Wimbledon: Quarterfinal Handshake

Wimbledon Doubles: Quarterfinal Wednesday

Quarterfinal

Venus/Serena (USA)[4] vs A. Groenefeld (GER)[12]/V. King(USA)

1st Match of the day on Court 2

Wimbledon: Serena annihilates Azarenka!

Wow! Serena truly stepped it up in her quarterfinal match. Serena played some awesome and near flawless tennis in her demolition of Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3. Serena had only one unforced error in the 1st set. She swept through the first set against the eighth-ranked Azarenka in 26 minutes. After being broken to go down 3-2 in the second, she won four straight games and held serve at love to finish the match in commanding fashion. Serena had nine aces and 26 winners, with only seven unforced errors.

Only once in the last nine years has there been a Wimbledon women's final that didn't feature at least one of the Williams sisters. The sisters were the only two Grand Slam winners in the women's quarterfinals — Serena has 10 major titles and Venus seven. The sisters have met in three Wimbledon finals, including last year. Serena won two of the three, in 2002 and '03, with Venus winning in 2008. Serena will face Elena Dementieva in Thursday's semifinal match.

Serena wins BET Award!

Congratulations to Serena, the recipient of the 2009 BET Best Female Athlete Award. Serena also won this award in 2004 and 2005.

Wimbledon: Quarterfinal Tuesday

Quarterfinal

[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs [8] Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
Serena leads Head-to-Head 2-1

2nd Match Of The Day on Center Court

Wimbledon Doubles: Team Williams marches on

Venus and Serena are steamrolling the competition as evidenced in their 3rd round doubles annihilation of Zi Yan and Jie Zheng (of China) 6-0, 6-0. The match lasted 46 minutes. The Williams Sisters had only 5 unforced errors and 25 winners. They also won 86% of their 1st serves and converted 6 of 9 break point opportunities. Phenomenal!! To the competition, be afraid, be very afraid. (LOL).

Wimbledon: 4th Round photo

Wimbledon R4: Serena defeats Daniela

Serena's play was quite impressive and close to perfection as she defeated Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1. Serena played with passion, power and purpose. The second-seeded Williams lost just two points on her first serve Monday and broke Hantuchova five times to complete the win in 56 minutes. Match Statistics: 7 aces, 52% 1st serve percentage, 1 double fault, won 91% of 1st serves and 55% of 2nd serves, 28 winners, 12 unforced errors, converted 5 of 9 break point opportunities and won 89% of her net approaches. Sensational Serena! Keep up the good work. She will face Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals.

Wimbledon Doubles: 3rd Round (Monday)

3rd Round

Venus/Serena (USA)[4] vs Zi Yan/Jie Zheng (CHN)[13]
4th Match of the day on Court 18

Wimbledon: 4th Round (Monday)

4th Round
[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)

Serena leads Head-to-Head 6-1
2nd Match Of The Day on Court Two

Wimbledon Doubles: Williams Sisters on a roll

The Williams Sisters have defeated Sabine Lisicki (GER) / Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 6-1, 6-4 in 2nd Round Doubles action today. The Sisters had 7 aces, 1 double fault, won 84% of their first serves and 59% of their second serves. They also had 35 winners and converted 4 of 5 break point opportunities. Their fastest serve speed for the match: 120mph.

Serena "tweets" on the loss of Michael Jackson

"My heart goes out to the entire Jackson Family."

--Michael Jackson died (yesterday) after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest. His brother Jermaine Jackson said he believed the 50-year-old singer fell ill at his Holmby Hills home in Los Angeles. He was taken to the UCLA medical centre where he was pronounced dead at 2.26pm Pacific time.

Wimbledon R3: Serena defeats Roberta Vinci

Twice former champion Serena Williams outclassed Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4 to book her place in the fourth round at Wimbledon on Friday. Serena breezed through the opening set in 28 minutes. She hit 10 aces, including one on match point, and committed only 12 unforced errors.

Williams won for the 172nd time in 200 Grand Slam matches. The only other woman to play so many matches in major tournaments is her sister, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams (219). Williams became the first player to earn a spot in the second week of the tournament. She will play either Japan’s Ai Sugiyama or Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia for a place in the quarter-finals.

Wimbledon Doubles: 2nd Round (Friday)

2nd Round
Venus/Serena (USA)[4] vs Sabine Lisicki /Aleksandra Wozniak

4th Match of the day on Court 2

Wimbledon: 3rd Round (Friday)

3rd Round

[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs Roberta Vinci (ITA)
Head-to-Head 0-0

1st Match Of The Day on Court Two

Wimbledon Doubles: Williams Sisters advance

Venus and Serena Williams defeated Virginie Razzano and Aravane Rezai (of France) 6-3, 6-3 in 1st Round Wimbledon Doubles action on Thursday. The Williams Sisters won 83% of their 1st serves. The Sisters had 37 winners and their fastest serve was 122mph.

Serena nominated for ESPY Award

SERENA WILLIAMS, Candace Parker, Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin, Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin and Connecticut basketball player Maya Moore have been nominated for the Best Female Athlete ESPY award.

The ESPY Awards take place in LA to honor the coolest and best star athletes and memorable moments from the past year. The 17th Annual ESPY awards (hosted by Samuel L. Jackson) will take place on July 15th and the taped ceremony will air on ESPN on July 19 at 9PM.

Begun by cable sports channel ESPN in 1993, the annual ESPY Awards allows sports fans worldwide to join in an online vote for their favorites in such categories as Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete, Best Coach/Manager, Team of the Year, Breakthrough Athlete, Best Moment, and Best Comeback of the Year. Unlike most awards shows, the ESPYs are probably most noted for its contribution to charity, as a portion of the proceeds is donated to The V Foundation, named for its founder, Jim Valvano. The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is another ESPY highlight, honoring an invidual for their personal courage or charitable works outside the sports arena, with past winners including such trailblazers as Muhammad Ali and tennis star Billie Jean King.

Wimbledon Doubles: 1st Round (Thursday)

1st Round

Venus/Serena (USA)[4] vs Virginie Razzano/Aravane Rezai (FRA)
3rd Match of the day on Court 4

Wimbledon R2: Serena defeats Jarmila Groth

Serena Williams eased into the third round at Wimbledon with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Jarmila Groth of Australia. The match lasted 58 minutes. Serena's match statistics: 74% 1st serve percentage, 5 aces, 3 double faults, won 81% of 1st serves, 45% of 2nd serves, 14 winners and 6 unforced errors. Her fastest serve of the match was clocked at 119mph. Serena's third round opponent will be Italy's Roberta Vinci. Keep up the good work Serena!!

Wimbledon: 2nd Round (Wednesday)

2nd Round
[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs Jarmila Groth (AUS)

Serena leads Head-to-Head 1-0
2nd Match Of The Day on Court One

Wimbledon R1: Serena defeats Neuza Silva

Serena got her 2009 Wimbledon campaign off to a winning start by defeating Neuza Silva 6-1, 7-5. Serena has never lost in the 1st round of a Grand Slam, she's a perfect 39-0. Serena breezed through the first set and then relied on her powerful serve in the second. She did not face a break point in the entire match, only losing nine points on her serve. Serena's match statistics: 9 aces, 31 winners, 2 double faults, and 18 unforced errors. Serena's second round opponent will be Jarmila Groth of Australia. Congratulations Serena!

Wimbledon: Serena says "Venus is the best"

"Venus is everyone's worry. She's the best grasscourt player in our generation. She has an amazing serve which helps a lot, an amazing return and is really fast. She also has long arms so she just gets everything back. It's hard playing a player like that especially on grass where it's faster and you have that much less time to react. She's also a smart player."

Wimbledon: 1st Round (Monday)

1st Round

[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs Neuza Silva (POR)

Head-to-Head 0-0

2nd Match Of The Day on Center Court

Wimbledon: Serena's practicing...

Wimbledon: Williams Sisters playing Doubles

Venus and Serena Williams have also entered the Doubles Draw at Wimbledon. They are seeded 4th and their 1st Round opponents will be Virginie Razzano and Aravane Rezai (both of France).

ON THE LINE - (Book Description)

One of the biggest stars in tennis, Serena Williams has captured every major title. Her 2009 Australia Open championship earned her the #1 world ranking for the third time in her illustrious career - and marked only the latest exclamation point on a life well and purposefully lived. As a young girl, Serena began training with an adult-sized racquet that was almost as big as her. Rather than dropping the racquet, Serena saw it as a challenge to overcome-and she has confronted every obstacle on her path to success with the same unflagging spirit.

From growing up in the tough, hardscrabble neighborhood of Compton, California, to being trained by her father on public tennis courts littered with broken glass and drug paraphernalia, to becoming the top women's player in the world, Serena has proven to be an inspiration to her legions of fans both young and old.

Her accomplishments have not been without struggle: being derailed by injury, devastated by the tragic shooting of her older sister, and criticized for her unorthodox approach to tennis. Yet somehow, Serena always manages to prevail. Both on the court and off, she's applied the strength and determination that helped her to become a champion to successful pursuits in philanthropy, fashion, television and film. In this compelling and poignant memoir, Serena takes an empowering look at her extraordinary life and what is still to come.

Ralph Lauren / WTA Pre-Wimbledon Player Party

On Thursday night, tennis stars attended the Ralph Lauren / Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Pre-Wimbledon Player Party. Venus and Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva and British No.1 Anne Keothavong all wore outfits by Ralph Lauren. Britain's last Wimbledon singles champion, Virginia Wade, mediated a question and answer session with the tennis stars.

Wimbledon: Sisters on opposite sides of draw

The Williams Sisters, who have combined for seven of the past nine Wimbledon titles and met for last year's championship at the All England Club, have been placed in opposite sides of the draw for this year's championship and can again only meet in the final of the year's third Grand Slam event.

Serena's New Book - "ON THE LINE" (9/1/09)

Serena attended Game 5 of the NBA Finals

Serena attended Game Five of the 2009 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant NBAE via Getty Images)

Tennis Mag: Serena favorite to win Wimbledon

In the July 2009 issue of TENNIS Magazine (Wimbledon Preview with Venus Williams on the cover), 5 key Wimbledon-related questions are asked, two of which favor Serena as the pick to win Wimbledon.

Question 2: Who can stop Venus Williams from winning her sixth title? The first woman who comes to mind of course, is her sister Serena, who beat her in the Wimbledon finals in 2002 and 2003. In last year's title match, though, Venus got the better of her in two tight sets in part by defending the court well. Shots that would have gone for winners for Serena against anyone else came back over the net.

Question 5: Who is TENNIS Magazine picking to win? Between them, Serena and Venus have taken out a timeshare at the All England Club, winning seven of the last nine titles. So it's a safe bet that a Williams will be holding up the Venus Rosewater Dish again this year. For our money, that Williams will be Serena. Younger sis was gutted after losing to Venus in last year's final. It was as powerful a display of tennis as you'll see on the women's and, for that matter, men's tour. The two traded haymaker forehands and blasted serves past the 12o-m.p.h. mark, proof once again that grass, more than any other surface, rewards the sisters bludgeoning style of play.

While Serena was on the losing side of last year's battle, it has done nothing to dampen her competitive fire on the sport's biggest stages. She's since added the 2008 U.S. Open and the 2009 Australian Open to her Grand Slam title collection. If she continues her rich vein of form at the majors, a third Wimbledon dish will join them.

2008 Wimbledon Photo Flashback (#1)

Svetlana stops Serena: (Quarterfinal) 7-6,5-7,7-5

PARIS, June 3 (Reuters) - Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova held off a bold challenge from Serena Williams to beat the American world number two 7-6, 5-7, 7-5 and reach the French Open semi-finals on Wednesday. Serena, who was on a 18-match winning streak at the majors following her success at the U.S. and Australian Opens, threatened to fight back but she bowed out after two hours 47 minutes. “It was the same scenario as Australian Open,” said Kuznetsova, who lost 5-7 7-5 6-1 in the quarter-finals to Serena in Melbourne.

“In the second set, third set I was pushing myself to fight, and still she was break up. With her it’s a big difference. She started to serve great, and I’m very proud that I pushed myself and I could fight in the third set. “This gave me victory, because I fought until the end.” Kuznetsova, the only player to beat world number one Dinara Safina on clay this season, broke Serena twice at the start to leap into a 3-0 lead.

The American turned on the power to snatch a break back and levelled for 5-5 with a backhand that wrong-footed Kuznetsova. Put under huge pressure by Serena’s devastating forehand, the Russian lost her composure and faced a set point in the 12th game. She saved it with a crosscourt smash and forced a tiebreak with a forehand down the line. Kuznetsova got a double mini-break for 4-1 courtesy of a jaw-dropping service return winner and a backhand down the line and she sealed the tiebreak 7-3 with a forehand winner.

The Russian kept her momentum, moving 3-0 up in the second set after Serena netted a forehand in the second game to hand her opponent a break. At 4-2 and 40-30 Kuznetsova twisted her right ankle as she fell and after wiping off the red dirt, the Russian allowed Serena back into the match by conceding a break. Serena broke again to lead 6-5 when Kuznetsova netted a backhand and levelled the contest with an ace.

The 2004 U.S. Open champion was off the pace at the start of the third set, letting Williams take a 3-1 lead but she broke back in the sixth game. “Honestly I think I lost because of me and not because of anything she did,” Serena told reporters. “In the third I had an opportunity and I got really tight, and I pretty much gave it to her. It was like, Here, do you want to go to the semis? Because I don’t. She was like, Okay.” Kuznetsova wasted two match points in the 10th game with two long forehands but she converted her third chance on her opponent’s serve when Serena sent a backhand wide.

French Open: Quarterfinal (Wednesday)

Quarterfinal
[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs [7] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

Serena leads Head-to-Head 5-1
1st Match Of The Day on Court Suzanne Lenglen

Serena advances to French Open Quarterfinals

In a display of precision, patience and power, Serena defeated Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-2 in 4th Round action (today) at the French Open. Serena advances to the quarterfinals where she will face the winner of the Kuznetsova / Radwanska match.