Yahoo! Sports: Sharapova, now the "old woman" at 24, advances to semis

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange

WIMBLEDON, England — She was an ingenue with a forehand and determination. Maria Sharapova hit the top when she was hitting her teens, and then after an injury she has struggled to return.

She carries a Russian passport but has lived in the United States for years, speaks better English than many Americans and plays her game better than most people anywhere.

Sharapova went under the roof at Wimbledon on Tuesday ...

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Newsday (N.Y.): Venus, Serena, Wozniacki out at Wimbledon

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON, England — They were talking of what could be. But on the warm Monday when Serena and Venus Williams, within two hours of each other, were ousted from Wimbledon, the issue should be of what was.

They had been the prima donnas, in the positive context of the term, of the All England Lawn Tennis Championships. One or the other won the previous four years — Serena in 2010, 2009, Venus in 2008, 2007 — and nine of the last 11.

The domination came to a halt as the second week of the 145th Wimbledon began, Marion Bartoli of France stopping an erratically hitting Serena, 6-3, 7-6 (6), in one fourth-round match and Tsvetana Pironkova defeating Venus, 6-2, 6-3, in another. That was the same score Pironkova, of Bulgaria, beat Venus last year in a quarterfinal.

Were they upsets? Perhaps, although with the Williamses coming off long absences because of health problems, perhaps not. Were they surprises? Absolutely, as was 24th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova's 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over the top seed, Caroline Wozniacki, who despite her place on top of the WTA rankings never has won a Grand Slam event.

A minor surprise on the men's side was the 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 triumph by Mardy Fish overTomas Berdych, one of last year's finalists. Fish, unexpectedly, guaranteed the United States would not go without someone in either men's or women's quarterfinals for the first time since 2006 and only the second time since 1911.

Venus, 31, hadn't played for five months because of a strained hip flexor until coming back two weeks ago. Serena was out nearly a year. She severely cut her right foot stepping on glass a week after winning Wimbledon, then was diagnosed with life-threatening pulmonary thrombosis, and finally developed a hematoma that required surgery.

"Considering my condition," said Serena, "I think I really did well. I never came here thinking I would lose. I was able to hang in there, and I can only get better. And that potentially can be really scary, because I can only go up from here, and I can do so much more."

Venus described her play against the 5-10 Pironkova, who has defeated her three times in a row, as "inexplicable." Venus missed overheads, swinging volleys, "shots I never miss."

But Venus reminded that both Williams sisters "hit the ground running," because they didn't want to miss another Grand Slam tournament.

"At least I wasn't making errors trying to keep the ball in," Venus said. "I made errors that normally would go as winners. So those balls will land pretty soon . . . I got ready for this tournament so fast. You wouldn't believe how quick it happened. With more time I can definitely play better.''

Serena, who will be 30 in September, tried to be philosophical. "Even if today I lost," she said, "I was able to kind of hang in there and play tough . . . I would have been sad being at home and watching it on TV, like I'm going to be soon."

The thought of some in tennis is it would have been sad for women's tennis if, with so little preparation, either Serena or Venus won. Could she appreciate that? "Yeah," Serena said sarcastically, "I'm super happy I lost. Go women's tennis."

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Yahoo! Sports: End of an era? Williams sisters both lose

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange

WIMBLEDON, England — For a decade, it had been their tournament. You almost could have renamed it the All Williams Lawn Court Tennis Championships. Now Wimbledon will belong to someone else, maybe just this year, maybe forever.

Either Venus or Serena Williams had been the women's singles winner the last four years—Venus in 2007 and 2008, Serena in 2009 and 2010—and nine of the last 11 years.

Sisters in command. But no longer.

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Copyright © 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.

Yahoo! Sports: Fish has found peaceful waters

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange

WIMBLEDON, England — There was the time Mardy Fish sprained ligaments in his foot … while trying to kick a field goal, which isn't exactly the reason most tennis players are forced to withdraw from the French Open.

That was in 2007, two years after Fish had two operations on his left wrist and two years before Fish, a prodigy who became a problem, had arthroscopic surgery on the left knee.

Read the full story here.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Fish, Serena advance at Wimbledon

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON,  England -- Mardy Fish has gone where he never has before and in this Wimbledon where no other  American male has gone -- the fourth round.

Fish, who at 29 seems to be fulfilling the promise he had at 19, advanced
Saturday when his opponent Robin Haase of the  Netherlands retired with a sore knee after trailing, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 1-1.

Serena Williams,  back in competition following a near yearlong absence
following a cut foot,  pulmonary thrombosis and a hematoma, looked her best so far, cruising past Maria Kirilenko of  Russia, 6-3, 6-2.

On a warm, sunny afternoon, a contrast to the rain which postponed a great deal of play Friday, it was a tournament for favorites. Defending champion and top seed Rafael Nadal,  No. 2 seed Novak  Djokovic and six-time winner Roger Federer all  advanced. Bernard Tomic, 18, became the youngest player in 21 years to reach the  fourth round when he upset No. 5 Robin Soderling 6-1,  6-4, 7-5. On the ladies' side, No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova advanced.

Serena Williams is trying for her third straight Wimbledon championship and fifth overall. Sister Venus already has five.

"I was more consistent,'' Serena said, "played my game more. Wasn't as tight
and nervous and uptight. I was able to relax more today.''

Asked if she had packed the big serve in her luggage (she had 14 aces), she

responded: "I was like, 'Where have you been?' He was at a party or something.  But he's back.''

Fish wasn't necessarily attending parties, but he had a reputation for not
training and suffered a series of injuries. They included spraining ligaments in  a foot in May 2007 when he tried to kick a field goal while visiting the Rhein Fire of the old NFL Europe. He is probably the only  person ever to withdraw from the French Open for that reason.

But two events were responsible for a change in his lifestyle. In 2008, he
married Stacey Gardner, one of the "Briefcase Models'' on the TV show "Deal or No Deal," and moved from Tampa to Beverly Hills.

Then in 2009, he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

While  recuperating, the 6-2 Fish said he gave up carbohydrates and junk foods. He  reduced his weight from some 200 pounds to below 180 and said he began working  out with more intensity.

"We can all sit here and say we wish we would have done things differently,''
Fish said, "but I don't think about it at all. I'm excited to be playing the
best tennis of my life now.''

He won tournaments at Newport, R.I., and Atlanta last year and was a star of  the U.S. Davis Cup team in Colombia in September. He  made it to the third round of the French Open and now, after flying to California so he and his  wife could check on their pet dachshund and unwind, is the only U.S. male to get  out of the first week in Wimbledon singles.

His onetime tennis academy roommate, doubles partner and a former U.S. Open winner, Andy Roddick,  was eliminated Friday in the third round.

Fish isn't happy about being the only American man left. "It's lonely. It
doesn't feel great. And that's not the goal," Fish said. "You know, I want the
guys here. So that's a bit of a bummer, I guess.

"You know, you see a lot of guys . . . that sort of go downhill as they get
older. I'm going the other way. I have regrets in life. Nothing to do with
tennis. I sleep a lot better knowing now I'm doing everything I can to hit goals  I wanted to hit throughout my career.''

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