Victoria Azarenka had some sympathy for Serena Williams after banishing memories of her own first-round struggles at the French Open by breezing into round three.

Serena Williams was happy with her start to the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Miami, as she dropped just five games to Chinese opponent Zhang Shuai.

Venus Williams marked her return to competitive action for the first time in over six months with a straight-sets win over Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Serena Williams' hopes of claiming a third consecutive title in the build-up to the US Open were shattered when she was forced to withdraw from the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati with a toe injury.

Last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva survived a first-round scare to defeat promising young American Alison Riske 6-0 3-6 6-3 this afternoon.

A potentially memorable final showdown between clay court king Rafael Nadal and in-form world number two Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open moved a step closer last night as both players progressed through to the quarter-finals without any problems.

Kim Clijsters retired injured from her fourth-round match in the ATP & WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells last night.

Roger Federer won his first match in this year’s BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Daniela Hantuchova proved her recent title win in Pattaya was no fluke as she fought back from a break down in the final set to knock sixth seed Victoria Azarenka out of the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha.

Caroline Wozniacki celebrated her ascent to the number one ranking by beating Jelena Jankovic to reach the final of the Dubai Duty Free Championships.

World number one Caroline Wozniacki has suffered a setback ahead of next week’s Australian Open, crashing out in the second round of the Sydney International in straight sets at the hands of Dominika Cibulkova.

Andy Roddick made an impressive start to his 2011 season today with a straight-sets defeat of Australian Marinko Matosevic at the Brisbane International.

Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm upset 12th seed Maria Sharapova in three sets in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo today.

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic is determined to get back to her best after winning just three games in her fourth-round clash with defending champion Kim Clijsters at the US Open.

RAFAEL NADAL made smooth progress into the fourth round of the US Open with a straightforward win over Gilles Simon last night.

Former world number one Dinara Safina claimed back-to-back wins for the first time since the Australian Open in January to reach the third round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

Former world number one Dinara Safina claimed just a third win in her past 11 matches after beating first-round opponent Andrea Petkovic at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

Third seed Elena Dementieva was a surprise loser in the second round of the Cincinnati Open yesterday, going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic fought from a set down to dump ninth seed Victoria Azarenka out of the Cincinnati Open on Monday night.

BELGIAN pair Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters remain on course to meet on their Wimbledon comebacks after winning their second-round matches in straight sets yesterday.

JUSTINE HENIN revealed she was emotionally exhausted after slipping to her first French Open defeat for six years yesterday.

Serena Williams stayed on course for a mouthwatering French Open quarter-final with Justine Henin after overpowering Shahar Peer in the fourth round today.

Serena Williams today revealed she was suffering with a cold and sickness bug after a medical time-out helped her recover from a second-set malaise to reach the last 16 of the French Open.

Kim Clijsters showed no mercy to a struggling Venus Williams as she won the women’s final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami today.

Serena Williams stepped up the defence of her Australian Open title today with a crushing straight sets third-round win over 32nd seed Carla Suarez Navarro.

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.

SERENA WILLIAMS has warned her Wimbledon rivals there is more to come after demolishing Jarmila Groth on Court One yesterday.

World number one Rafael Nadal has followed Roger Federer in withdrawing from next week’s Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

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.

Jelena Jankovic strides out on to Centre Court at Wimbledon today hoping to avoid the fate of fellow Serbian and world number one Ana Ivanovic.

Justine Henin made a confident start to her Sony Ericsson Open challenge with a straight-sets win over Angelique Kerber on Friday.

Maria Sharapova booked her spot in the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-0 win over fellow Russian Elena Vesnina on the Vodafone Arena.

Maria Sharapova put up a comprehensive display to send Lindsay Davenport crashing out of the Australian Open today.

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.

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.

SERENA WILLIAMS signalled her intent to regain the Wimbledon crown as the number seven seed brushed past Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain in straight sets on Court Two yesterday.

Serena Williams signalled her intent to regain the Wimbledon crown as the number seven seed brushed past Lourdes Dominguez-Lino of Spain in straight sets on Court Two.

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 into the quarter-finals of the French Open following an epic fourth-round clash against Patty Schnyder.

Serena Williams set up a potential quarter-final clash with reigning champion Justine Henin at the French Open after steamrolling past Dinara Safina in straight sets on Sunday.

Second-seed Maria Sharapova had to battle before finally securing her place in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday.

Serena Williams beat Shahar Peer in the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami to set up a final clash with Justine Henin.