In the quarterfinals of the Acura Classic in San Diego third seed Anna Chakvetadze earned the biggest win of her career with a 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victory over the reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams.

Williams looked sure to put Chakvetadze away, but she double-faulted on match point and was not the same afterwards. Read more »

In order to raise money for charity, Wilson has released limited edition versions of their (K) Factor tennis rackets which are inlaid with gold leaf designs. They are well-known because they were used by multiple Grand Slam champions Venus and Serena Williams at this year’s Wimbledon. Only 650 of each model will be available at a recommended retail price of $500; ten percent of the proceeds go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). Serena and Venus signed an additional ten rackets of each model which are to be auctioned for the charity. Note: Venus used the white frame, Serena the black one. (via Down the Line)

About two weeks ago I have written an article on women’s tennis Wimbledon history and records, and among the players mentioned was Venus Williams who was the lowest seeded Wimbledon champion, winning the title in 2005 when she was seeded 14th.

Two days ago, the American beat Marion Bartoli in the final to win her fourth trophy at the grass-court grand slam, but this time she was seeded even lower, that is 23rd.

Apparently, she was not in the race for the title on paper, but seedings and rankings do not take into consideration character and determination, something that Venus and her sister Serena have in abundance.

Seed No.23 Venus Williams of the USA defeated seed No. 18 Marion Bartoli of France 6-4 6-1 in the final on Saturday. It was a decisive win for Venus, who should be congratulated on her amazing comeback. With this victory the 27-year-old American became the fourth four-time winner of Wimbledon in the open era, joining Billie-Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf.

Being ranked only 31st in the world Venus Williams defeated 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova on Wednesday, 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova on Thursday and French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic on Friday. Read more »

After a loss to Justine Henin in the quarterfinals, injured Serena Williams announced that she pulls out of doubles.

"I've sprained my thumb and can't really hit backhands," said world No. 8 Williams.

The Williams sisters were an unseeded pair in the doubles, and the fact that they have withdrawn gives Spanish eighth seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual a second round walkover. (via Reuters)

Venus Williams, seeded 23rd, beat second seed Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-3 without any major problems.

The first set was quite boring, the 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova made five double faults, twelve unforced errors, and not to mention her first serve percentage (58%).

In the second set the Russian played much better, but it was not good enough to defeat the three-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams. Sharapova had difficulty holding her serve, while Williams did that easily.

The third game of the second set, Sharapova’s serving game, was the most interesting part of the match – it lasted as much as 22.5 minutes, and Sharapova managed to hold her serve. However, Williams broke Sharapova in the seventh game of the second set, and from that point on her victory came very quickly.

All in all, I had expected a lot more excitement from this match.

Venus Williams will next face fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova who defeated Tamira Paszek in the fourth round.

What a match! Two hours and thirty minutes of uncertainty! Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic both played very well at the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup, but somebody had to come out as a winner, and it was a player from Serbia. Jankovic overwhelmed Williams 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). A five-time Grand Slam champion won the first set 6-3. The second set was particularly interesting — first six games were all breaks. The one to end that series was second seed Jelena Jankovic who managed to take the lead, and eventually win the second set. However, the third set was also thrilling, especially the tie break. The tension was great. Jelena's match point added even more nervousness — it was debatable whether it was out or not.

I can mention that this is the second time Jelena wins the tie break when she plays Venus; last time it was at Wimbledon when she won 10-8.

Both Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams will be ranked higher on Monday. Jelena, world No. 9, will be ranked No. 7; Venus, who is currently world No. 29, will jump to No. 22.

Jankovic's opponent in the final will be a Russian player, either ninth seed Vera Zvonareva or fourth seed Dinara Safina whose match is currently in progress.

Unseeded Venus Williams upset Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4, 7-5 to reach the final four of the Family Circle Cup. There, she will meet second seed Jelena Jankovic who defeated Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 6-0. Soon, we will know the names of the other two players who will meet in the semifinals of this $1,3 million tournament.