pretty amazing." She reached the final by defeating Elena Dementieva 3–6, 6–2, 6–2 in the semifinals. In the final, she lost to Kim Clijsters 6–3, 6–1.
After the U.S. Open, Pierce won her second title of 2005 at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. In her quarterfinal match against Russian Elena Likhovtseva, Pierce came back from 0–6 in the third set tiebreak (6 match points down) and won 8 consecutive points to reach the semifinals. The final score of the match was 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(6).
The win in Moscow secured her spot at the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles where the top eight singles players in the world competed for the winner's prize of one million dollars. In round-robin play with her assigned group of four players, she won all three matches: against Clijsters in three sets; Mauresmo in three sets; and Dementieva in straight sets. In the semifinals, Pierce beat top-ranked Lindsay Davenport 7–6(5), 7–6(6); however, Pierce lost the final to Mauresmo 5–7, 7–6(3), 6–4 in just over three hours.
Pierce's year-end ranking was No. 5, a considerable improvement on her year-beginning ranking of No. 29. This matched her career-best performances of 1994, 1995, and 1999, and she was less than 200 points behind Maria Sharapova for No. 4 and less than 300 points behind Mauresmo for No. 3. Pierce's return to form in 2005 was one of the most surprising tennis stories of the year. Her successful performance in 2005 also encouraged the former world No. 1 player, Martina Hingis, to return to the game.

2006
Pierce trained hard in the off-season in a bid to win major titles in 2006. Her first tournament of the year was the Australian Open. She defeated Nicole Pratt of Australia 6–1, 6–1 in the first round before losing to Iveta Benešová of the Czech Republic in the second round 6–3, 7–5. The loss denied her a third-round match with Martina Hingis.
Pierce reached the final of her next tournament, the Gaz de France in Paris, where she lost to compatriot Amélie Mauresmo 6–1, 7–6(6).
Pierce did not play again until August because of foot and groin injuries, withdrawing from the French Open and Wimbledon.
After spending six months away from the tour, Pierce began her comeback at the Acura Classic in San Diego, where she was the 2005 champion. She lost in the quarterfinals to Maria Sharapova 6–2, 6–3.
In just her second tournament in over six months, Pierce played at the U.S. Open. Pierce lost to Na Li, the 24th seed from China, in the third round 4–6, 6–0, 6–0.
Pierce then lost in the first round of the next three tournaments she played. She was defeated in Luxembourg by Alona Bondarenko 6–3, 6–3, who went on to win the title. Jelena Janković defeated Pierce in Stuttgart 7–6(7), 6–3. And Katarina Srebotnik defeated Pierce in Zurich 6–3, 7–5.

Knee injury and return to tour
At a tournament in Linz in October 2006, Pierce defeated Ai Sugiyama in the first round and was leading Vera Zvonareva 6–4, 6–5 in the second round when Pierce ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. She had held three match points before the injury.
Pierce underwent a successful operation in December 2006 and missed all of 2007. Currently rehabilitating her knee in Vail, Colorado, she expects to return to the tour in 2008. Not ready to retire, she stated that she still has things she would like to accomplish, including playing the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Pierce made an appearance at the 2007 French Open as an avenue at Roland Garros was named in her honor - Allée Mary Pierce. She also helped with the social side to the French Open, taking part in the post match ceremony after the women's final.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Daniela Hantuchová

Daniela Hantuchova (Slovak: Daniela Hantuchová, roughly HAHN-too-koh-vah; born April 23, 1983 in Poprad, Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia) is a Slovak professional tennis player.
She is currently working with a number of coaches who work out of the Sanchez-Casal Academy, primarily Angel Gimenez and occasionally with Eduardo Nicolas. Her WTA Tour mentor in the "Partners for Success" program was Martina Navratilova, who was her doubles partner for a brief period in early 2005. As of 25 March 2008, Hantuchova is ranked World No. 11 in singles.[

Career

Overall
Hantuchova has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career, the first in 2002 at the Tier I Pacific Life Open, defeating Martina Hingis 6–3 6–4 in the final, and in 2007 at the same tournament, defeating Hingis again in the fourth round and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final 6–3 6–4 ending a 5-year title drought. Her most recent title came at the Generali Ladies Linz in Austria, where she defeated Patty Schnyder 6–4, 6–2 in the final.
She has reached six other finals in her career — Filderstadt 2002 losing to Kim Clijsters, Eastbourne 2004 losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova, Los Angeles 2005 where she lost to Clijsters again, the 2006 Zurich Open losing to Maria Sharapova, in Bali 2007 losing to Lindsay Davenport and Luxembourg 2007 to Ana Ivanovic.
She has also achieved reasonable results in the Grand Slam events. Her most notable career-bests are three quarterfinals at Wimbledon, US Open in 2002 and the Australian Open in 2003. Also earlier this year she scored a semi-final at the Australian Open defeating Maria Kirirlenko and Agnieszka Radwanska before losing to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. This was seen as a controversial match, where Ivanovic was heard to be squeaking her trainers on the court before Hantuchova's serve, a claim Ivanovic disputes. The score ended as 0-6 6-3 6-4 - after Hantuchova won the first eight games at 6-0 2-0.

Playing style
Hantuchova's game is built around natural timing. She is able to produce "effortless" power from her flowing groundstrokes and possesses a superb down-the-line forehand and backhand. She possesses a heavy serve and has a particularly effective "kick" second serve. Her favourite and most effective construction of a winning point is her flat serve out wide on the Ad-court, followed by a backhand winner down the line. Her volleys are very well-produced and often have the deftest of touch. Due to these attributes she is known as an "All-arounder". A weakness of Hantuchova since she emerged from the juniors was her lack of explosive movement around the court. In recent years, however, this aspect of her tennis has been vastly improved.

Doubles
Hantuchova's biggest successes have so far come in mixed doubles. In this event, she won the 2001 Wimbledon championships with Leos Friedl, the 2002 Australian Open with Kevin Ullyett, the 2005 French Open with Fabrice Santoro, and 2005 U.S. Open with Mahesh Bhupathi. She was runner-up in the 2002 Wimbledon with Ullyett, and she reached the semi-finals at the French Open in 2004 with Todd Woodbridge. At the 2005 U.S. Open she completed a career mixed doubles Grand Slam with Mahesh Bhupathi when they beat Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjic in the final in straight sets 6–4, 6–2. This makes her only the 5th women in tennis history (after Hart, Court, King and Navratilova) to complete a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. In Perth, Western Australia also in 2005, Hantuchova won the Hopman Cup with Dominik Hrbatý.
Hantuchova's other achievements include winning eight women's doubles titles (as of July 2007). From 2005 to early 2007 she played doubles with Ai Sugiyama, with some fans affectionately referring to the team as "Hantuyama". They have won 3 titles together in Rome, Doha, and Birmingham, England, as well as reaching the final at the French Open in 2006 (Hantuchova's first Grand Slam doubles final was in 2002 with Arantxa Sanchez Vicario at the Australian Open). "Hantuyama" won the title of "Fans favorite doubles team 2005" at the Stars for Stars in Miami.
In early 2007, the partnership between Sugiyama and herself ended after Tokyo though the pair continued playing at Dubai and Doha because Hantuchova (eager to play doubles with Martina Hingis) wanted to give Sugiyama time to find a new partner. They only played once (reaching the Semi-Finals of Miami) due to Hingis's subsequent injury which kept her out until Wimbledon. Thereafter she partnered Nadia Petrova and Ana Ivanovic in the bigger tournaments before reuniting with Hingis on the summer hardcourts in America and reaching the third round of the US Open in their first attempt together at a grand slam. In the absence of Hingis in Bali she played doubles with Lindsay Davenport. Over the start of the 2008 season she has played with Davenport, Ana Ivanovic, Martina Hingis and re joined Ai Sugiyama for the 2008 Pacific Life Open

2002
2002 was Hantuchova's breakout season, in which she won her first tournament at the prestigious Indian Wells event, defeating Justine Henin (her first victory over a top 10 player) in the fourth round 6–3 6–3 and Martina Hingis in the final 6–3 6–4. Later on that year, Hantuchova also reached the final in Filderstadt, losing to Kim Clijsters 4–6 6–3 6–4, the only set Hantuchova took from Clijsters in their nine meetings.
Elsewhere in the year, she made the semifinals in Linz, New Haven, Montreal, and Eastbourne. Hantuchova also made her first two Slam quarterfinals, defeating Jelena Dokic 6–4 7–5 in the fourth round at Wimbledon, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, and defeated Justine Henin again in the fourth round at the US Open 6–1 3–6 7–6(4), losing to eventual champion Serena Williams again in the quarterfinals.
Hantuchova went 6-10 against top 10 players; 6–2 in singles Fed Cup play, helping lead Slovakia to their first Fed Cup victory against Spain in the final; 10-6 on indoor carpet, 6–2 on grass, 11-7 on clay, and 29-10 on hardcourts.

2003
Hantuchova started 2003 solidly, reaching the quarterfinals at her first three events in Sydney, losing to Lindsay Davenport 6–4 3–6 7–6(3), Venus Williams 6–4 6–3 at the Australian Open (her third Slam quarterfinal in a row), and Elena Dementieva in Paris 7–5 6–3. Hantuchova reached her first semifinal of the year at her fourth event in Antwerp, losing to Williams again, 6–1 6–4. By then, Hantuchova's ranking was at an all-time high, cracking the top five at No. 5.
Defending a title for the first time in her career, Hantuchova made it to the fourth round in Indian Wells, losing to Amanda Coetzer 6–4 6–4. Despite a first round loss to Alicia Molik in Miami, Hantuchova rebounded in the Tier I Charleston event, making her fifth quarterfinal in seven events, losing to Ashley Harkleroad 6–2 6–1. She made her sixth quarterfinal at her next event in Amelia Island, losing to eventual champion Dementieva 6–0 6–1.
Hantuchova went undefeated in first round Fed Cup play against Germany, winning both of her matches. Following Fed Cup, she again made it to the quarterfinals for the seventh time of the year at the Tier I Berlin tournament, losing to Kim Clijsters 6–0 6–3.
At the French Open, Hantuchova lost in the second round in a marathon match to Harkleroad again 7–6(2) 4–6 9–7 making 101 unforced errors, leading to long-time coach Nigel Sears criticising her attitude publicly. Following the match, her extremely thin physique was noticed for the first time publicly and some wondered about Hantuchova's health.
Kicking off the grass season in Eastbourne, Hantuchova lost in the quarterfinals to Conchita Martinez, but more famously she lost in the second round of Wimbledon to Shinobu Asagoe 0–6 6–4 12-10, with Hantuchova breaking down crying during the latter stages of the match in the midst of making 57 unforced errors. Later people theorised that the media frenzy regarding her weight plus her breakdown during the match, along with personal problems of her parents' divorce and feeling the pressure of success at just 19 years old was the reasoning behind the subsequent fall of Hantuchova from the top of women's tennis.
Following Wimbledon Hantuchova went 6–8 for the rest of the year, 0–4 against top 10 players, 28-23 overall going 4–3 on indoor carpet, 10-6 on clay, 2–2 on grass, 12-12 on hardcourts; and fell to No. 17 in the world. Further signs of the pressure and problems she was facing during this period was that in July she made herself unavailable for Slovakia in the Fed Cup in order to concentrate on her singles career and in November she parted company with Sears.
2004
2004 proved to be largely a continuation of Hantuchova's poor second half of '03 with all the same struggles (she briefly hired Harold Soloman, who had previously coached her friend Jennifer Capriati as well as Anna Kournikova before re-hiring Sears in March), she reached just three quarterfinals, her first of which at the first Tier I event in Tokyo was not until halfway through the season. At Tokyo, however, she garnered her thus far only victory over Maria Sharapova in the second round, falling to Davenport 6–2 6–2 in the quarters. The tournament that saved her from a completely disastrous 2004 was Eastbourne, in which she defeated Ai Sugiyama in the quarterfinals 6–1 7–6(7) and Amelie Mauresmo in the semifinals 4–6 6–4 6–4 before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third final of her career, 2–6 7–6(2) 6–4. However, Hantuchova was serving for the championship, up 6–2 6–5, but got broken.
Hantuchova was ranked No. 54 as she entered Eastbourne, but found herself ranked No. 38 as she went into Wimbledon, losing to eventual champion Sharapova in the third round 6–3 6–1. Hantuchova would make one more quarterfinal at New Haven, losing to Lisa Raymond 6–4 6–3. At the US Open one week later, Hantuchova lost 7–6 in the third to Patty Schnyder in the third round despite having match points in the third set.
Hantuchova finished the year ranked No. 31, with a 24-24 win-loss ratio going 3–3 on indoor carpet, 6–3 on grass, 2–5 on clay, and 13-13 on hardcourts. She finished 1–4 against top 10 players overall, the sole victory over Mauresmo.

2005
Hantuchova reached the third round of the Australian Open, losing to Dementieva in a tight three-setter, 7–5 5–7 6–4. Following that, she made her first quarterfinal of the year in Tokyo for the second straight year, losing to Kuznetsova 7–6(4) 7–6(4). At her next event she reached the semifinals in Doha, losing to Sharapova 6–2 6–4. Then she made another quarterfinal at her next tournament in Dubai, losing to Serena Williams 6–4 6-3; at Dubai also, in the first round, she garnered her 10th top 10 victory over No. 8 Alicia Molik 7–6(8) 6–2.
Hantuchova made the third round at the French and Wimbledon, losing to Clijsters 6–4 6–2 in Paris and eventual champion Venus Williams 7–5 6–3 in England.
Hantuchova had a successful US Open series run, where she reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, getting upset by No. 74 Akiko Morigami 6–4 6–4. After Cincinnati, in Stanford, Hantuchova lost to Clijsters in the quarterfinals 6–3 6–1. And after a second round loss in San Diego to Sugiyama, Hantuchova reached her fourth final in Los Angeles, getting a walkover in the quarterfinals over Sharapova, and got revenge against Dementieva in the semifinals, defeating her 6–3 6–4 (Hantuchova stands 2–0 against Dementieva in semifinals). In the final, for the seventh time in their head-to-head, Clijsters defeated Hantuchova 6–4 6–1. For the third time at the event, Hantuchova made the quarterfinals in New Haven, losing to Davenport 6–2 7–6(5).
Hantuchova would lose to eventual quarterfinalist Venus Williams in the third round at the US Open.
In Luxembourg, Hantuchova made her eighth quarterfinal of the season, losing to Nathalie Dechy 6–1 6–4. In Filderstadt the following week, Hantuchova made the semifinals, her third of the year, defeating No. 10 Patty Schnyder in the second round and Flavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals; she lost to Davenport in the semifinals. And at the final Tier I event of the year, Hantuchova pushed Davenport to three sets and had match points in the second set in Zurich before losing 3–6 7–5 6–2. And in her final event of the year, in Linz, Hantuchova made her 10th quarterfinal, losing to Schnyder 6–2 6–1.
Hantuchova finished 2005 with a 3-10 record against the top 10, 37-25 overall record with 2–1 on indoor carpet, 3–4 on clay, 2–3 on grass, 30-17 on hardcourts, reaching 10 quarterfinals, three semifinals, and one final.

2006
In 2006 Hantuchova reached the quarterfinals of Sydney with a win over top 10 player Patty Schnyder and got to the semifinals of Auckland. She continued this form at the Australian Open with her third round 6–1, 7–6 (5) victory over defending champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, who had entered the tournament with a lack of match practice and questions over her fitness. This victory (the first and only over Serena in her career) ensured Daniela progressed to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in three years. She lost to 4th-seeded Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the fourth round.
Thereafter she was unable to find a consistent level of form. She reached the fourth-round at the Australian Open, but prior to the clay court season she parted company for a second time (and permanently) with Sears. He was replaced by Angel Giminez. After the split with Sears she played her first Fed Cup matches for Slovakia in almost 3 years (Slovakia had slipped from being winners in 2003 to languishing in the Europe/Africa zone having being relegated every year in Hantuchova's absence). It was a successful return with Hantuchova winning her both singles and doubles matches against Luxembourg, her singles match against The Netherlands and the decisive singles rubber in the tie against Great Britain. With the help of Hantuchova's 4–0 record over the 6-day period Slovakia booked a place in the World Group II play-off against Thailand.
Despite disappointing results in the warm-up tournaments she equalled her Australian Open performance by getting to the fourth round of both the French Open and Wimbledon before extending her 2006 Fed Cup record to 6–0 by winning both her singles matches in Slovakia's 5–0 rout of Thailand, which ensured their promotion to the World Group II. Her fourth-round streak at Grand Slams ended when she was beaten by a resurgent Serena Williams at the second round of the US Open, which was the culmination of a very disappointing American hard court season (her record was 7–6 including the US Open, failing to get past the last 16 of any of the tournaments she entered).
Daniela showed what she is capable of producing the week before Stuttgart beating an in-form Tatiana Golovin in straight sets before losing out to Dinara Safina. The following week she reached the quarterfinals of Stuttgart with an easy victory over the now top 10 player Safina in the 2nd round, the same player to whom she had lost convincingly the previous week. This was both her first victory over a top 10 player and appearance in a quarter final since January. In October 2006, Hantuchova reached the final of the Zurich Open. In the first round, she upset 6th seed Patty Schnyder. In the second round, she defeated her doubles parter Ai Sugiyama. Daniela was then scheduled to play World No.1 Amelie Mauresmo in the quarter finals. However, Mauresmo withdrew due to a right shoulder injury. In the semi finals, Daniela upset World No.4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4 6–2 to reach the final of the Tier I event. In the final, Daniela lost in a tight 3 setter to 2nd seed Maria Sharapova. Sharapova winning 6–1 4–6 6–3. The results in this tournament were the culmination of Hantuchova's up turn of form which kept her in the world's top 20 as she had arrived in Zurich outside the top group for the first time in over 11 months. The injury she suffered to her right rib, after Mary Pierce hit a shot at her in doubles, caused her her most serious injury of her career and also forced her to retire in her match against Vesnina the following week in Linz.
Hantuchova finished the year ranked 17th in the world with a 34-25 record. She went 24-17 on hard courts, 5–4 on clay, 3–2 on grass and 2–2 on carpet. She was 4–6 against top 10 players beating Schnyder (twice), Safina and Kuznetsova, with losses to Sharapova (twice), Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne, Dementieva and Nadia Petrova.

2007
Hantuchova's first tournament of the year was at the Tier IV ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, where she lost in the second round to Virginie Razzano 6–1, 7–5. Hantuchova then lost to Nicole Vaidisova in the first round of the Tier II New South Wales Open/Medibank International in Sydney and reached her second consecutive Australian Open fourth round, where she lost to World No. 5 Kim Clijsters 6–1, 7–5.
Hantuchova was then upset in the first round of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo by Roberta Vinci 6–4, 6–4. Three weeks later at the Tier II Dubai Tennis Championships, Hantuchova defeated Maria Kirilenko in the second round 2–6, 6–4, 7–6(4) before losing her quarterfinal match against Amelie Mauresmo 6–3, 3–6, 6–4. The following week at the Tier II Qatar Total Open in Doha, Hantuchova trailed World No. 6 Martina Hingis in their quarterfinal match 4–1 in the second set before coming back to win 1–6, 6–4, 6–4. She then lost her semifinal match against World No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4, 6–2.
In her seventh tournament of the year, Hantuchova won six matches, the last four of which were upsets of higher seeded players, to win the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California. She upset Hingis in the fourth round 6–4, 6–3, Shahar Peer in the quarterfinals 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(5), Li Na in the semifinals 7–5, 4–6, 6–1, and Kuznetsova in the final in straight sets.
Hantuchova, however, struggled in her next four events. She was upset in the third round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida by Vera Zvonareva 6–2, 6–4. On clay at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, Hantuchova lost to Sybille Bammer in the quarterfinals 2–6, 6–2, 6–2. Two weeks later, Hantuchova lost both of her Fed Cup matches against the Czech Republic in Bratislava on clay, losing to Vaidisova 6–2, 6–7(1), 6–3 and Lucie Safarova 7–6(1), 4–6, 6–3. Losing her fourth consecutive match, Hantuchova was upset in the first round of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin by Zuzana Ondraskova 6–1, 6–3.
Hantuchova then reached her first career clay court semifinal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. She upset seventh-seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the third round 6–3, 6–3 before losing to second-seeded Kuznetsova in the semifinals 6–4, 6–2. At the French Open, Hantuchova was upset in the third round by Anabel Medina Garrigues 4–6, 7–6(2), 7–5.
After defeating Eleni Daniilidoun the third round of the Tier III grass court DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Hantuchova was guaranteed a return to the top 10 for the first time since August 2003. She then lost to Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals 5–7, 6–4, 7–5. The following week at the Tier III Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, Hantuchova defeated World No. 6 Ana Ivanovic in the quartefinals 6–3, 6–1 before losing to Chakvetadze in the semifinals 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–2. This result caused Hantuchova to drop out of the top 10.
Hantuchova was the tenth-seeded player at Wimbledon and did not lose a set in her first two matches. She then defeated Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik in the third round 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 before losing to World No. 8 Serena Williams in the fourth round 6–2, 6–7(2), 6–2.
Immediately after Wimbledon, Hantuchova helped Slovakia win its Fed Cup World Group II play-off against Serbia. On an indoor hard court in Kosice, she beat Ana Timotic 6–1, 6–2 and Vojislava Lukic 6–0, 6–2.
Hantuchova played five tournaments during the North American summer hard court season. She began the US Open Series by losing to Chakvetadze 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–2 in the semifinals of the Tier II Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. This result put her back in the top 10. At the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, she lost to World No. 16 Venus Williams in the second round 6–0, 6–3. The following week at the Tier II JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, Hantuchova retired from her third round match with Elena Dementieva while trailing 6–3, 4–1. Hantuchova once again fell out of the top 10 after losing in the second round of the Tier II Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut to eventual runner-up Agnes Szavay 7–5, 6–3. At the US Open, Hantuchova was the ninth-seeded player but lost to Ukraine's Julia Vakulenko in the first round 6–4, 3–6, 6–1. It was Hantuchova's earliest loss at this tournament since her debut in 2001 and her earliest loss at a Grand Slam tournament since the 2004 French Open.
Hantuchova then played four consecutive tournaments. She reached her second final of the year at the Tier III Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali, losing to Lindsay Davenport in three sets. At the Tier III Sunfeast Open in Kolkata, India, Hantuchova lost in the semifinals to Maria Kirilenko 4–6, 6–2, 6–1 but reentered the top 10. Traveling back to Europe, Hantuchova played in the Tier II Fortis Championships Luxembourg. She defeated Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals and Bartoli in the semifinals to advance to her third final of the year for the first time in her career. Hantuchova then lost to World No. 6 Ivanovic in the final 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 after leading the match 6–3, 3–0. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Hantuchova defeated Safarova in the first round but lost in the second round to Dementieva 6–4, 6–4. This loss, however, did not prevent Hantuchova from rising to World No. 9, her highest ranking in over four years.
At the Tier I Zurich Open, Hantuchova defeated Dinara Safina in the first round 7–6(2), 7–6(4) before losing to Agnieszka Radwanska 6–3, 6–3. One week later, Hantuchova won her third career title at the Tier II Generali Ladies Linz. In the semifinals, she defeated Vaidisova for the first time in her career 2–6, 6–2, 7–6(3). Hantuchova then defeated Schnyder in the straight-sets final. This title enabled Hantuchova to qualify for the year-ending Sony Ericcson Championships in Madrid. But Hantuchova did not advance past the round robin stage in Madrid. She lost to Maria Sharapova 6–4, 7–5 and Ivanovic 6–2, 7–6(9) before beating Kuznetsova 7–6(7), 6–0 to finish third in her group.
Hantuchova's win-loss record for 2007 was 52-28. She was 6-11 versus top 10 players, with two victories against Hingis, two against Kuznetsova, one against Ivanovic, and one against Chakvetadze. The losses were to Clijsters, Mauresmo, Chakvetadze (twice), Kuznetsova (twice), Vaidisova, Serena Williams, Ivanovic (twice), and Sharapova. Hantuchova finished the year at World No. 9, her first top-10 finish since 2002.

2008
Hantuchova first started her 2008 campaign by entering the Medibank International as the sixth-seeded player. In her first round match Hantuchova faced Russian Dinara Safina in an epic three set match, which she won 5-7 6-4 6-4. As well as the media for the match Hantuchova received lots of media for wearing the Nike Women's Maria Aussie Dress in the colour of "Tweed", which was deemed to be the signature Australian Open dress for Maria Sharapova; Sharapova eventually wore the dress in white in Melbourne. Hantuchova was then swept aside easily by twelfth-ranked Czech Nicole Vaidisova in the round of 16.
At the Australian Open, Hantuchova reached her first Grand Slam semifinal. She won her first three matches without losing a set but was tested in the fourth round by Maria Kirilenko before Hantuchova won 1–6, 6–4, 6–4. Her quarterfinal match was against the Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska, who had defeated second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova in earlier rounds. Hantuchova defeated Radwanska 6–2, 6–2. Hantuchova then lost to Ana Ivanovic in a semifinal 0–6, 6–3, 6–4 despite Hantuchova leading the match 6–0, 2–0. She subsequently claimed that Ivanovic had been putting her off by squeaking her trainers on the court before serving, a claim Ivanovic disputes. Hantuchova then climbed from world number 9 to 8 in the WTA rankings.
Hantuchova then played at the Open Gaz de France in Paris as the second seed, where she reached the quarterfinals to be beaten by seventh seed Agnes Szavay of Hungary 7-6(4) 6-1 after being up a break in the first set at 4-2, in the previous round Hantuchova came through after beating Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik in three sets 6-4 1-6 6-3 through having a first round bye. She then went on to participate at the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium as the third seed, where again she reached the quarterfinals after beating wildcard Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium in an easy straight set victory 6-4 6-3. she then retired against Timea Bacsinszky after leveling the match 2-6 6-4, but had a large blister on her right hand, which meant she had to retire in the fifth game of the third set at 1-4.
Hantuchova was then scheduled to play at the Qatar Total Open, the first Tier I event of the year and a Tier II event, the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, but withdrew due to fatigue.
At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Hantuchova was the defending champion and fifth seed. She lost to fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals 7–6(2), 6–1. In doubles, Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama were the eighth seeds and lost in the semifinals to the eventual champions Dinara Safina and Elena Vesnina.
At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Hantuchova failed to reach the fourth round in this event for the ninth consecutive year. She lost to former doubles partner Sugiyama in the third round 6–4, 6–7(8), 7–5 despite leading 3-0 in the third set. In doubles, Hantuchova partnered with Lindsay Davenport to reach the quarterfinals where they lost to Sugiyama and Katarina Srebotnik, who went on to win the event.
The following week at the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, Hantuchova was the third seed and received a bye in the first round but lost in the second round to Karolina Sprem 6–3, 1–6, 6–3.
Hantuchova is currently recovering from a stress fracture in her right foot, which resulted in her withdrawal from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, the Tier III Istanbul Cup, the French Open, and the Tier III Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. Her next scheduled tournament is Wimbledon. Hantuchova is also scheduled to play for the Slovak Tennis Team in the Olympics later this year for the second time in her career.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Venus Williams

Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player, former World No. 1, and the reigning Wimbledon singles champion.
Williams has won 14 Grand Slam titles, including 6 in singles, 6 in women's doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. She also has won Olympic gold medals in the singles and women's doubles events. She is the older sister of fellow former World No. 1 tennis player Serena Williams. The Williams sisters are noted for their power games.

Career

1994–1999
Already well-known in tennis circles at age 14, Williams turned professional on October 31, 1994. In the second round of her first professional tournament in Oakland, Williams was up a set and a service break against top seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario before losing the match. That was the only tournament Williams played in 1994. She remained a part-time player on the tour during the next two years, playing only three tournaments in 1995 and five tournaments in 1996.
Williams began to play regularly on the tour in 1997. The highlight of her year was her debut at the U.S. Open, where she lost in the final to Martina Hingis 6–0, 6–4 after defeating Irina Spirlea in a semifinal famous for "the bump" in which Spirlea and Williams collided during a changeover. Richard Williams, her father, later claimed that this incident was racially motivated.
In 1998, Williams teamed with Justin Gimelstob to win the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her sister Serena Williams won the other two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles of the year, completing a "Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam." In singles, Venus won the Grand Slam Cup and the tournaments in Miami and Oklahoma City. She also reached at least the quarterfinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments. She ended the year ranked fifth in the world.
In 1999, Williams won the tournament in Miami, defeating Jana Novotna, Steffi Graf, and her sister Serena in successive matches. Venus also won tournaments in Hamburg, Rome, New Haven, and Zurich. Venus and Serena teamed to win the doubles titles at the French Open and the U.S. Open, becoming the first sister team to win a Grand Slam doubles title in the 20th century. Venus also went 2–1 (1–1 in singles and 1–0 in doubles with Serena) in the United States' 4–1 win over Russia in the final of the Fed Cup, giving the U.S. its 16th title.

2000
Williams missed the first four months of the year with tendonitis in both wrists. At the French Open, Williams lost to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the quarterfinals.
Williams then won 35 consecutive singles matches and five tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, defeating World No. 1 Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals, sister Serena in the semifinals, and defending champion Lindsay Davenport in the final. She won three Tier II events during the North American summer hard court season, defeating Davenport in the final of Stanford, California and Monica Seles in the finals of both San Diego and New Haven, Connecticut. At the U.S. Open, Williams defeated still-World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 2 Davenport in the final. At the Olympic games in Sydney, Williams defeated Sanchez Vicario in the quarterfinals, Seles in the semifinals, and Elena Dementieva in the final to win the gold medal. Her winning streak was eventually snapped in October by Davenport in the final of the tournament in Linz. Williams did not play a tournament the rest of the year because of anaemia.
In women's doubles, Williams teamed with her sister Serena to capture the Wimbledon doubles title for the first time and the Olympic gold medal. Williams became only the second player to win the women's singles and doubles titles at the same Olympic games.

2001
Williams reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time, where she lost to World No. 1 Martina Hingis 6–1, 6–1. She also reached the semifinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, where she defaulted her match with sister Serena. She won, however, the next tournament on the tour calendar, the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, defeating Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 4 Jennifer Capriati in the final.
During the European clay court season, Williams won the Tier II tournament in Hamburg but lost in the third round of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open to Justine Henin and the first round of the French Open to Barbara Schett.
Williams then successfully defended her Wimbledon title, defeating third-seeded Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals and eighth-seeded Henin in the final.
During the summer hard court season in North America, Williams won the tournaments in San Diego and New Haven, Connecticut for the second consecutive year. She defeated Monica Seles in the San Diego final and Davenport in the New Haven final. Williams also won the U.S. Open singles title for the second consecutive year, without dropping a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Kim Clijsters, followed by a semifinal victory over World No. 2 Capriati and a defeat of World No. 10 Serena Williams in the final. Venus was only the third woman in history to win the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in consecutive years, the others being Martina Navaratilova and Steffi Graf.
In women's doubles, Venus and Serena Williams won the Australian Open title for the first time and became only the fifth team to complete a career Grand Slam in that event.

2002
Williams began the year in Australia by defeating Justine to win the Gold Coast tournament and losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to World No. 10 Monica Seles 6–7(4), 6–2, 6–3.
Williams then won the tournaments in Paris and Antwerp and reached the semifinals of the tournaments in Dubai and Key Biscayne, Florida.
On clay, Williams beat Henin in the final of the Amelia Island, Florida tournament before traveling to Europe for two clay court tournaments. In Hamburg, Williams defeated Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in a three-set quarterfinal and World No. 4 Martina Hingis in the semifinals before losing to World No. 3 Kim Clijsters in the final. At the French Open, Williams defeated Seles in the quarterfinals before sister Serena defeated Venus in the final.
Williams then reached the Wimbledon singles final for the third consecutive year after defeating World No. 6 Henin in the semifinals. In the second consecutive all-Williams Grand Slam singles final, Serena defeated Venus in straight sets.
During the summer hard court season in North America, Williams won the tournaments in San Diego and New Haven, Connecticut for the third consecutive year. She defeated World No. 5 Jelena Dokic in the San Diego final and Lindsay Davenport in the New Haven final. She also won the tournament in Stanford, California, defeating World No. 5 Kim Clijsters in the final. At the U.S. Open, Williams defeated sixth-seeded Seles in the quarterfinals and Amelie Mauresmo in the semifinals before losing to sister Serena for the third consecutive time in the final of a Grand Slam event.
Williams won seven singles titles during the year, a career best. In February, Williams became the World No. 1, the first African-American player to garner that spot since the computer rankings began in 1975.
In women's doubles, the Williams sisters won the Wimbledon title for the second time.

2003
Williams started the year by losing to her sister Serena in three sets in the Australian Open final. Williams then won the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium for the second consecutive year, defeating Daniela Hantuchova and Kim Clijsters in consecutive matches.
During a semifinal match against Clijsters at Wimbledon, Williams suffered an abdominal injury that required medical attention during the match. Williams lost the first set and was behind early in the second set before rain delayed the match. Once play resumed, Williams won the match 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, advancing to her fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, where she lost to her sister Serena 4–6, 6–4, 6–2. Following Wimbledon, both Venus and Serena suffered injuries that kept them out of competition for the last half of the year.
On the morning of September 14, 2003, Venus's older half sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered in the Compton, California area.

2004
Williams came back to the tour and experienced inconsistent results. As the third seeded player because of a protected ranking, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Lisa Raymond. After quarterfinal losses in Tokyo, Dubai, and Miami, Williams won the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, defeating Conchita Martinez in the final. At the Tier II tournament in Warsaw, Williams defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. The following week, Williams reached the final of the Tier I tournament in Berlin but was forced to retire from her match against Amelie Mauresmo. Going into the French Open, Williams had the best clay court record among the women and was among the favorites to win the title; however, she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Anastasia Myskina 6–3, 6–4.
At Wimbledon, Williams lost a controversial second round match to Croatian Karolina Sprem. The umpire of the match, Ted Watts, awarded Sprem an unearned point in the second set tiebreak. Upon the conclusion of the match, he was relieved of his duties.
Williams was the third seed at the hardcourt tournament in Stanford, where she lost the final to top seeded Lindsay Davenport in a third set tiebreak. At the tournament in Los Angeles the following week, Williams lost again to Davenport, this time in the semifinals. Williams was leading 5–1 in the first set when she suffered an injury and lost the last six games of the set. She then retired from the match.
In the fourth round of the U.S. Open, Williams lost to Davenport for the third consecutive time. Williams ended her year by losing in the quarterfinals of three consecutive tournaments in Moscow, Zurich, and Philadelphia.

2005
Williams started the year by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Alicia Molik. She then reached the final at the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium, where she was attempting to win the tournament for the third time in four years. She defeated Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals, Anastasia Myskina in the semifinals, and was up a set and a break in the final against Amelie Mauresmo before losing the match. Williams then lost in the first round in Dubai.
At the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, Venus defeated her sister Serena in the quarterfinals before losing to Maria Sharapova. This was the first time since the 2001 U.S. Open that Venus had defeated Serena.
Williams then reached the quarterfinals at Amelia Island, where she lost to top seeded Lindsay Davenport. In her next tournament in Charleston, Williams lost in the third round. She then won a Tier III title in Istanbul, defeating second seeded Nicole Vaidišová in the final.
At the French Open, Williams lost in the third round to 15-year old Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva, who subsequently failed a doping test and was suspended from the tour for two years.
At Wimbledon, Williams defeated defending champion Maria Sharapova in a semifinal 7–6(2), 6–1, breaking Sharapova's serve four times. (Sharapova had lost only one service game to that point.) This marked the sixth consecutive year that at least one of the Williams sisters had reached the final, and it was Venus's fifth appearance in the Wimbledon final in the past 6 years. In the longest Wimbledon final in history, Williams was down match point at 6–4, 6–7(4), 5–4 (40–30) before coming back to defeat top seeded Davenport. This was Williams's third Wimbledon singles title, and this was the first time in 70 years that a player had won after being down match point during the women's final. In addition, Williams was the lowest-ranked (World No. 16) and lowest-seeded (14th) champion in tournament history.
Playing for the fifth consecutive week, including Fed Cup, Williams reached the final of the Stanford tournament after defeating Patty Schnyder in a semifinal 2–6, 7–6, 6–2. Visibly exhausted, Williams lost the final to Kim Clijsters.
At the 2005 U.S. Open, Williams reached the quarterfinals. In the fourth round, Venus defeated her sister Serena for the second consecutive time. In the quarterfinals, Williams lost to Clijsters 4–6, 7–5, 6–1, who went on to win the tournament.
Williams did not qualify for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships because of an injury sustained during the tournament in Philadelphia.
In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her 25th on its list of the 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.

2006
Williams was upset in the first round of the Australian Open by Tszvetana Pironkova 2–6, 6–0, 9–7, which was her earliest loss at that tournament.
Williams was out of action from January 16 until April 30 because of injuries. After defeating Martina Hingis in the second round, she reached the quarterfinals of the J&S Cup in Warsaw, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova. She then lost to Hingis in a semifinal of the Italian Open, after defeating Jelena Janković and Patty Schnyder in earlier rounds. Williams ended her clay court season with a French Open quarterfinal loss to Nicole Vaidišová 6–7, 6–1, 6–3.
Williams was one of the favorites to win the singles title at Wimbledon. She defeated fellow American Lisa Raymond in the second round after Williams was two points from defeat. Williams then lost in the third round to 26th-seeded Janković 7–6(8), 4–6, 6–4. After the loss, Williams said that she was having pain in her left wrist, although she admitted that the injury was not the cause of her loss.
Williams did not play in the U.S. Open series or the U.S. Open itself due to a recurring wrist injury. During her first tournament in almost three months, she reinjured her wrist in Luxembourg and lost in the second round to qualifier Agnieszka Radwanska after defeating Ana Ivanović in the first round.

2007
Williams started the year by withdrawing from the Australian Open because of a recurring wrist injury. This was the second consecutive Grand Slam event that Williams had missed due to injury.
Williams then won the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee defeating top-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel in the final. This was her first tournament since October 2006 and her 34th career singles title.
Williams's next tournament was the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, where she lost in the third round to top seeded Maria Sharapova 2–6, 6–2, 7–5. However, her ranking rose seven places to World No. 32.
She then moved onto clay, playing at the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida. She beat fourth seeded Patty Schnyder before falling in the quarterfinals to the eighth seed and eventual champion Tatiana Golovin 6–2, 6–3. Her next tournament was the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, where she lost in the semifinals to Jelena Janković. Despite the loss, her ranking rose to World No. 22.
Williams played Fed Cup with her sister Serena for the first time in four years, in a home tie against Belgium on hard courts in Delray Beach, Florida, beating the young Belgium team 5–0. Williams defeated Kirsten Flipkens 7–5, 6–2 and Yanina Wickmayer 6–1, 6–2.
Williams then travelled to Europe to prepare for the French Open. At the J&S Cup in Warsaw, Williams lost in the quarterfinals to Svetlana Kuznetsova 3–6, 6–3, 6–4. Two weeks later, Williams played the Istanbul Cup, defeating Tatiana Poutchek in the first round before losing to French hard hitter Aravane Rezai in the second round 6–4, 6–4. This was Williams's first defeat in a Tier III event on the WTA Tour. At the French Open, Williams lost her third round match with Janković 6–4, 4–6, 6–1. During her second round win over Ashley Harkleroad, Williams hit a 206 km/h (128.8 mph) serve, which is the second fastest woman's serve ever recorded and the fastest ever recorded during a main draw match.
At Wimbledon in a first round match on Court 2, Williams was within two points of defeat against Alla Kudryavtseva before winning. In the third round, Akiko Morigami served for the match in the third set before Williams regrouped and won the match 6–2, 3–6, 7–5. In her fourth round match, Williams defeated second-seeded Sharapova 6–1, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Williams defeated fifth-seeded Kuznetsova 6–3, 6–4 to reach her sixth career Wimbledon semifinal, where she defeated sixth-seeded Ana Ivanović 6–2, 6–4. In the final, Williams defeated Marion Bartoli 6–4, 6–1. Seeded 23rd and ranked World No. 31, Williams broke her own record set in 2005 as the lowest seeded and lowest ranked Wimbledon singles champion. During the award ceremony, she said that her sister Serena inspired her to win. With her fourth Wimbledon title, Williams joined Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, and Steffi Graf as the only women to who have won at least four Wimbledon singles titles during the open era. The win also bettered her ranking to World No. 17, her first return to the top 20 in a year.
Williams then played for the U.S. in its Fed Cup semifinal tie against Russia. Williams won both her singles matches over Nadia Petrova and Anna Chakvetadze; however, the U.S. lost the tie when Williams and Lisa Raymond were defeated in the deciding doubles match.
At the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, Williams lost her quarterfinal match to Chakvetadze 6–7, 7–6, 6–2 after Williams double faulted while holding a match point in the second set. Nevertheless, her ranking increased to World No. 14.
At the U.S. Open, after setting a Grand-Slam record 129 mph serve in the opening round, Williams defeated Janković in the quarterfinals 4–6, 6–1, 7–6(4) before losing to the eventual champion, Justine Henin, in a semifinal 7–6, 6–4. Both players had health issues during the match. In the second set, Williams was treated for a stomach ache and dizziness. In the post match interview, Williams stated, "I just was feeling dizzy, a little sick to the stomach. Was just having some energy problems. I'm not really sure what's wrong with me. But, you know, credit to her for playing well." The tournament resulted in Williams's ranking moving up to World No. 9. With sister Serena at World No. 7, it was the first time the sisters were in the top 10 together since September 2005.
Williams then played three tournaments in Asia. Williams won her 36th career singles title at the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul, South Korea, defeating fourth-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko in the final. Despite having a heavily strapped leg, Williams then played in the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, where she lost to Virginie Razzano in the final 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–4 after holding three match points. At the PTT Bangkok Open, Williams lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Flavia Pennetta 6–4, 7–6(8).
Despite officially qualifying for the WTA Tour Championships, Williams withdrew because of continuing problems with anemia. She was replaced by Sharapova, who subsequently reached the final.

2008
Williams began the year at an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, defeating Maria Sharapova in the final 6–4, 6–3. She also won the doubles tournament with Caroline Wozniacki.
Williams was the eighth-seed at the Australian Open. Playing in the quarterfinals at this tournament for the first time since 2003, Williams lost to fourth-seeded Ana Ivanović 7–6(3), 6–4. When asked after the match about whether the quarterfinal losses by both Williams sisters at the Australian Open marked their decline, she replied that she had heard the same talk "every single year. Serena and I, we don't have anything to prove. The way we're playing still maintains what other women are doing in tennis. We still set a very high standard. I don't get too caught up in what the next person thinks." Playing with her sister Serena in the women's doubles event at the Australian Open, they defeated the second-seeded team of Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama in the second round but lost in the quarterfinals to the seventh-seeded team and 2006 Australian Open champions Zi Yan and Jie Zheng.
At the Tier I Qatar Total Open in Doha, Williams was upset in the third round by 18 year old Dominika Cibulkofa of Slovakia. Williams also played the doubles tournament in Doha as a wild card team with Wozniacki. Their first round win marked the first time that Venus had won an official WTA tour women's doubles match without sister Serena. In the second round, Williams and Wozniacki lost to the fourth-seeded Taipei pair of Yung-Jan Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang.
At the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, Williams was the top seeded player but lost to Petra Kvitova in the first round 2–6, 6–4, 6–3 after Williams had lead 2–0 in the third set.
At the Tier II Canara Bank Bangalore (India) Open, Venus and her sister Serena lost in the doubles quarterfinals to third-seeded and eventual tournament winners Shuai Peng and Tiantian Sun. In singles, Venus lost to Serena, the eventual tournament champion, in the semifinals 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(4) on Serena's second match point after Serena had saved a match point while trailing 6–5 in the third set.
At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Williams lost in the quarterfinals to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4.
On April 9, 2008, Williams announced that she will be away from the tour indefinitely but refused to explain other than to say, "I've just been having some issues that I need to resolve, so I'm working on that at the moment and I'm hoping to be back playing as soon as possible. I'm not going to get any further into it, but of course I love the sport." The following day, Williams's agent, Carlos Fleming, said, "This [is] not a hiatus. This is not a break from the tour. This was a limited window where she could get these [medical] evaluations before the three major tournaments and Olympics this summer. Venus has assured me that there's no serious medical problem."
Williams returned to the tour at the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, where she lost in the quarterfinals to fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic 5–7, 6–2, 6–3 .
At the French Open, Williams was seeded eighth but was eliminated by 26th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta in the third round 7-5, 6-3.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Serena Williams

Serena Jameka Williams, (born September 26, 1981) is an American former World No. 1 ranked female tennis player who has won eight Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in women's doubles. She is currently the top ranked American female player. She is the last player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously. In 2005, Tennis magazine ranked her as the 17th-best player of the preceding forty years. She is the younger sister of another former World No. 1 professional female tennis player, Venus Williams. Serena currently resides at Ballen Isles in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Career

1995-1998
Williams became a professional in September 1995 at the age of 14. Because of her age, she had to participate in non-WTA events at first. Her first professional event was the tournament in Quebec City, where she was ousted in less than an hour of play.
Williams's biggest achievement of 1997 was her run in Chicago; ranked number 304 in the world, she upset both Monica Seles and Mary Pierce, recording her first career wins over top 10 players. She finished 1997 at number 99 in the world.
1998 was the first year that Williams finished ranked in the WTA top 20. She began the year in Sydney as a qualifier, ranked number 96, and defeated world number three Lindsay Davenport in a quarterfinal. Williams was then expected to do well in her first Grand Slam tournament, but lost in the second round of the Australian Open to sister Venus.
Williams reached six other quarterfinals during the year. She won the mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open with Max Mirnyi, completing the Williams family's sweep of the 1998 mixed doubles Grand Slams. Williams won her first pro title in doubles at Oklahoma City with sister Venus, becoming the third pair of sisters to win a WTA tour women's doubles title. She earned U.S. $2.6 million in prize money during the year.

1999
In 1999, Serena defeated Amelie Mauresmo in the final of the tournament in Paris, the same day that Venus won the tournament in Oklahoma City. This was the first time in professional tennis history that two sisters had won titles in the same week.
In March, Williams won the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, becoming the second of only five unseeded Tier I champions in WTA history. Williams (ranked 21st) defeated the World No. 2 Lindsay Davenport in the second round, the World No. 8 Mary Pierce in a quarterfinal, and the World No. 7 Steffi Graf in the three-set final.
At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, sister Venus halted Serena's 16-match winning streak in the final. This was the first all-sister singles final during the open era. Serena defeated World No. 3 Monica Seles and World No. 1 Martina Hingis en route to the final.
On April 5, 1999, Serena made her top 10 debut at World No. 9. Venus was ranked sixth the same week, marking the first time that two sisters appeared in the top ten simultaneously since April 22, 1991, when Manuela and Katerina Maleeva were in the top ten.
Williams teamed with sister Venus to win the women's doubles title at the French Open but lost in the third round in singles at that tournament. Williams missed Wimbledon because of an injury.
In the summer, Williams won the hard court tournament in Los Angeles, defeating World No. 8 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, World No. 1 Hingis, and Julie Halard-Decugis.
At the U.S. Open, the seventh-seeded Williams defeated World No. 4 Seles, World No. 2 Davenport, and World No. 1 Hingis to become the lowest seed to win the title and the second African-American woman (after Althea Gibson in 1958) to win a Grand Slam singles tournament.
Williams went on to take the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, defeating Venus in the final.
Williams won her singles match and doubles match during the tie between the United States and Russia in the final of the Fed Cup. The U.S. won four of the five matches and its 16th title overall. In their doubles match, Serena and Venus defeated Elena Dementieva and Elena Makarova 6–2, 6–1.
Williams finished the year at World No. 4 in just her second full year on the main tour.
Williams became the focus of many ad campaigns, including one with shoe and clothes maker Puma, which signed her to a U.S.$12 million agreement.

2000
Following her breakthrough season, Williams's results declined slightly in 2000. Her best Grand Slam showing was a run to the semifinals at Wimbledon, before losing to sister and eventual champion Venus. Her defence of the US Open title came to a disappointing end when she fell to Lindsay Davenport in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
Perhaps the highlight of Williams's year was picking up the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics for women's doubles, along with Venus. The Williams sisters also teamed up to take the women's doubles title at Wimbledon, while Serena picked up singles titles in Hanover, Los Angeles and Tokyo. She finished the year at number six, a slight decline on her finish the year before.

2001
Williams reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time before falling to World No. 1 Martina Hingis. Serena and her sister Venus won the women's doubles title there, becoming only the fifth women's doubles team in history to win all four Grand Slam doubles titles during their career, a "Career Grand Slam."
Williams then won the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California.
Williams reached the quarterfinals at both the French Open and Wimbledon.
During the North American summer hard court season, Williams captured her second title of the year at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, defeating World No. 3 and top-seeded Jennifer Capriati in the final. At the US Open, Williams defeated Hingis in the semifinals to reach her second Grand Slam final before losing to sister Venus.
At the year-ending WTA Tour Championships, Williams saved eight match points before defeating Capriati in the semifinals. She then won the final by default when Lindsay Davenport withdrew.
Williams finished the year at World No. 6 for the second straight year.

2002-2003
Williams was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open due to injury, but won her first event of the year in Scottsdale, defeating number one Jennifer Capriati in the final. She then won the Tier I event in Miami, again defeating Capriati in the final. She then captured her first career title on clay in Rome, defeating Justine Henin.
Williams went into the French Open as the third seed, and ultimately won her second Grand Slam at the event, dropping just two sets en route to the final (against Vera Zvonareva and Capriati) before defeating Venus 7–5 6–3. Williams then moved onto Wimbledon, where she won the title without dropping a set, defeating sister Venus once again in the final, 7–6 6–3. This win moved Williams up into the world number one spot (dethroning her sister and becoming the second African-American woman to take the spot). The Williams sisters also sealed the doubles title at this event.
Williams captured her third straight major at the US Open, once again not dropping a set en route, and defeating Venus yet again in the final, 6–4 6–2. Williams then won back-to-back titles in Leipzig and Tokyo. She reached the final at the WTA Tour Championships, where she was widely expected to win, but lost to 19-year-old Kim Clijsters 7–5 6–3.
Williams finished 2002 with a 56–5 record, eight singles titles, and an overwhelming lead at number one.
Williams carried her domination into 2003. At the Australian Open, she reached the semifinals dropping just one set. She then defeated Clijsters 4–6 6–3 7–5, recovering from a 5–1 deficit in the third set as well as saving two match points. She then faced her sister for the fourth consecutive Grand Slam final, and won 7–6 3–6 6–4, to become the fifth woman in the Open era to complete a Career Grand Slam, joining the ranks of Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. The Williams sisters won their sixth doubles title together at this event.
Williams then captured titles in Paris and Miami, and went into the French Open heavily tipped to capture her fifth straight Grand Slam. However, she lost to eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals 6–2 4–6 7–5 (having led by a break in the third set) in a match marred by controversy, in which Williams was booed. Williams, however, shrugged off the defeat by capturing her sixth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, defeating Henin-Hardenne 6–3 6–2 in the semifinals before defeating Venus 4–6 6–4 6–2 in the final.
Wimbledon would be Williams's last event of the year, as a knee injury forced her to withdraw from all other events (including the US Open).[ As a result, she lost her number one ranking to Clijsters in August, having held it for 57 weeks. Nevertheless, she still finished the year ranked number three, despite having only played eight events during the year.
Williams's older sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered on the morning of September 14, 2003, by gunshots as she passed by in a car driven by a man in the Compton area, which was said to cause great sadness in the Williams family, and is often cited as a factor in the Williams sisters' decline.

2004
Williams withdrew from the Australian Open to continue rehabilitating her left knee. After eight months away from the tour, Williams began her comeback in Miami, where she defeated Elena Dementieva in the final. She then lost in the French Open quarterfinals to Jennifer Capriati 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, which was the first time she had lost before the semifinals at a Grand Slam singles tournament since Wimbledon in 2001. She reached the final of Wimbledon, but in one of the most surprising upsets in the tournament's history, the 17-year old Russian player, Maria Sharapova, defeated Williams 6–1, 6–4.
On July 30 Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match in San Diego against Russia's Vera Zvonareva with another left knee injury. On August 1, she announced her withdrawal from the Rogers Cup due to the same injury. The injury also forced her to pull out of the Summer Olympics.
Williams's next tournament was the U.S. Open, where she lost a quarterfinal match to Capriati. The match was plagued by disputes over calls with the umpire. Williams protested later in a press conference by wearing a bright orange shirt with white capital letters, stating "THE BALL WAS IN!"
At the China Open in Beijing, Williams defeated the newly crowned U.S. Open champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the final. Williams earned enough points there to reach the WTA Tour Championships, where she again lost to Sharapova in the final. Williams suffered a stomach muscle strain during the match after leading 6–4, 2–1, consequently Williams began delivering serves barely reaching the 100 mph mark and Sharapova eventually won the match, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4. Despite the loss, Williams finished the year at World No. 8.

2005
Williams won the Australian Open, her seventh Grand Slam singles title. She defeated three of the tournament's top four seeds (#2 Amelie Mauresmo, #4 Maria Sharapova, and #1 Lindsay Davenport) en route to the title. Like her 2003 Australian Open title where she saved two match points after being down 1–5 in the third set to Kim Clijsters, Williams saved three match points against Sharapova in the semifinals, two of them coming off her own winners. The win moved her up to World No. 2, and Williams stated she was now targeting the number one spot in the foreseeable future.
In March at the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Williams lost to sister Venus for the first time since 2001.
An injury forced Williams to miss the French Open. At Wimbledon, Williams was defeated in the third round by fellow American Jill Craybas (ranked 85th in the world) 6–3, 7–6(4). Williams broke down in tears in the subsequent press conference. She had come into the tournament with a stress fracture in her ankle (which forced her to place extra strain onto her right knee) and a severe lack of conditioning. She also had not played a competitive match for six weeks, missing the French Open.
At the U.S. Open, Williams lost to her sister Venus in the fourth round 7–6, 6–2. This was the earliest the two sisters had met in a Grand Slam tournament since their first meeting at the 1998 Australian Open.
Williams then was forced to take a break for the rest of the year because of ankle and knee injuries. She finished the year at World No. 11 and with just one singles title.
TENNIS Magazine placed Williams in 17th place in its list of "40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era."

2006
Williams, the defending champion, did not participate in any of the official warm-up tournaments for the Australian Open. Williams fell to Daniela Hantuchova 6–1, 7–6(5) in the third round, provoking media reports that Williams had lost enthusiasm for the sport, which she denied. Her world ranking then fell out of the top 50 for the first time in many years, and she withdrew from the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open, and the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.
After withdrawing from the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, Williams's world ranking fell out of the top 100 for the first time in almost a decade. Shortly after, she announced that she would miss both the French Open and Wimbledon because of a chronic knee injury. She said that she would not be able to compete before "the end of the summer," on doctor's orders. Williams, however, made a return to the game earlier than expected, accepting wildcards to summer hard court tournaments in Cincinnati and Los Angeles. She admitted that her six-month break from competitive tennis was as much for a "mental break" as for urgent rehabilitation for her knee injury. Ranked World No. 139 because of her inactivity, Williams upset the Cincinnati tournament's second seed and World No. 11 Anastasia Myskina 6–2, 6–2 in the first round before losing in the semifinals to the eventual champion Vera Zvonareva 6–2, 6–3. Williams's ranking rose to World No. 108 after Cincinnati. In Los Angeles, Williams defeated Hantuchova in the third round but lost in the semifinals to Jelena Jankovic 6–4, 6–3.
Williams was granted a wildcard into the U.S. Open, as her ranking prevented her from gaining direct entry into the tournament. She was unseeded in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 1998. Williams lost to Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round 6–4, 0–6, 6–2.

2007
Williams began the year by stating that she had no doubt she would be World No. 1 again, a comment that attracted controversy She competed in the Moorilla Hobart International in Tasmania, Australia as a warm-up for the 2007 Australian Open. However, she lost to unseeded Sybille Bammer of Austria in the quarterfinals.
At the Australian Open, Williams was unseeded and labelled "out of shape" by many Williams defeated fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia in the third round. It was Williams's first win over a top 10 player since her defeat of Lindsay Davenport in the 2005 Australian Open final. Williams won her next two matches before defeating tenth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova in the semifinals. In the final, Williams crushed top-seeded Maria Sharapova 6–1, 6–2 in 63 minutes to take her third Australian Open singles title and her eighth Grand Slam singles title. The victory elevated her ranking from 81st to 14th in the world, and it was the first time either Williams sister had won a Grand Slam singles title in the absence of the other's participation in the same tournament. Williams dedicated the win to her deceased sister, Yetunde Price, who was tragically killed in a random shooting incident. It was Williams's 16th career Grand Slam title in either singles, women's doubles, or mixed doubles (including 6 Grand Slam women's doubles titles with her sister Venus and 8 Grand Slam singles titles).
Her next tournament was the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, which she had previously won three times. In her third round match, a heckler allegedly hurled what Williams called "derogatory" remarks at her. Williams put the controversy behind her to again defeat Sharapova 6–1, 6–1 in the fourth round. In the final against World No. 1 Justine Henin, Williams won 0–6, 7–5, 6–3 after saving two match points in the second set. With wins over top ranked Henin and second ranked Sharapova, Williams became the lowest-ranked player in history to beat the world’s top two players at the same event.
Williams won her first singles match in the first round Fed Cup tie against Belgium but withdrew from the second singles match to rest her knee.
At the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome, Williams lost to fourteenth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(5). After the tournament, however, she re-entered the Top 10, moving up to World No. 9.
Williams next played the French Open, where she was seeded eighth. Losing only one set in her first four matches, Williams faced Henin in the quarterfinals. Henin secured a relatively easy 6–4, 6–3 victory. Following the match, Williams was so disappointed with her lacklustre performance that she proclaimed, "It's the worst match I've ever played." She also said that she felt "violated."
During her fourth round match on Centre Court at Wimbledon against Daniela Hantuchova, Williams collapsed in agony from an acute muscle spasm while down 4–2 in the second set. After a medical timeout and holding serve to force a tiebreak, the rain came and play was suspended for nearly 2 hours. When the players returned to the court, Williams won the match 6–2, 6–7(2), 6–2. Next up for Williams was a quarterfinal matchup against the top-seeded and top-ranked Henin. Williams started the match with a heavily taped calf and was forced to use a one-handed backhand slice because of an injury to her left thumb. Williams lost the match 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 and drew criticism when she claimed that she would have beaten Henin had Williams been healthy.[9] After Wimbledon, Williams moved up to World No. 7, the highest she had been since 2005.
Because of the thumb injury, Williams did not play a tournament between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She beat 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli in the fourth round, setting up her third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal match with Henin. Williams lost again, 7–6(3), 6–1. It was her third straight loss to Henin and her third straight loss in a 2007 Grand Slam tournament to Henin. At the post match press conference, Williams claimed that Henin had benefited from "lucky" shots and Williams's own errors. She was heavily criticised in the press for not showing sportsmanship, Despite the quarterfinal loss, Williams moved up to World No. 7 in the rankings.
Williams next played in Stuttgart, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–3, 6–3. The following week, Williams played the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Williams defeated Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals but lost the final to Elena Dementieva 5–7, 6–1, 6–1. Williams's performance brought her ranking up to fifth in the world and guaranteed her a spot in the 2007 WTA Tour Championships in Madrid.
William's participation in the WTA Tour Championships was short lived. After retiring from her first match with Anna Chakvetadze due to injury, Williams withdrew from the tournament.[10]
Williams finished the year ranked seventh in the world, the first time she finished the year ranked in the world's top 10 since 2004.

2008
Williams started 2008 by participating on the U.S. team that won the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. In her first match of the competition, Williams defeated Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. She then partnered with Mardy Fish to defeat the team of Safarova and Tomas Berdych. She won her second singles match over Australia's Alicia Molik, 6–2, 7–6(7) and her mixed doubles match against Molik and Peter Luczak. In the final versus Serbia, Williams won her singles match over Jelena Jankovic by walkover and her mixed doubles match over Jankovic and Novak Djokovic, 7–6(4), 6–2. It is the fifth time that the U.S. has won the competition.
Williams entered the 2008 Australian Open as the defending champion and seventh seed. She won her first four matches but lost in the quarterfinals to World No. 4 and third-seeded Jankovic 6–3, 6–4. It was Williams's fourth straight loss in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament. It has been reported that Williams was suffering a toothache during the Jankovic match, which adversely affected her performance. In the women's doubles event, Serena and her sister Venus defeated the second-seeded team, Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama, in the second round 6–2, 7–6. They lost, however, in the quarterfinals to the seventh-seeded team, Zheng Jie and Yan Zi.
Williams then withdrew from her next three scheduled tournaments, the Open Gaz de France in Paris, the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, and the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open due to an urgent need for dental surgery.
At the Tier II Bangalore (India) Open, Serena defeated sister Venus in the semifinals 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(4) after Serena saved a match point while trailing 6–5 in the third set. This was the first time they had played each other since the fourth round of the 2005 U.S. Open. Serena has now won eight of their fifteen career matches. Serena then defeated Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the final.
At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Williams won her fifth career singles title there, tying Steffi Graf for the most singles titles at this tournament. Williams defeated World No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals 6–2, 6–0, World No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, and World No. 4 Jankovic in the final. Williams won the final on her eighth match point. This was Williams's 30th career singles title.
Williams was seeded fifth at the clay court Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. She defeated second-seeded Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals 7–5, 4–6, 6–1. This was Williams's fourth victory over a top five player in five attempts this year. In the final, Williams defeated Vera Zvonareva to capture her tenth career Tier I title and first clay court title since the 2002 French Open.
At the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Williams was seeded fifth but lost in the quarterfinals to thirteenth-seeded Dinara Safina 2–6, 6–1, 7–6(5). This loss ended Williams's 17-match winning streak.
Williams was the fifth-seeded player at the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome and made it to the quarterfinals, where Alize Cornet received a walkover over Williams because of a back injury.
Williams also was the fifth-seeded player at the French Open. Although she was the only former winner of this tournament in this year's draw, she lost in the third round to 27th-seeded Srebotnik 6–4, 6–4.
Williams has agreed to play four matches with the Washington Kastles, a World Team Tennis franchise in Washington, D.C., during July.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Anna Kournikova

Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova; born June 7 1981) is a semi-retired Russian professional tennis player and model. Her celebrity made her one of the best known tennis players worldwide. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name (or misspellings of it) one of the most common search strings on the internet search engine Google.
She has had some success at the singles game, reaching #8 in the world in 2000, but her specialty has been doubles, where she has at times been the world's No.1 doubles player. With Martina Hingis as her partner, she won Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002. Kournikova's major-league tennis career has been curtailed for the past several years, and possibly ended, by serious back and spinal problems.
Kournikova was born in Moscow in the former Soviet Union to Alla and Sergei Kournikov; she and her mother later emigrated to the United States. Currently, she resides in Miami Beach, Florida, and plays in occasional exhibitions and in doubles for the St. Louis Aces of World Team Tennis.

Tennis career
At ages 13 and 14, Kournikova made headlines in international junior tennis, winning several tournaments including the 1995 Italian Open. She was 14 years old when she ended 1995 as Junior European Champion Under 18 and ITF Junior World Champion Under 18.
Kournikova debuted in professional tennis at age 14 in the Fed Cup for Russia, the youngest player ever to participate and win. At age 15, she reached the fourth round of the 1996 U.S. Open, only to be stopped by then-top ranked player, Steffi Graf. Kournikova was a member of the Russian delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, as a 16-year-old, she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, where she lost to the eventual champion, Martina Hingis by a score of 6–3, 6–2.
1998 was her breakthrough year, when she broke into the WTA's top 20 rankings for the first time and scored impressive victories over Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Steffi Graf. Kournikova's two Grand Slam doubles titles came in 1999 and 2002, both at the Australian Open in the Women's Doubles event with partner Martina Hingis, with whom she played frequently starting in 1999. Kournikova proved a successful doubles player on the professional circuit, winning 16 tournament doubles titles, including two Australian Opens and being a finalist in mixed doubles at the U.S. Open and at Wimbledon, and reaching the No.1 ranking in doubles in the Women's Tennis Association tour rankings. Her pro career doubles record was 200-71. However, her singles career plateaued after 1999. For the most part, she managed to retain her ranking between 10 and 15 (her career high singles ranking was No.8), but her expected finals breakthrough failed to occur; she only reached four finals out of 130 singles tournaments, never in a Grand Slam event, and never won one.
As a player, Kournikova was noted for her footspeed and aggressive baseline play, and excellent angles and dropshots; however, her flat, high-risk groundstrokes tended to produce frequent errors, and her serve was sometimes unreliable in singles. Her singles record is 209-129. Her final playing years were marred by a string of injuries, especially back injuries, which caused her ranking to erode gradually.
Kournikova has not played on the WTA tour since 2003, but still plays exhibition matches for charitable causes. In late 2004, she participated in three events organized by Elton John and by fellow tennis players Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. In January 2005, she played in a doubles charity event for the Indian Ocean tsunami with John McEnroe, Roddick, and Chris Evert. In November 2005, she teamed up with Martina Hingis, playing against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the WTT finals for charity. Kournikova is also a member of the St. Louis Aces in the World Team Tennis (WTT), playing doubles only. Her playing style fits the profile for a doubles player, and is complemented by her height. She has been compared to such doubles specialists as Pam Shriver and Peter Fleming. She is the current K-Swiss spokesperson.
In a feature for ELLE magazine's July 2005 issue, Kournikova stated that if she were 100% fit, she would like to come back and compete again.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Maria Sharapova

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 2. She has won three Grand Slam singles titles. In 2004, she beat Serena Williams to take the Wimbledon title at the age of 17. Two years later, she defeated Justine Henin in the final of the 2006 US Open. At the 2008 Australian Open, she beat Ana Ivanovic in the final. Sharapova has been ranked in the top 10 since winning Wimbledon in 2004, the longest of any current female tennis player.
At the end of 2006, Sharapova was the world's highest-paid female athlete.

Playing style
Sharapova has been labeled as a power offensive baseliner by tennis critics and fans. She is noted for having an excellent double-handed backhand and serves, particularly for the power and placement of these shots. She is also noted for having a good forehand. Her shots are penetrating and flat which support her offensive power game. Likewise, critics claim that for her height, Sharapova has decent agility on-court. Sharapova also is not a traditional volleyer, instead using a powerful "swinging" volley for net approaches. Sharapova usually serves for placement, but uses enough power on her first and second serve that attacking that stroke is very difficult for her opponents. She has been trying to develop her "all-power" game, while also adding in slice, drop shots and drop volleys.
Because of shoulder injuries, Sharapova adopted a new service action with a shorter backswing after Wimbledon 2007. Her first and second serve became less effective during the majority of the 2007 season. Previously, she had an elongated backswing to generate power on her serve. However, as a trade-off, the swing also placed incredible strain on her shoulder, leading to Sharapova's shoulder injury at the beginning of the 2007 season. With her shoulder injury apparently healed, Sharapova has since returned to her elongated service motion, and her serve has been more effective in 2008.
Sharapova is ambidextrous and played left-handed until she was ten years old, before deciding to play right-handed. Although she almost always employs a right-handed forehand and double-handed backhand, she has one of the most accurate double-handed backhand shots and is known to occasionally hit left-handed shots as a result of her early left-handed training. She has also been criticised for her loud on-court "grunting."
Sharapova has won every Grand Slam singles title except the French Open. She believes that winning the French Open will be a big challenge and has described her movement on clay as like a "cow on ice."

2001-2003
Sharapova turned professional in 2001, although she played a total of just two WTA tournaments in 2001 and 2002 plus six challenger events.
She started playing tour events full-time in 2003. She won three qualifying matches at both the Australian Open and the French Open to reach the main draw, although she lost in the first round in both events. She received a wild card into the main draw at Wimbledon, losing in the fourth round to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–1, 2–6, 7–5 after defeating the 21st seed and the 11th seed in the second and third rounds, respectively. Sharapova then lost in the second round of the US Open to Emilie Loit. In October, Sharapova won her first title at the Tier III tournament in Tokyo and then won her second Tier III tournament four weeks later in Quebec City. She finished the year at World No. 32 and was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year.

2004
Sharapova started the year by reaching the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to seventh-seeded Anastasia Myskina 6–4, 1–6, 6–2. The week after the Australian Open, Sharapova lost in the second round of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo to Daniela Hantuchova. She then returned to the United States for three hard court tournaments, reaching the semifinals in Memphis, the fourth round at the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, and the fourth round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.
During the spring clay court season leading up to the French Open, Sharapova lost in the third round at both Berlin and Rome, which were both Tier I events. At the French Open, Sharapova reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament for the first time in her career, losing to Paola Suárez 6–1, 6–3.
The tour then switched to grass courts in the lead up to Wimbledon. In Birmingham, Sharapova defeated Tatiana Golovin to win the title.
The 17-year-old Sharapova went into Wimbledon as the thirteenth seed. She reached her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she defeated Ai Sugiyama 5–7, 7–5, 6–1, and then upset fifth-seeded and former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals 2–6, 7–6, 6–1. She then faced two-time defending champion Serena Williams in the final, with Williams the heavy favorite. Sharapova, however, caused one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history by beating Williams 6–1, 6–4, to become the third-youngest Wimbledon women's champion (after Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis) and second-youngest in the open era. She was the first Russian to win the tournament and was, at the time, the lowest seed to win the women's event. (Venus Williams was seeded lower when she won the tournament subsequently in 2005 and 2007.)
During the North American summer hard court season leading up to the US Open, Sharapova played three tournaments. She lost to Myskina in the quarterfinals of the Tier I tournament in San Diego. She lost to Vera Zvonareva in the third round of the Tier I tournament in Montreal. And she lost in the second round of the tournament in New Haven.
At the US Open, Sharapova lost to French player and two-time Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce in the third round 4–6, 6–2, 6–3. During the tournament, Sharapova and several other Russian women tennis players wore a black ribbon in observance of the tragedy after the Beslan school hostage crisis, which took place only a few days before.
Sharapova then played three tournaments in Asia. She lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing. During the next two weeks, Sharapova won the Tier IV tournament in Seoul, South Korea and successfully defended her Tokyo title.
Before returning to the United States, Sharapova reached her first Tier I final in Zurich, losing to Alicia Molik. At the Tier II tournament in Philadelphia, Sharapova reached the semifinals before defaulting her match to Amelie Mauresmo. Sharapova then ended the year by winning the WTA Tour Championships. She defeated an injured Serena Williams in the final after being down 4–0 in the final set. After losing to Sharapova in a semifinal of this event, Myskina said: "He [Sharapova's father] was just yelling and screaming instructions to her and I thought he just might jump right on the court at one point in the match."
Sharapova finished 2004 ranked World No. 4 and was the second-ranked Russian (behind Myskina). She won five titles during the year, trailing only Davenport's seven and equaling Justine Henin's total. Sharapova also topped the prize winnings list for the year.

2005
Sharapova started the year by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams 2–6, 7–5, 8–6, despite holding three match points.
In February, Sharapova won her first Tier I event in Tokyo. Three weeks later, she won the tournament in Doha. To complete the spring hard court season, Sharapova reached the semifinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California and the final of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.
Sharapova participated in two of the clay court tune-ups for the French Open. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin to Justine Henin and the semifinals of the Italian Open in Rome to Patty Schnyder. At the French Open, Sharapova lost in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, falling to Henin, the eventual champion.
On grass, Sharapova successfully defended her Birmingham title, defeating Jelena Jankovic in the final to extend her winning streak on grass to 19 matches. She then was unsuccessful in defending her Wimbledon title. She reached the semifinals without losing a set, where she lost to Venus Williams, the eventual champion.
Lindsay Davenport injured her back in the Wimbledon final, preventing her from defending the ranking points she obtained during the U.S. hard-court season of 2004. Sharapova had fewer points to defend and therefore rose to the World No. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005. She was the first Russian woman to hold the position. Her reign lasted only one week, however, as Davenport re-ascended to the top ranking after winning the title in New Haven.
At the US Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Sharapova lost to the eventual champion in all four Grand Slam events of 2005. Nevertheless, the points she accumulated at the US Open meant that she once again leapfrogged Davenport to take the World No. 1 ranking on September 12, 2005. She kept that ranking for six weeks before relinquishing it again to Davenport following the Zurich Open.
Sharapova failed to defend her title at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships, losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Amelie Mauresmo.
Sharapova finished the year ranked World No. 4 again and as the top-ranked Russian for the first time. She won three titles during the year and was the only player in 2005 to reach three Grand Slam semifinals.

2006
At the Australian Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to Justine Henin 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, the only match of the year that Sharapova lost after winning the first set.
Sharapova claimed her first title of 2006 and eleventh of her career at the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California. She defeated fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva in the final 6–1, 6–2.
Sharapova then lost in the final of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Sharapova participated at the French Open without having played any of the clay court tune-ups because of injury. After saving three match points in the first round against Mashona Washington, Sharapova was eliminated in the fourth round by Dinara Safina 7–5, 2–6, 7–5, after Sharapova led 5–1 in the third set. Sharapova lost 18 of the match's last 21 points.
Sharapova then started the grass court season but failed to add a third successive Birmingham title to her collection, losing in the semifinals to American Jamea Jackson. At Wimbledon, Sharapova was defeated in the semifinals for the second consecutive year, losing to eventual winner and World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 6–3, 3–6, 6–2.
Sharapova claimed her second title of 2006 at the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, defeating top-seeded Kim Clijsters 7–5, 7–5. This was Sharapova's first victory over Clijsters in five meetings. She then played in Los Angeles, losing to Dementieva in the semifinals. This was Sharapova's only summer hardcourt loss of the year.
Sharapova was the third-seed at the US Open. She defeated Tatiana Golovin 7–6, 7–6 in the quarterfinals before defeating Mauresmo in a semifinal 6–0, 4–6, 6–0. Sharapova then prevailed over second-ranked Henin in the final 6–4, 6–4 to win her second Grand Slam singles title, having dropped just one set en route and joining the list of eight players who had beaten the top two players in the world to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Sharapova then won two tournaments in consecutive weeks. At the Tier I Zurich Open, Sharapova defeated Daniela Hantuchova in the final. At the Generali Ladies Linz, Sharapova beat fellow Russian and defending champion Nadia Petrova to take her fifth title of 2006 and the 15th title of her career.
Until her loss in the semifinals of the WTA Tour Championships to Henin, Sharapova had won 19 consecutive matches. She finished the year at World No. 2 and, for the second year, as the top Russian player. During the year, she compiled a 59-9 record and won five titles (second only to Henin's six), including three Tier I titles, more than any other player.

2007
Sharapova reached the final of the JB Group Classic, an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, where she was defeated by Kim Clijsters 6–3, 7–6(8).
Sharapova was the top seed at the Australian Open because of World No. 1 Justine Henin's withdrawal. Sharapova defeated the 62nd-ranked Camille Pin in the first round 6–3, 4–6, 9–7 on her fourth match point in air temperatures that exceeded 40 °C (104 °F) and on-court temperatures that exceeded 50 °C (122 °F). In the semifinals, Sharapova defeated fourth-seeded Clijsters to reach her first Australian Open final and gain the opportunity to win the only Grand Slam singles title that a Russian woman had not yet won. However, Serena Williams, ranked World No. 81, overpowered Sharapova 6–1, 6–2 in the final. Reaching the final allowed Sharapova to recapture the World No. 1 ranking.
Partly due to hamstring and shoulder injuries that reduced the effectiveness of her serve, Sharapova did not win any of her next three tournaments. At the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Sharapova retired from her semifinal match with Ana Ivanovic. At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Sharapova lost to Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 after Sharapova lead 5–4 in the second set. This loss resulted in her losing the World No. 1 ranking. In the fourth round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Sharapova lost to Serena Williams for the second consecutive time 6–1, 6–1. In the third round of that tournament, Sharapova had beaten Venus Williams 2–6, 6–2, 7–5.
Injuries forced Sharapova to miss most the clay court season for the second consecutive year. Her only tune-up for the French Open was the Istanbul Cup, where she lost to Frenchwoman Aravane Rezaï in the semifinals 6–2, 6–4. She then reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career (saving a match point against Patty Schnyder in the fourth round), but fell to Ivanovic 6–2, 6–1.
On grass at the DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Sharapova lost in the final to second seeded Jelena Jankovic 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. At Wimbledon, Sharapova lost to Venus Williams in the fourth round 6–1, 6–3.
Sharapova's first summer hardcourt tournament was the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, California, where she was the defending champion. She progressed to the final relatively easily, showing few of the serving problems that had dogged her all year. In the final, she defeated eleventh-seeded Schnyder 6–2, 3–6, 6–0, claiming her first title of the year, fifth Tier I title of her career, and the 16th singles title of her career.
At the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles, a shin injury caused Sharapova to withdraw from her semifinal match with fellow Russian Nadia Petrova shortly before the match started. Nevertheless, she clinched the US Open Series for the first time.
Seeded second at the 2007 U.S. Open, Sharapova won her first two matches with the loss of only two games but then lost her third round match to 18-year-old Pole Agnieszka Radwańska 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, partly due to poor serving and a host of unforced errors. It was Sharapova's earliest exit at a Grand Slam singles tournament since she lost in the same round at the 2004 U.S. Open.
Sharapova did not play again until the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the second round, 7–6(9), 6–2 (after a first-round bye). The recurring shoulder problem then forced Sharapova to withdraw from events in Zurich and Linz, at both of which she was the defending champion.
Sharapova qualified for the WTA Tour Championships only because Venus Williams withdrew from the tournament. Playing only her second match in two months, Sharapova beat World No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova 6–4, 7–5 in her first round-robin match, before coming from a set down to defeat World No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova 5–7, 6–2, 6–2 to ensure a place in the semifinals. In her final round robin match, Sharapova defeated Ivanovic 6–1, 6–2 in just over an hour. As the winner of the Red Group, Sharapova then played the runner-up of the Yellow Group, Anna Chakvetadze, in the semifinals. Sharapova won that match 6–2, 6–2. In the final, Sharapova lost to World No. 1 Henin 5–7, 7–5, 6–3 in a match that lasted 3 hours and 24 minutes. This was the 12th longest tour match during the open era. Sharapova ended the year as World No. 5 on the official WTA tour rankings, the fourth consecutive year that she finished in the top five. However, for the first time since 2004, she did not finish the year as the top ranked Russian. Kuznetsova, who finished World No. 2, held that honor. Sharapova also won just one title (at San Diego), the first time she had failed to win at least two titles since 2002 (when she played just three WTA matches).

2008
After beating Anna Chakvetadze in an exhibition match in Singapore, Sharapova reached the final of the JB Group Classic exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, where she lost to Venus Williams in the final 6–4, 6–3.
Sharapova was the fifth seed at the Australian Open, her lowest seeding at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 2004 U.S. Open. On the way to the quarterfinals, Sharapova defeated Lindsay Davenport in the second round and Elena Dementieva in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, Sharapova defeated World No. 1 Justine Henin 6–4, 6–0, snapping Henin's 32-match winning streak. Sharapova then reached her second consecutive Australian Open final when she defeated an injured Jelena Jankovic 6–3, 6–1. She defeated Ana Ivanovic in the final, dropping only 10 service points during the match. She won this tournament without dropping a set.
After the Australian Open, Sharapova participated for the first time in Fed Cup. In the quarterfinal tie against Israel, Sharapova helped Russia reach the semifinals by winning her singles matches against Tzipora Obziler and Shahar Pe'er.
At the Qatar Total Open in Doha, Sharapova won the singles title by defeating Vera Zvonareva in a three-set final. This was Sharapova's second title of the year, sixth career Tier I singles title, 18th career singles title, and 14th consecutive match win. She has won the Doha singles title both years she has played the event, the first coming in 2005.
At the Tier I Pacific Life Open, Sharapova defeated the defending champion, Daniela Hantuchova, in the quarterfinals 7–6(2), 6–1 before losing in the semifinals to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–3, 5–7, 6–2. This was Sharapova's first loss of the year after 18 wins. Sharapova then withdrew from the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida because of a shoulder injury.
At the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, Sharapova was the top seeded player. She defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues in the third round 7–6(3), 5–7, 7–6(1) in 3 hours and 27 minutes. She then defeated 2008 Australian Open women's doubles champion Alona Bondarenko in the quarterfinals 6–7(9), 6–3, 6–2 in 2 hours and 43 minutes. In the semifinals, Sharapova received a walkover to the final after her opponent, Lindsay Davenport, withdrew due to illness. Sharapova then defeated Dominika Cibulkova in her first career clay court final. Immediately after this win, her ranking rose to World No. 4.
At the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, Sharapova lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals 7–5, 4–6, 6–1 after Sharapova had a set point at 5-3 in the first set and served for the set at 5–4. Sharapova claimed the second set but then lost the first five games of the final set. Her ranking rose to World No. 3 as a result of this tournament.
Sharapova was the second-seeded player at the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. She defeated Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals 6–7(3), 7–5, 6–2 but then did not play her semifinal against Jankovic due to a calf injury. Sharapova nevertheless regained the World No. 1 ranking because of Henin's sudden retirement from professional tennis and request to the Women's Tennis Association that her own ranking be removed immediately.
Sharapova was the top-seeded player at the French Open. In the first round, she defeated compatriot Evgeniya Rodina 6–1, 3–6, 8–6 after being two points from becoming the first female top seeded player in the open era to lose in the first round of this tournament. In the second round, Sharapova struggled to defeat American Bethanie Mattek 6–2, 3–6, 6–2. Sharapova then beat 32nd-seeded Karin Knapp in the third round. Dinara Safina, the 13th seed, then defeated Sharapova in a 2 hour, 52 minute fourth round match 6–7(6), 7–6(5), 6–2. Sharapova saved two set points in the first set tiebreaker before winning the last four points to take the set and then had a match point at 5–3 in the second set. Sharapova broke Safina in the opening game of the third set, but Safina won the last four games of the match, breaking Sharapova's serve twice. Sharapova lost the match despite hitting 65 winners and only 39 unforced errors.
Sharapova's next scheduled tournament is Wimbledon.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG