Articles from Serena Williams: Diary of a Grand Slam Champion |
Mission Accomplished!
2008-01-04 09:51:00
The United States won their fourth Hopman Cup in six years. Aided by a one match headstart in the final after Jankovic, battling a right thigh injury, forfeited her singles match, Serena Williams and Mardy Fish claimed the title with a straight sets win in the deciding mixed doubles clash, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.That win came after Novak Djokovic had levelled the tie with a three-set win over a brave Fish in the men's singles, 6-2, 6-7 (4/7) 7-6 (7/4). For the third day in a row a hobbling Jankovic played in a deciding mixed doubles rubber with heavy strapping on her injured right leg, but it was third time unlucky for her and Djokovic as they squandered a good start and succumbed to the Americans.The Serbs looked on track for an upset win when they raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but the superior fitness of the Americans started to tell and they hit back and worked their way back into the contest. The Americans took the first set on a tie-break and then dominated the second set. ...
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Practice Makes Perfect
2008-01-04 09:22:00
Serena Williams practices for the mixed doubles final after she received a singles final walkover from Jelena Jankovic of Serbia at the Hopman Cup in Perth (2008). ...
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Team USA wins HOPMAN CUP!
2008-01-04 08:38:00
Team USA has won the Hopman Cup by defeating Team Serbia (Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic) in the Mixed Doubles Match 7-6, 6-2. Mardy lost a very intense and tightly contested Men's Singles match against Novak Djokovic which made the Mixed Doubles match the deciding tie. Team USA won the tie 2-1. More to come...... ...
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No Women's Singles Match at Hopman Cup Final
2008-01-04 03:23:00
Injured Serbian star Jelena Jankovic pulled out of her singles clash with Serena Williams in the Hopman Cup final tonight. The world No.3 strained a muscle in her buttock two days ago, forcing her to default in two singles matches during the mixed teams event. But she and Djokovic made it to the finals after winning two crucial mixed doubles matches. Tournament doctor Hamish Osborne said Jankovic would not be capable of playing two matches tonight and would be better off playing the less strenuous doubles clash. Serena gets the win. USA leads 1-0. ...
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Team USA advances to Hopman Cup Final
2008-01-03 05:43:00
PERTH, Australia (AP) -- Serena Williams and Mardy Fish won singles matches to give the United States a victory over Australia on Thursday and a spot in the Hopman Cup mixed teams tennis final. The U.S. finished with a 3-0 round-robin record in Group B and was the only unbeaten team. Friday's final will be America's ninth in the 20-year history of the tournament. Williams beat Alicia Molik 6-2 7-6 (7) and Fish beat Peter Luczak 7-6 (5), 7-6 (10). Team USA then demolished Team Australia in the mixed doubles match, 6-2, 6-3. In the Friday final, the Americans will meet the winner of group A - to be decided after ties between top seeds Serbia and Argentina and France and Taiwan. ...
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Serena rolls on at Hopman Cup; Defeats Molik
2008-01-02 21:17:00
Serena continued her winning ways as she defeated Alicia Molik 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) in Hopman Cup Women's Singles action. With this win, Team USA is guaranteed a spot in the Hopman Cup Final. They only need to win one of the remaining two matches (Men Singles / Mixed Doubles) against Team Australia to capture the tie. Serena's serve was on and popping in a big way (simply stunning) and she never faced a break point. Serena remains undefeated in Hopman Cup action, 10-0. ...
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Hopman Cup Coverage
2008-01-01 14:37:00
The Tennis Channel's coverage of the Hopman Cup is as follows: Wednesday, January 2, 2008 @ 8:30pm / USA vs. AustraliaFriday, January 4, 2008 @ 4:00am / Hopman Cup Final ...
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Happy New Year
2008-01-01 14:33:00
Wishing you and yours a safe, enjoyable and productive New Year ...
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Noteworthy: Martina on Serena
2007-12-31 07:30:00
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova watched Williams' singles match (vs. Lucie Safarova at Hopman Cup) and said she had never seen Serena in better physical condition.I'm happy to know that Serena is taking her fitness level seriously (and it shows). It is not over. Serena still has a lot more tennis to give and titles to win. ...
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Team USA defeats Czech Republic (3-0)
2007-12-31 00:36:00
The United States has won their second Hopman Cup tie in Perth against the Czech Republic after Tomas Berdych retired ill during the mixed doubles match. Berdych, ranked 14, came down with a stomach virus last night and tournament officials decided to play the mixed doubles before his singles match against 39th-ranked American Mardy Fish.But after the US stormed to a 6-0 lead in the first set of the doubles, with Berdych's usual power and strong serve completely absent, he announced he could no longer go on and the Czechs forfeited, giving the US a 3-0 win.Earlier, superstar Serena Williams made a good start to her Australian summer campaign with a hard-fought 6-0 2-6 7-5 victory over Lucie Safarova in the women's singles. Williams came storming out of the blocks, her devastatingly powerful groundstrokes overpowering the 23rd ranked Safarova's and taking the opening set in 22 minutes without dropping a game. But Safarova showed her mettle in the second set, breaking Williams' serve ...
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Serena Wins First Match of Season
2007-12-30 23:03:00
PERTH, Australia - Serena Williams began preparations for her Australian Open title defense with a 6-0, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Lucie Safarova on Monday in the Hopman Cup mixed team tournament.The win gave the United States a 1-0 lead over the Czech Republic. Williams arrived in Perth late because of a stomach ailment and was replaced by Meghann Shaughnessy in the Americans' first match, a 2-1 win over India on Saturday.Williams started off strongly Monday, but Safarova staged a second-set comeback. "I thought I was on my way to victory, then the next thing you know, I'm almost down 5-2 in the third," Williams said. "I was a little off, but she was hitting some great shots."Safarova had seven double-faults, including one that set up break point in the 11th game to eventually give Williams a 6-5 lead in the deciding set. Serving for the match, Williams had two aces in the final game - her 10th and 11th of the match - then won when Safarova's backhand went wide.Shrugging off jet-lag aft ...
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UPDATE: Tennis Channel and Hopman Cup
2007-12-30 21:31:00
The Tennis Channel is now airing the 2003 Australian Open Final between Venus and Serena Williams. (Commentators are currently giving their viewpoints so the match is soon to start). On another GREAT note. Serena just won her Hopman Cup match against tricky lefty, Lucie Safarova: 6-0, 2-6, 7-5. More to come..... ...
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Conflict: Lendl/Serena vs. Becker/Venus?
2007-12-30 18:02:00
The Tennis Channel (TTC) was scheduled to air the 2003 Australian Open Final (Serena vs. Venus) but it is currently showing the 1991 Australian Open Men's Final between Lendl and Becker. Their website still states that the 7pm airing is that of the Williams Sisters and that the Lendl vs. Becker match is not supposed to air until 10pm EST. (Maybe the switch will cause the Sisters' match to air at 10pm). I really take issue with "this" channel and this scheduling conflict is not even the tip of the iceberg. Please let me not start ranting about their "Grand Slam" coverage (or "tennis" coverage in general) as it relates to that of ESPN/ESPN2/USA. I will most definitely keep you posted as to whether the match between Venus and Serena actually airs at 10pm. Who knows, (by reputation alone) they (TTC) may actually air the Lendl vs. Becker match again at 10pm. I would not be surprised. The Tennis Channel is a joke (and it has been that way long before today). The concept of the Tennis Chann ...
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Serena Practicing
2007-12-30 17:34:00
After a morning snooze, Williams joined her usual Australian hitting partner, Mark Hlawaty, and a German import for an hour-long session of two-on-one. ...
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GAME ON! Serena arrives in Perth, Australia
2007-12-30 03:44:00
Williams Ready To Defend Australian Open Tennis TitlePERTH, Australia (AFP) - American superstar Serena Williams finally arrived in Australia on Sunday, tired and several days late, but confident she was on track to defend her Australian Open title. The world No.7 arrived here early Sunday morning to compete in the mixed teams Hopman Cup, having taken a circuitous route from her US base in Miami via New York and Dubai.Williams cited a stomach flu as the reason for her late arrival, with Meghann Shaughnessy successfully substituting as Mardy Fish's partner in the USA's opening tie victory over India on Saturday. "I was so glad when I heard that she won and Mardy won yesterday. I was really excited. I owe her a big thank-you," Williams said.Having caught a few hours sleep after flying in at 3:00 am, Williams yawned her way through a practice session, but hit the ball crisply and looked in good shape.The 26-year-old said she believed the guaranteed match practice of the Hopman Cup was t ...
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