Women’s tennis players dressed up and looked beautiful at pre-Wimbledon party held at the Kensington Roof Gardens and hosted by Sir Richard Branson.
Some of the tennis stars present: Venus and Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, Daniela Hantuchova and Sania Mirza. Read more »
World No.10 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia has announced her withdrawal from the French Open. She has a stress fracture in her right foot. Hantuchova was hoping to be able to recover by the time of the claycourt Grand Slam, but that unfortunately hasn't happened.
Disappointed with the outcome she said:
A near heartbreaking day for me… After final consult with my team, I am sad to announce that I will be missing my first Roland Garros as a professional athlete. Every player’s dream is to compete in the Grand Slams and I so much wanted to make Paris happen. But I know I have to be patient as recovery from this type of injury takes time. Hopefully I will be strong and healthy to practice and play in full speed soon. I wish everyone all the best, lots of good tennis, and much love to all the fans!
(photo: Getty Images)
Maria Sharapova and Daniela Hantuchova have pulled out of the next week’s Qatar Telecom German Open. Sharapova’s reason for withdrawal is an unspecified injury, while Hantuchova has a stress fracture in her right foot.
Even though the two Top 10 players have pulled out, the Qatar Telecom German Open is still expected to welcome seven members of the Top 10, including No.1 Justine Henin and No.2 Ana Ivanovic. (source: On the Baseline, photo via Down the Line)
Third seed Daniela Hantuchova was upset by Croatian qualifier Karolina Sprem in the second round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships. Final score: 6-3 1-6 6-3.
Sprem is currently ranked 296th in the world, but she was once a top-20 player. Sprem injured her wrist at the Italian Open in May and returned to the tour only two weeks ago, when she fell in qualifying at the Sony Ericsson Open. This week Sprem won two qualifying matches, beat Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama in her main draw opener, then stunned world No.10 Hantuchova for the third top-10 win of her career, and first since 2004. Read more »
Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova maintained her perfect start to the season beating holder Daniela Hantuchova 7-6 6-1 to advance into the Pacific Life Open semifinals where she’ll meet fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Fourth-seeded Sharapova, champion at Indian Wells in 2006, stormed back from 5-2 down in the first set and forced a tie-break which she won 7-2. In the second set, Sharapova broke fifth-seeded Hantuchova in the second and sixth games to secure her 18th successive win of the year.
Kuznetsova was the first one to reach the Indian Wells semifinals beating Agnieszka Radwanska. The other two semifinalists will be known after the following matches: Ana Ivanovic vs. Vera Zvonareva, Jelena Jankovic vs. Lindsay Davenport. (source: Reuters, photo: Getty Images)
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