Serena approaches another milestone

Her cranky left knee prevented her from playing recent tournaments in Miami and Charleston, but Serena Williams continues to close in on a milestone.

Next week, she will surpass Lindsay Davenport's career weeks as the No. 1-ranked player (98) and is projected to become the seventh player in Sony Ericsson WTA history to reach the century mark. She'll join Steffi Graf (377), Martina Navratilova (332), Chris Evert (260), Martina Hingis (209), Monica Seles (178) and Justine Henin (117).

Serena first reached No. 1 in July 2002, when she wrested it from her sister Venus in the midst of four consecutive major victories. Then, after reigning for 57 weeks, Serena was supplanted at the top by Kim Clijsters.

It was more than five years before she returned at No. 1, in the wake of her 2008 U.S. Open victory. The 265-week gap between holding the No. 1 ranking is the longest in tennis history. Andre Agassi went 177 weeks, between February 1996 and July 1999, while Evert (156 weeks) and Davenport (144 weeks) also experienced prolonged sabbaticals.

- Article by: Greg Garber / ESPN.com