The top two seeds in the men's draw at the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven progressed into the third round today - although it was far from easy for Nikolay Davydenko.

Top seed Dinara Safina was dumped out of the WTA LA Women’s Tennis Championships by Zheng Jie last night.

Maria Sharapova breezed through to the second round of the WTA LA Women’s Tennis Championships in Los Angeles with a straight-sets victory over Jarmila Groth.

DEFENDING champion Venus Williams launched her bid for Wimbledon singles title number six with a 6-3 6-2 win over Stefanie Voegele yesterday.

Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli was the only seed to fall today as the first round of the Madrid Open got under way.

Second seed Serena Williams has been dumped out of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in her first game in Rome after suffering a 6-2 2-6 6-1 defeat to Patty Schnyder in the second round.

Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic crashed out of the Sony Ericsson Open in the third round today, while sisters Venus and Serena Williams advanced.

Roger Federer admitted he is facing an important week in his season after breezing into the third round of the Miami Masters.

Jelena Jankovic headed into her Wimbledon last-16 clash with Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn today wary of the conditions which played a part in the demise of her top-seeded rivals.

ANA IVANOVIC crashed out of Wimbledon admitting she must come to terms with her new status as the prized scalp of women’s tennis.

Svetlana Kuznetsova celebrated her 23rd birthday today with a battling victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the third round at Wimbledon.

SERENA WILLIAMS brushed aside Polish teenager Urszula Radwanska on Court Two at Wimbledon yesterday and is now relishing the chance to face another former champion Amelie Mauresmo in the third round.

Svetlana Kuznetsova wasted little time in booking her place in the last eight of the French Open today after completing a straight-sets win over Victoria Azarenka.

THIRD seed Jelena Jankovic was keen to distance herself from the favourite’s tag after kicking off her French Open campaign with a laboured first-round victory on a rain-affected day in Paris yesterday.

Top seed Maria Sharapova edged through to the quarter-finals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships but second seed Anna Chakvetadze was knocked out on Thursday.

Lindsay Davenport continued her remarkable progress since returning to the WTA Tour but Daniela Hantuchova was knocked out in the second round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships on Wednesday.

Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo was beaten 3-6 6-3 6-3 by top seed Anna Chakvetadze in the quarter-finals of the Open Gaz de France on Friday.

Venus Williams insisted her bid for a first Australian Open title remained on track despite a shaky second-round win against Frenchwoman Camille Pin.

TOP-RANKED Roger Federer showed no lasting effects from a nasty stomach bug, routing Diego Hartfield of Argentina 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 yesterday to open his quest of a third consecutive Australian Open title.

Roger Federer and Justine Henin have been named as top seeds in the men’s and women’s draws for 2008’s opening Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on Monday.

Wimbledon champion Venus Williams overcame injury and testing conditions to land a third title at the JB Group Classic in Hong Kong with a 6-4 6-3 victory over world number five Maria Sharapova.

Daniela Hantuchova and Elena Dementieva have completed the star-star studded line-up at the year opening JB Group Classic in Hong Kong.

MARIA SHARAPOVA continues to impress at the WTA Championships and clinched top spot in the Red Group with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Ana Ivanovic yesterday.

World number one Justine Henin opens the defence of her Sony Ericsson Championship crown in Madrid on Tuesday against Anna Chakvetadze.

Svetlana Kuznetsova bounced back from a bad start to seal a 3-6 6-1 6-1 victory over fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze and book a place in the US Open final.

VENUS WILLIAMS will bid to avenge sister Serena’s US Open quarter-final defeat to top-seed Justine Henin at Flushing Meadows tonight when she gets her chance against the French Open champion in the last four.

Two-time US Open champion Venus Williams remained in contention for a third title after coming from a set down to beat third seed Jelena Jankovic 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7-4) to advance to the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.

Venus Williams will aim to succeed where her sister failed this evening as she targets a place in the US Open semi-finals.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA is taking advantage of her wide-open draw at the US Open.

Fourth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova committed 34 unforced errors to her opponent’s nine and still won her second round match on the fourth day of the US Open in New York.

Maria Sharapova, yet to drop a game so far this Championship, is bracing herself for a tough third-round clash with veteran Ai Sugiyama on Saturday.

WORLD number three Jelena Jankovic was delighted to reach the last 16 after surviving a major fright from a limping opponent.

TOP SEED Justine Henin coasted into the Wimbledon third round yesterday insisting her bid for a first All England Club crown would remain unaffected by a recent injury scare.

FORMER Wimbledon champion Venus Williams came back from the dead to deny the “Graveyard of Champions” another scalp.

Serbia’s rise as a power in world tennis could be confirmed tomorrow when Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic bid to set up a date in the final of the French Open.

SERENA Williams admitted feeling “violated” after being on the receiving end of a straight-sets hammering by Justine Henin in the quarter-finals of the French Open yesterday.

Justine Henin remained on course for her third straight French Open title thanks to a clinical straight-sets win over fellow heavyweight Serena Williams in the quarter-finals today.

Maria Sharapova has emerged as the winner of her quarter-final clash against Anna Chakvetadze, the second seed cruising to a 6-3 6-4 triumph.

Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic became the first player to secure her place in the semi-finals today of the French Open following a straight-sets victory over Nicole Vaidisova.

Justine Henin and Serena Williams will renew their rivalry today when they meet in the quarter-finals of the French Open.

RAFAEL NADAL gave yet another clay-court masterclass yesterday as he passed his first genuine test of this year’s French Open with flying colours to ease into the quarter-finals.

Memories of the fractious 2003 French Open semi-final between Justine Henin and Serena Williams will come flooding back when the two giants of the women’s game go head to head in the last eight tomorrow.

Tommy Robredo admits he will be facing “the best player in the world” when he meets Roger Federer in the French Open quarter-finals.

SECOND SEED Maria Sharapova saved two match points before progressing to the quarter-finals of the French Open after an epic fourth-round clash against Patty Schnyder yesterday.