Serena Williams moved a step closer to salvaging her season with a 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 semifinal victory over Amelie Mauresmo in the WTA Championships on Sunday.
"She just went for it," Mauresmo said. "I would give all the credit to her. I was playing some good tennis and she really raised her level a lot."
PHOTO: AFP
Williams, ranked eighth and without a Grand Slam title this season for the first time since 2001, advanced to Monday's final against Maria Sharapova, the 17-year-old Russian who stunned her in the Wimbledon final.
Sharapova defeated countrywoman Anastasia Myskina 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 for the first time after losing all three of their other meetings this year.
Dressed in a pink-and-white ruffled skirt and pink shirt, Williams pirouetted and blew kisses to 9,022 fans at Staples Center who were clearly on her side.
Mauresmo's loss guaranteed Lindsay Davenport will retain the top spot when the year-end WTA rankings are released on Tuesday.
Swede Jonas Bjorkman and Australian Todd Woodbridge beat defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan of the US 6-3, 6-4 in a round-robin match of the ATP Masters Cup doubles championships Sunday.
Bjorkman and Woodbridge improved to 2-0, while the second-seeded Bryans slipped to 1-1.
In other matches, Bahamas' Mark Knowles and Canadian Daniel Nestor defeated Xavier Malisse and Oliver Rochus of Belgium, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4, and Mahesh Bhupathi of India and Max Mirnyi of Belarus beat Gaston Etlis and Martin Rodriguez of Argentina, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
Wimbledon champion and top-ranked Roger Federer of Switzerland faces Gaston Gaudio of Argentina on Monday, the start of the opening round of singles competition.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
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