Tennis Olympics 2012 - Women's Singles Entry List

Thirty four countries will be represented at the London Olympics 2012 women's singles tennis tournament that starts on July 28. 56 women tennis players gained direct entry into the draw based on their world rankings as of 11 June 2012, after the 2012 French Open. 8 other players were given wildcard entries - 6 ITF final qualification places and 2 tripartite commission invitation places. 2008 Olympic gold medalist in singles Elena Dementieva will not be competing as she resigned from tennis in 2012.

Russia swept all three women's singles medals in 2008 but only Vera Zvonareva is returning for the London Olympics. Last Olympics' silver medalist, former world no. 1 Dinara Safina doesn't have a world ranking due to inactivity - she ended 2011 ranked no. 129 in the world. All four current Grand Slam champions - Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Samantha Stosur - will be in attendance along with world no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska. The venue for the Olympic women's tennis tournament is at the All England Club where the yearly Wimbledon grand slam championship takes place.

2012 London Olympics: Women's Tennis singles entry list

- Australia: Samantha Stosur
- Belarus: Victoria Azarenka
- Belgium: Yanina Wickmayer, Kim Clijsters
- Bulgaria: Tsvetana Pironkova
- Canada: Aleksandra Wozniak
- China, P.R.: Li Na, Peng Shuai, Zheng Jie
- Chinese Taipei: Hsieh Su-Wei
- Croatia: Petra Martic
- Czech Republic: Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, Petra Cetkovska, Klara Zakopalova
- Denmark: Caroline Wozniacki
- Estonia: Kaia Kanepi
- France: Alize Cornet (*)
- Georgia: Anna Tatishvili (*)
- Germany: Angelique Kerber, Sabine Lisicki, Andrea Petkovic, Julia Goerges
- Great Britain: Anne Keothavong (*), Elena Baltacha (*)
- Hungary: Agnes Szavay
- Israel: Shahar Peer
- Italy: Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci, Francesca Schiavone
- Kazakhstan: Galina Voskoboeva, Yaroslava Shvedova
- Liechtenstein: Stephanie Vogt (#)
- New Zealand: Marina Erakovic
- Paraguay: Veronica Cepede Royg (#)
- Poland: Agnieszka Radwanska, Urszula Radwanska
- Romania: Monica Niculescu, Simona Halep, Sorana Cirstea, Irina-Camelia Begu
- Russia: Maria Sharapova, Vera Zvonareva, Maria Kirilenko, Nadia Petrova
- Serbia: Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic
- Slovak Republic: Dominika Cibulkova, Daniela Hantuchova
- Slovenia: Polona Hercog
- Spain: Anabel Medina Garrigues, Carla Suarez Navarro, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Silvia Soler-Espinosa
- Sweden: Sofia Arvidsson
- Switzerland: Timea Bacsinszky
- Tunisia: Ons Jabeur (*)
- Ukraine: Alona Bondarenko, Kateryna Bondarenko (*)
- USA: Serena Williams, Christina McHale, Venus Williams, Varvara Lepchenko

(*) ITF Place
(#) Tripartite Commission Invitation Place

The London Olympics 2012 women's tennis singles entry list is taken from the International Tennis Federation website.

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Serena, Azarenka, Sharapova's Next Tournaments - July 2012

Where will the WTA tennis stars play next? Wimbledon champion and 14-time Grand Slam titlist Serena Williams is defending her Stanford title by participating in the $640,000 Bank of the West Classic tournament starting on July 9. Other top 25 players joining Serena in California are #10 Marion Bartoli, #15 Dominika Cibulkova, and #20 Jelena Jankovic. This same week at the $220,000 XXV Italiacom Open in Palermo, Italy, French Open finalist Sara Errani is joined by #24 Julia Goerges in the red clay tournament.

The next main event in the WTA calendar is the Olympic Tennis Event in London, England on the week of July 30. The once in four years event will be held on the outdoor grass of Wimbledon. All top 25 players with the exception of world no. 10 Bartoli are in action. The Rogers Cup in Montréal, Canada held on outdoor hard courts will be next on the week of August 6. This premier level WTA tournament will nine of the top 10 players with Serena opting out of the tournament.

Player Schedules for Top 25 Player - July 2012

1. Victoria Azarenka --- Olympics, Montréal
2. Agnieszka Radwanska --- Olympics, Montréal
3. Maria Sharapova --- Olympics, Montréal
4. Serena Williams --- Stanford, Olympics
5. Samantha Stosur --- Olympics, Montréal
6. Petra Kvitova --- Olympics, Montréal
7. Angelique Kerber --- Olympics, Montréal
8. Caroline Wozniacki --- Olympics, Montréal
9. Sara Errani --- Palermo, Bastad, Olympics, Montréal
10. Marion Bartoli --- Stanford, Carlsbad, Montréal
11. Li Na --- Olympics, Montréal
12. Ana Ivanovic --- Olympics, Montréal
13. Vera Zvonareva --- Olympics, Montréal
14. Maria Kirilenko --- Olympics, Montréal
15. Dominika Cibulkova --- Stanford, Carlsbad, Olympics, Montréal
16. Kaia Kanepi --- Bastad, Olympics, Montréal
17. Flavia Pennetta --- Olympics, Montréal
18. Sabine Lisicki --- Carlsbad, Olympics, Montréal
19. Andrea Petkovic --- Olympics, Montréal
20. Jelena Jankovic --- Stanford, Carlsbad, Olympics, Montréal
21. Nadia Petrova --- Carlsbad, Olympics, Montréal
22. Francesca Schiavone --- Olympics
23. Lucie Safarova --- Olympics, Montréal
24. Julia Goerges --- Palermo, Bastad, Olympics, Montréal
25. Zheng Jie --- Olympics, Montréal
** 35. Kim Clijsters --- Olympics
** 68. Venus Williams --- Olympics

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Wimbledon 2012 Winners List, Prize Money Earnings

The Wimbledon 2012 has now come to a close and the biggest prizes went to a pair of 30 year old tennis legends who won their first Grand Slam titles in more than two years. Roger Federer won a record equaling 7th Wimbledon title to increase his record Grand Slam titles to 17. With his title win, Federer becomes the new world no 1 in ATP men's tennis rankings. Serena Williams won her 5th Wimbledon title and has the most Grand Slam titles amongst active women players with 14. Serena also won the ladies doubles title with her sister, Venus Williams, and so she will take home the most prize money earnings from this year's Wimbledon amongst all the players who participated, both men and women. Below is a list of this year's Wimbledon 2012 winners and their prize money earnings.

Gentlemen's Singles

Winner: £1,150,000 - Roger Federer SUI (3)
Runner-up: £575,000 - Andy Murray GBR (4)
Semi-Finalists: £287,500 - Novak Djokovic SRB (1); Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (5)

Ladies' Singles

Winner: £1,150,000 - Serena Williams USA (6)
Runner-up: £575,000 - Agnieszka Radwanska POL (3)
Semi-Finalists: £287,500 - Victoria Azarenka BLR (2); Angelique Kerber GER (8)

Gentlemen's Doubles (per pair)

Winners: £260,000 - Jonathan Marray GBR and Frederik Nielsen DEN
Runners-up: £130,000 - Robert Lindstedt SWE and Horia Tecau ROU (5)
Semi-Finalists: £65,000 - Bob Bryan USA and Mike Bryan USA (2); Jurgen Melzer AUT and
Philipp Petzschner GER (10)

Ladies' Doubles (per pair)

Winners: £260,000 - Serena Williams USA and Venus Williams USA
Runners-up: £130,000 - Andrea Hlavackova CZE (6) and Lucie Hradecka CZE (6)
Semi-Finalists: £65,000 - Liezel Huber USA and Lisa Raymond USA (1); Flavia Pennetta ITA and Francesca Schiavone ITA

Mixed Doubles (per pair)

Winners: £92,000 - Mike Bryan USA and Lisa Raymond USA (2)
Runners-up: £46,000 - Leander Paes IND (4) and Elena Vesnina RUS (4)
Semi-Finalists: £23,000 - Bob Bryan USA and Liezel Huber USA (1); Nenad Zimonjic SRB and Katarina Srebotnik SLO (3)

Boys' Singles

Winner - Filip Peliwo CAN (4)
Runner-up - Luke Saville AUS (1)

Girls' Singles

Winner - Filip Peliwo CAN (4)
Runner-up - Luke Saville AUS (1)

Boys' Doubles

Winner - Eugenie Bouchard CAN (5)
Runner-up - Elina Svitolina UKR (3)

Finalists:

Winner - Andrew Harris AUS (4 ) and Nick Kyrgios AUS (4)
Runner-up - Matteo Donati ITA and Pietro Licciardi ITA

Girls' Doubles

Winner - Eugenie Bouchard CAN (1) and Taylor Townsend USA (1)
Runner-up - Belinda Bencic SUI (7) and Ana Konjuh CRO (7)

Congratulations to Wimbledon 2012 winners for their prize money earnings.

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Murray's Wimbledon 2012 Prize Money Earnings

7/8 Update: Andy Murray lost the final to Roger Federer and will take home the Wimbledon men's singles runner-up prize money of £575,000. | Preview: How much will world no. 4 Andy Murray take home as his prize money earnings for his Wimbledon 2012 effort? By virtue of reaching the finals, Murray is assured of the runner-up prize of £575,000. If he wins his first ever Grand Slam title by beating world no. 3 Roger Federer, Murray will take home £1,150,000. Murray has reached three Grand Slam finals before and has lost all three of them at the 2008 US Open, the 2010 Australian Open, and the 2011 Australian Open. He lost the first two Grand Slam finals he played to Federer and the last one to world no. 1 Novak Djokovic. Murray is attempting to become the first British man to win the title since Fred Perry triumphed in 1936.

When Murray takes on Federer for the Wimbledon championship match, he will be going on-court having an 8-7 lead over Federer in their career head-to-head. He has never beaten the Swiss in a best-of-five-set encounter. Federer won their past two meetings in straight sets, most recently in this year’s Dubai final. This year, Murray has won one tournament, the first event he entered this season in Brisbane. He lost to Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open, and to Spain's David Ferrer in the quarterfinals of the French Open.

For his 2012 year-to-date earnings, Murray has won a total of $1,430,310. That puts him in 5th place behind Rafael Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, and Ferrer. In the latest men's tennis career prize money earning leaders list, Murray is at 10th place with $20,577,701. With his Wimbledon prize money earnings, he is assured of overtaking tennis Hall of Famers Stefan Edberg (#9 - $20,630,941) and Ivan Lendl (#8 - $21,262,417) when the new list is released on Monday, July 9. Federer holds the record earnings of more than $71 million and Murray is the only player in the top 10 list to have never won a Grand Slam title and achieved the no. 1 ranking.

2012 ATP Career Prize Money Leaders (US$), as of June 25, 2012

1 Federer, Roger $71,126,377
2 Nadal, Rafael $50,025,798
3 Sampras, Pete $43,280,489
4 Djokovic, Novak $37,672,100
5 Agassi, Andre $31,152,975
6 Becker, Boris $25,080,956
7 Kafelnikov, Yevgeny $23,883,797
8 Lendl, Ivan $21,262,417
9 Edberg, Stefan $20,630,941
10 Murray, Andy $20,577,701

Murray's 2012 Prize Money Earnings by Tournament

London / Queen's Club, Great Britain; 11.06.2012; Prize Money: €5,410
Roland Garros, France; 27.05.2012; GS; Prize Money: €155,000
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome, Italy; Prize Money: €30,000
Barcelona, Spain; 23.04.2012; Prize Money: €38,960
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo, Monaco; Prize Money: €57,755
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami, FL, U.S.A.; Prize Money: $321,990
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells, CA, U.S.A.; Prize Money: $12,725
Dubai, U.A.E.; 27.02.2012; Prize Money: $184,470
Australian Open, Australia; Prize Money: A$437,000
Brisbane, Australia; Prize Money: $74,370

Congratulations to Andy Murray for his Wimbledon 2012 prize money earnings.

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Federer's Wimbledon 2012 Prize Money Earnings

7/8 Update: Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray in four sets and will take home the Wimbledon men's singles champion prize money of £1,150,000. | Preview: Before the start of Wimbledon, world no. 3 Roger Federer holds the record of $71,126,377 in men's career prize money. He stands way ahead of the top 10 players who have earned the most prize money earnings in tennis history. The second place player is Rafael Nadal who passed the $50 million mark when he won his 7th French Open title last month. To put Federer's lead in perspective, the $20 million difference that separates him and Nadal is the total career earnings of Andy Murray, the #10 player in the list. By reaching the finals of Wimbledon, Federer assured himself of the runner-up prize money earnings of £575,000. If he wins his 7th Wimbledon title, Federer will take home £1,150,000 and become the world no. 1 player when the new rankings are announced on Monday, July 9.

This year as of June 25, Federer has earned $3,696,441 putting him in third place behind world Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. This year, Federer won four tournaments in Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells, and Madrid and finished runner-up in a Wimbledon tune-up in Halle. He reached the semifinals of both the Australian Open and the French Open losing to Nadal and Djokovic respectively.

2012 ATP Prize Money Leaders (US$) - Year to Date
as of June 25, 2012

1.Nadal, Rafael $4,961,419
2 Djokovic, Novak $4,789,340
3 Federer, Roger $3,696,441
4 Ferrer, David $1,713,343
5 Murray, Andy $1,430,310
6 Berdych, Tomas $1,312,471
7 Del Potro, Juan Martin $1,286,353
8 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried $938,374
9 Almagro, Nicolas $915,143
10 Tipsarevic, Janko $895,868

2012 ATP Career Prize Money Leaders (US$)
as of June 25, 2012

1 Federer, Roger $71,126,377
2 Nadal, Rafael $50,025,798
3 Sampras, Pete $43,280,489
4 Djokovic, Novak $37,672,100
5 Agassi, Andre $31,152,975
6 Becker, Boris $25,080,956
7 Kafelnikov, Yevgeny $23,883,797
8 Lendl, Ivan $21,262,417
9 Edberg, Stefan $20,630,941
10 Murray, Andy $20,577,701

Federer's 2012 Prize Money Earnings by Tournament

Halle, Germany; €63,105
Roland Garros, France; Prize Money: €310,000
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome, Italy; Prize Money: €113,580
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid, Spain; Prize Money: €585,800
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami, FL, U.S.A.; Prize Money: $23,210
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells, CA, U.S.A.; Prize Money: $1,000,000
Dubai, U.A.E.; 27.02.2012; Prize Money: $409,170
Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Prize Money: €290,550
SUI vs. USA WG 1st RD, Switzerland; Prize Money: €
Australian Open, Australia; Prize Money: A$437,000
Doha, Qatar; Prize Money: $50,030

Congratulations to Federer on his Wimbledon 2012 prize money earnings.

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Serena Williams' 14 Grand Slams compared to Other #1 Players

By winning her 14th Grand Slam trophy, Serena Williams now trails three other tennis greats in the Open era who have won more majors than her. Steffi Graf's haul is 22, while Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have won 18 each. But those three other players were from different generations, and in Serena's generation, she is considered unanimously - by peers, critics, experts, and fans alike - as the best player of her generation. So, what does 14 Grand Slam wins mean in terms of the current generation of WTA players?

For starters, let's have a list of how many Grand Slams were won by current or former world no. 1 players in the last 15 years.

Martina Hingis - 5 GS (3 Australian Open, 1 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Lindsay Davenport - 3 GS (1 Australian Open, 1 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Jennifer Capriati - 3 GS (2 Australian Open, 1 French Open)
Venus Williams - 7 GS (5 Wimbledon, 2 US Open)
Serena Williams - 14 GS (5 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 5 Wimbledon, 3 US Open)
Kim Clijsters - 4 GS (1 Australian Open, 3 US Open)
Justine Henin - 7 GS (1 Australian Open, 4 French Open, 2 US Open)
Amélie Mauresmo - 2 GS (1 Australian Open, 1 Wimbledon)
Maria Sharapova - 4 GS (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Ana Ivanović - 1 GS (1 French Open)
Jelena Janković - 0 GS
Dinara Safina - 0 GS
Caroline Wozniacki - 0 GS
Victoria Azarenka - 1 GS (1 Australian Open)

Svetlana Kuznetsova is the only player since Wimbledon 1997 who have won multiple Grand Slams without ever reaching the no. 1 ranking. She won the 2004 US Open and the 2009 French Open.

Here's some interesting observations regarding Serena's 14 Grand Slam win total, and how it compares to the Grand Slam success of other former world no. 1 players in the past 14 years:

1. She owns same number of major wins as the total of the two other most successful players in her generation. Serena's older sister Venus, and another rival, Justine Henin each won 7 Grand Slam titles each. Serena can actually contend for more Grand Slams, while the chances of Venus' winning another Slam is very small. Henin has already retired in 2011.

2. The nation of Belgium produced two superb players in Clijsters and Henin, both in the same generation as Serena. Their total Grand Slam wins fall three short of Serena's total.

3. Russia has produced two world no. 1 players (Sharapova and Safina), and three Grand Slam winners (Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Sharapova) - all in the past 14 years. Russian players total Grand Slam wins is 7 - half of what Serena has won.

4. Hingis, Davenport, and Capriati all were ahead of Serena in terms of number of Grand Slams won by end of 2001. Their combined total is three less than Serena's total as of Wimbledon 2012.

5. Serena has won more Wimbledon titles than the total Grand Slam wins of five former no. 1 players - Davenport, Capriati, Clijsters, Mauresmo, and Sharapova.

6. On a more humorous note, Serena has won 14 more Slams than the combined wins of three recent number 1 players in the past 4 years (Janković, Safina, Wozniacki).

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Serena Williams vs Agnieszka Radwanska: Who will win Wimbledon 2012

When the two Wimbledon 2012 women's singles finalists step at Centre Court on Saturday, at 2pm, it will not just be a battle for a Grand Slam title. World no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland is going against world no. 6 Serena Williams of the United States for her first ever Grand Slam title, and a chance to be the top-ranked player for the first time in her career. Williams is gunning for her 14th major title, and first since Wimbledon 2010. The head-to-head between the two has Williams leading 2-0 but both their encounters were in 2008.

So Serena is an 8/1 on choice with the bookmakers to continue the Williams family's domination of the Ladies' event at Wimbledon in the 21st century. Her older sister Venus has captured the appropriately-named (in her case) Venus Rosewater Dish on five occasions and Serena will be confident of matching that if she can emphasise what she has been doing well in these Championships, which is serving aces, and minimise some of the extravagant errors which have crept into her game, particularly since she came back just over a year ago from a combination of serious injury and grave illness. To have got this far on Wimbledon's lawns once more is indeed a tribute to one whose career could so easily have been over.

Final Thoughts from Radwanska: "I played Serena a couple of times, but it was long time ago. I didn't play her I think in last few years. But it's always tough. She's a very tough opponent and hitting the ball very well. Of course she's playing great tennis on the grass. I think I don't really have anything to lose, so just going to try my best."

Final Thoughts from Williams: "I have to go out there and win. Agnieszka has had a better year than I have. She's been way more consistent than me. She's done really well, so she's ranked higher than me. She deserves to be. You know, I have to go out there and fight for this. This is by no means going to be easy. Never, ever do I underestimate any opponent. She's out there to try to do her best."

Interesting Facts about the Wimbledon 2012 singles final:

~ No Polish player, male or female, has ever won a Grand Slam title.

~ Radwanska is the first Polish player, male or female, to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era (she was already the first to reach a semifinal).

~ Radwanska has many other firsts for Poland: first to win a WTA title (at Stockholm in 2007), first to reach Top 10 (in July 2008), first to beat a World No.1 (beating Wozniacki at Sydney this year) and first to cross $1 million in career prize money (and she now has more than $9 million).

~ Radwanska is trying to become the fifth woman to win Wimbledon having been a junior champion, having done it in 2005 (beating Paszek in the final); the first four to achieve the feat were Jones, Susman, Hingis and Mauresmo.

~ Radwanska will break the Top 2 after this, to No.2 if she loses the final and to No.1 if she wins the final (Azarenka will be the other one in the Top 2); Williams will move from No.6 to No.4 no matter what happens in the final.

~ Williams is playing her 18th Grand Slam final (she is 13-4 in her first 17).

~ Williams is 10-0 against Top 5 players over the last year (winning them all in straight sets - and only being pushed to two tie-breaks, both by Azarenka).

~ Williams is trying to become the first 30-something to win a Grand Slam title since 1990 Wimbledon (Navratilova, who was 33 at the time).

~ With 13, Williams is in fourth place for Grand Slam titles in the Open Era (Graf leads with 22, followed by Evert and Navratilova with 18).

~ With 4, Williams is tied for fourth place for Wimbledon titles in the Open Era (Navratilova has 9, followed by Graf with 7 and Venus Williams with 5).

~ Every time the Williams sisters play doubles at Wimbledon, one of them wins the singles title (they have played doubles here eight times before and have each won the singles title four of those times - good for Serena?)

~ This will be the seventh different Grand Slam champion in a row (Clijsters, Li, Kvitova, Stosur, Azarenka, Sharapova and Radwanska or Williams); the only time there have been seven or more different Grand Slam champions in a row came between the 1977 Australian Open and 1978 Wimbledon.

Wimbledon 2012: Agnieszka Radwanska - Road to Final
First Round: d. Magdalena Rybarikova, 63 63 (1:37)
Second Round: d. Elena Vesnina, 62 61 (0:56)
Third Round: d. Heather Watson, 60 62 (0:58)
Fourth Round: d. Camila Giorgi, 62 63 (1:06)
Quarterfinals: d. Maria Kirilenko, 75 46 75 (2:50)
Semifinals: d. Angelique Kerber, 63 64 (1:10)

Wimbledon 2012: Serena Williams - Road to Final
First Round: d. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 62 64 (1:20)
Second Round: d. Melinda Czink, 61 64 (1:01)
Third Round: d. Zheng Jie, 67(5) 62 97 (2:28)
Fourth Round: d. Yaroslava Shvedova, 61 26 75 (1:54)
Quarterfinals: d. Petra Kvitova, 63 75 (1:24)
Semifinals: d. Victoria Azarenka, 63 76(6) (1:36)

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Serena Williams Wimbledon 2012 Prize Money Earnings

July 7 Update: Serena Williams wins her 14th Grand Slam title, her 5th Wimbledon title, and the top prize of £1,150,000. On top of her singles prize money, Serena will split the ladies doubles top prize of £260,000 with sister Venus. | Preview: Serena Williams holds the all-time record of prize money won by a woman professional athlete. As of June 25, 2012, her career total is a staggering $36,046,313. By reaching the finals of both the Wimbledon 2012 singles and doubles tournament, she is assured of pushing her record prize money earnings beyond the $37 million mark. On Saturday, Serena is chasing two titles. If she wins the singles title, she takes home the champion's prize money of £1,150,000. If she and sister Venus takes home the doubles trophy, they will split the £260,000 champions purse.

Before the tournament started, Serena is #5 in the 2012 year-to-date prize money leaders list behind Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Sara Errani with $1,294,379.

WTA 2012 Prize Money Leaders
AS OF JUNE 25, 2012

1 Azarenka, Victoria BLR $4,633,237
2 Sharapova, Maria RUS $4,369,006
3 Radwanska, Agnieszka POL $2,088,433
4 Errani, Sara ITA $1,901,235
5 Williams, Serena USA $1,294,379
6 Kvitova, Petra CZE $1,058,976
7 Stosur, Samantha AUS $945,530
8 Vinci, Roberta ITA $901,208
9 Kerber, Angelique GER $886,976
10 Li, Na CHN $770,854

WTA Career Prize Money Leaders
As of: Jun 25, 2012
1 WILLIAMS, SERENA USA 36,046,313
2 WILLIAMS, VENUS USA 28,091,198
3 CLIJSTERS, KIM BEL 24,279,361
4 DAVENPORT, LINDSAY USA 22,166,338
5 GRAF, STEFFI GER 21,895,277
6 NAVRATILOVA, MARTINA USA 21,626,089
7 SHARAPOVA, MARIA RUS 21,012,333
8 HENIN, JUSTINE BEL 20,863,335
9 HINGIS, MARTINA SUI 20,130,657
10 SANCHEZ-VICARIO, ARANTXA ESP 16,942,640

Serena Williams - 2012 Prize Money per Singles Tournament

BRISBANE
BRISBANESEE ALL BRISBANE RESULTS FOR WILLIAMS
TOUR, AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 1 2012, $655,000, HARD (O)
DRAW: 32M/32Q/16D, RANK: 12 SEED/ENTRY: 4/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R32 H2H SCHEEPERS, CHANELLE (RSA) 38 W 6-2 6-3
R16 H2H JOVANOVSKI, BOJANA (SRB) 76 W 6-2 6-4
Q H2H HANTUCHOVA, DANIELA (SVK) 24 L W/O
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 120 WTA RANKING PTS: 120 PRIZE MONEY: $16,000
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
AUSTRALIAN OPENSEE ALL AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULTS FOR WILLIAMS
GS, AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 16 2012, $12,122,762, HARD (O)
DRAW: 128M/128Q/64D, RANK: 12 SEED/ENTRY: 12/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R128 H2H PASZEK, TAMIRA (AUT) 45 W 6-3 6-2
R64 H2H ZAHLAVOVA STRYCOVA, BARBORA (CZE) 49 W 6-0 6-4
R32 H2H ARN, GRETA (HUN) 92 W 6-1 6-1
R16 H2H MAKAROVA, EKATERINA (RUS) 56 L 6-2 6-3
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 280 WTA RANKING PTS: 280 PRIZE MONEY: $115,423
FED CUP WEEK 1
FED CUP WEEK 1SEE ALL FED CUP WEEK 1 RESULTS FOR WILLIAMS
FC, USA, FEBRUARY 4 2012, $0, HARD (I)
DRAW: 8M/0Q/2D, RANK: 12 SEED/ENTRY: /
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R1 H2H GOVORTSOVA, OLGA (BLR) 97 W 7-5 6-0
R1 H2H YAKIMOVA, ANASTASIYA (BLR) 65 W 5-7 6-1 6-1
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 0 WTA RANKING PTS: 0 PRIZE MONEY: $0
MIAMI
MIAMISEE ALL MIAMI RESULTS FOR WILLIAMS
TOUR, USA, MARCH 20 2012, $4,828,050, HARD (O)
DRAW: 128M/64Q/32D, RANK: 11 SEED/ENTRY: 10/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R128 BYE
R64 H2H ZHANG, SHUAI (CHN) 171 W 6-2 6-3
R32 H2H (21) VINCI, ROBERTA (ITA) 20 W 6-2 6-1
R16 H2H (6) STOSUR, SAMANTHA (AUS) 5 W 7-5 6-3
Q H2H (4) WOZNIACKI, CAROLINE (DEN) 6 L 6-4 6-4
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 250 WTA RANKING PTS: 250 PRIZE MONEY: $79,000
CHARLESTON
CHARLESTONSEE ALL CHARLESTON RESULTS FOR WILLIAMS
TOUR, USA, APRIL 2 2012, $740,000, CLAY (O)
DRAW: 64M/64Q/16D, RANK: 10 SEED/ENTRY: 5/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R64 BYE
R32 H2H VESNINA, ELENA (RUS) 56 W 6-3 6-4
R16 H2H (17) ERAKOVIC, MARINA (NZL) 45 W 6-2 6-2
Q H2H (6) LISICKI, SABINE (GER) 13 W 4-1 RET
S H2H (2) STOSUR, SAMANTHA (AUS) 5 W 6-1 6-1
F H2H (9) SAFAROVA, LUCIE (CZE) 26 W 6-0 6-1
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 470 WTA RANKING PTS: 470 PRIZE MONEY: $115,000
FED CUP WEEK 2 - PLAYOFFS
FED CUP WEEK 2 - PLAYOFFSSEE ALL FED CUP WEEK 2 - PLAYOFFS RESULTS FOR WILLIAMS
FC, UKRAINE, APRIL 21 2012, $0, CLAY (O)
DRAW: 8M/0Q/2D, RANK: 9 SEED/ENTRY: /
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R2 H2H TSURENKO, LESIA (UKR) 110 W 6-3 6-2
R2 H2H SVITOLINA, ELINA (UKR) 171 W 6-2 6-1
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 0 WTA RANKING PTS: 0 PRIZE MONEY: $0
MADRID
MADRIDSEE ALL MADRID RESULTS FOR WILLIAMS
TOUR, SPAIN, MAY 5 2012, $5,189,603, CLAY (O)
DRAW: 64M/32Q/28D, RANK: 9 SEED/ENTRY: 9/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R64 H2H VESNINA, ELENA (RUS) 68 W 6-3 6-1
R32 H2H PAVLYUCHENKOVA, ANASTASIA (RUS) 25 W 6-2 6-1
R16 H2H (6) WOZNIACKI, CAROLINE (DEN) 6 W 1-6 6-3 6-2
Q H2H (2) SHARAPOVA, MARIA (RUS) 2 W 6-1 6-3
S H2H HRADECKA, LUCIE (CZE) 105 W 7-6(5) 6-0
F H2H (1) AZARENKA, VICTORIA (BLR) 1 W 6-1 6-3
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 1000 WTA RANKING PTS: 1000 PRIZE MONEY: $872,042
ROME
ROMESEE ALL ROME RESULTS FOR WILLIAMS
TOUR, ITALY, MAY 14 2012, $2,168,400, CLAY (O)
DRAW: 64M/32Q/32D, RANK: 6 SEED/ENTRY: 9/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R64 H2H VOSKOBOEVA, GALINA (KAZ) 46 W 6-2 6-3
R32 H2H PETROVA, NADIA (RUS) 30 W 4-6 6-2 6-3
R16 H2H MEDINA GARRIGUES, ANABEL (ESP) 31 W 6-3 6-1
Q H2H PENNETTA, FLAVIA (ITA) 21 W 4-0 RET
S H2H (8) LI, NA (CHN) 9 L W/O
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 395 WTA RANKING PTS: 395 PRIZE MONEY: $70,175
FRENCH OPEN
FRENCH OPENSEE ALL FRENCH OPEN RESULTS FOR WILLIAMS
GS, FRANCE, MAY 27 2012, $11,315,740, CLAY (O)
DRAW: 128M/128Q/64D, RANK: 5 SEED/ENTRY: 5/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R128 H2H RAZZANO, VIRGINIE (FRA) 111 L 4-6 7-6(5) 6-3
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 5 WTA RANKING PTS: 5 PRIZE MONEY: $24,320

Congratulations to Serena Williams for her Wimbledon 2012 Prize Money Earnings.

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Radwanska's Wimbledon 2012 Prize Money Earnings

By reaching the finals of the Wimbledon 2012 women's singles tournament, Agnieszka Radwanska assured herself of having her best year in terms of money earned. Before the tournament started, Radwanska's prize money for 2012 is an impressive $2,088,433 haul putting her on third spot behind Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. She participated in both the women's singles and doubles tournament. By reaching the third round of the doubles with sister Urszula, Radwanska takes home £8,000. By reaching the finals of the women's singles, she assured herself of £575,000. If she wins the whole tournament, she takes home the champion's prize money of £1,150,000. | 7/7 Update: Radwanska lost in three sets in the recently concluded 2012 Wimbledon women's singles final.

Agnieszka Radwanska Prize Money for 2012: $2,088,433 - currently in 3rd place

Agnieszka Radwanska Prize Money for Career: $9,038,568 - currently in #29 place. After Wimbledon, she will be #25 overtaking Mary Pierce, Lisa Raymond, Ana Ivanovic, and Francesca Shchiavone.

Agnieszka Radwanska - 2012 Prize Money Earnings per Singles Tournament

SYDNEY
SYDNEYSEE ALL SYDNEY RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 8 2012, $637,000, HARD (O)
DRAW: 32M/64Q/16D, RANK: 8 SEED/ENTRY: 7/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R32 H2H RADWANSKA, URSZULA (POL) 102 W 6-1 6-1
R16 H2H PETKOVIC, ANDREA (GER) 10 W 7-5 6-4
Q H2H (1) WOZNIACKI, CAROLINE (DEN) 1 W 3-6 7-5 6-2
S H2H (3) AZARENKA, VICTORIA (BLR) 3 L 1-6 6-3 6-2
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 200 WTA RANKING PTS: 200 PRIZE MONEY: $30,510
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
AUSTRALIAN OPENSEE ALL AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
GS, AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 16 2012, $12,122,762, HARD (O)
DRAW: 128M/128Q/64D, RANK: 8 SEED/ENTRY: 8/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R128 H2H MATTEK-SANDS, BETHANIE (USA) 67 W 6-7(10) 6-4 6-2
R64 H2H ORMAECHEA, PAULA (ARG) 189 W 6-3 6-1
R32 H2H VOSKOBOEVA, GALINA (KAZ) 57 W 6-2 6-2
R16 H2H (22) GOERGES, JULIA (GER) 23 W 6-1 6-1
Q H2H (3) AZARENKA, VICTORIA (BLR) 3 L 6-7(0) 6-0 6-2
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 500 WTA RANKING PTS: 500 PRIZE MONEY: $230,845
DOHA
DOHASEE ALL DOHA RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, QATAR, FEBRUARY 13 2012, $2,168,400, HARD (O)
DRAW: 64M/32Q/32D, RANK: 6 SEED/ENTRY: 4/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R64 BYE
R32 H2H KEOTHAVONG, ANNE (GBR) 89 W 6-1 6-2
R16 H2H LEPCHENKO, VARVARA (USA) 114 W 7-5 6-1
Q H2H MCHALE, CHRISTINA (USA) 38 W 6-1 6-1
S H2H (1) AZARENKA, VICTORIA (BLR) 1 L 6-2 6-4
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 395 WTA RANKING PTS: 395 PRIZE MONEY: $96,100
DUBAI
DUBAISEE ALL DUBAI RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, FEBRUARY 20 2012, $2,000,000, HARD (O)
DRAW: 32M/32Q/16D, RANK: 6 SEED/ENTRY: 5/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R32 H2H WOZNIAK, ALEKSANDRA (CAN) 80 W 6-1 6-7(6) 7-5
R16 H2H PEER, SHAHAR (ISR) 40 W 7-5 6-4
Q H2H (9) LISICKI, SABINE (GER) 13 W 6-2 6-1
S H2H (8) JANKOVIC, JELENA (SRB) 14 W 6-2 2-6 6-0
F H2H GOERGES, JULIA (GER) 19 W 7-5 6-4
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 470 WTA RANKING PTS: 470 PRIZE MONEY: $446,778
KUALA LUMPUR
KUALA LUMPURSEE ALL KUALA LUMPUR RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, MALAYSIA, FEBRUARY 27 2012, $220,000, HARD (O)
DRAW: 32M/32Q/16D, RANK: 5 SEED/ENTRY: 1/W
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R32 H2H AMANMURADOVA, AKGUL (UZB) 118 W 6-2 6-4
R16 H2H PLISKOVA, KAROLINA (CZE) 139 W 6-4 6-4
Q H2H HSIEH, SU-WEI (TPE) 123 L W/O
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 70 WTA RANKING PTS: 70 PRIZE MONEY: $5,340
INDIAN WELLS
INDIAN WELLSSEE ALL INDIAN WELLS RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, USA, MARCH 7 2012, $5,536,664, HARD (O)
DRAW: 128M/64Q/32D, RANK: 5 SEED/ENTRY: 5/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R128 BYE
R64 H2H CIRSTEA, SORANA (ROU) 48 W 6-2 6-4
R32 H2H (27) PENNETTA, FLAVIA (ITA) 25 W 6-4 6-2
R16 H2H HAMPTON, JAMIE (USA) 99 W 6-3 4-6 3-0 RET
Q H2H (1) AZARENKA, VICTORIA (BLR) 1 L 6-0 6-2
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 250 WTA RANKING PTS: 250 PRIZE MONEY: $100,000
MIAMI
MIAMISEE ALL MIAMI RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, USA, MARCH 20 2012, $4,828,050, HARD (O)
DRAW: 128M/64Q/32D, RANK: 4 SEED/ENTRY: 5/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R128 BYE
R64 H2H KEYS, MADISON (USA) 275 W 6-1 6-1
R32 H2H SOLER-ESPINOSA, SILVIA (ESP) 72 W 6-1 6-2
R16 H2H MUGURUZA, GARBINE (ESP) 208 W 6-3 6-2
Q H2H WILLIAMS, VENUS (USA) 134 W 6-4 6-1
S H2H (7) BARTOLI, MARION (FRA) 7 W 6-4 6-2
F H2H (2) SHARAPOVA, MARIA (RUS) 2 W 7-5 6-4
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 1000 WTA RANKING PTS: 1000 PRIZE MONEY: $712,000
STUTTGART
STUTTGARTSEE ALL STUTTGART RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, GERMANY, APRIL 23 2012, $740,000, CLAY (I)
DRAW: 32M/32Q/16D, RANK: 4 SEED/ENTRY: 4/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R32 BYE
R16 H2H ARN, GRETA (HUN) 75 W 6-3 6-4
Q H2H (8) LI, NA (CHN) 8 W 3-6 6-2 6-3
S H2H (1) AZARENKA, VICTORIA (BLR) 1 L 6-1 6-3
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 200 WTA RANKING PTS: 200 PRIZE MONEY: $33,500
MADRID
MADRIDSEE ALL MADRID RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, SPAIN, MAY 5 2012, $5,189,603, CLAY (O)
DRAW: 64M/32Q/28D, RANK: 3 SEED/ENTRY: 4/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R64 H2H ARRUABARRENA-VECINO, LARA (ESP) 131 W 6-3 6-1
R32 H2H ERRANI, SARA (ITA) 24 W 6-0 6-1
R16 H2H VINCI, ROBERTA (ITA) 20 W 7-6(1) 6-4
Q H2H LEPCHENKO, VARVARA (USA) 77 W 6-4 6-4
S H2H (1) AZARENKA, VICTORIA (BLR) 1 L 6-2 6-4
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 450 WTA RANKING PTS: 450 PRIZE MONEY: $206,609
ROME
ROMESEE ALL ROME RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, ITALY, MAY 14 2012, $2,168,400, CLAY (O)
DRAW: 64M/32Q/32D, RANK: 3 SEED/ENTRY: 3/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R64 BYE
R32 H2H CETKOVSKA, PETRA (CZE) 28 L 6-4 4-6 6-1
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 1 WTA RANKING PTS: 1 PRIZE MONEY: $11,300
BRUSSELS
BRUSSELSSEE ALL BRUSSELS RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, BELGIUM, MAY 21 2012, $637,000, CLAY (O)
DRAW: 32M/32Q/16D, RANK: 3 SEED/ENTRY: 1/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R32 BYE
R16 H2H TSURENKO, LESIA (UKR) 105 W 6-1 6-0
Q H2H VAN UYTVANCK, ALISON (BEL) 450 W 6-2 6-1
S H2H (8) KANEPI, KAIA (EST) 25 W 7-6(8) 6-3
F H2H HALEP, SIMONA (ROU) 49 W 7-5 6-0
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 470 WTA RANKING PTS: 470 PRIZE MONEY: $107,000
FRENCH OPEN
FRENCH OPENSEE ALL FRENCH OPEN RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
GS, FRANCE, MAY 27 2012, $11,315,740, CLAY (O)
DRAW: 128M/128Q/64D, RANK: 3 SEED/ENTRY: 3/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R128 H2H JOVANOVSKI, BOJANA (SRB) 101 W 6-1 6-0
R64 H2H WILLIAMS, VENUS (USA) 53 W 6-2 6-3
R32 H2H (26) KUZNETSOVA, SVETLANA (RUS) 28 L 6-1 6-2
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 160 WTA RANKING PTS: 160 PRIZE MONEY: $63,503
EASTBOURNE
EASTBOURNESEE ALL EASTBOURNE RESULTS FOR RADWANSKA
TOUR, GREAT BRITAIN, JUNE 18 2012, $637,000, GRASS (O)
DRAW: 32M/32Q/16D, RANK: 3 SEED/ENTRY: 1/
RND OPPONENT RANK W/L SCORE
R32 H2H PIRONKOVA, TSVETANA (BUL) 40 L 6-2 6-4
WTA CHAMPIONSHIP PTS: 1 WTA RANKING PTS: 1 PRIZE MONEY: $4,500

Congratulations to AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA for her Wimbledon 2012 prize money earnings.

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French Open 2012: Sloane Stephens among Most Popular

Hailed as one of the rising young stars of the WTA tour, American teenager Sloane Stephens has got an all-court game that bodes well for the future of American women's tennis. On Friday, Stephens put on a dominating display that saw her defeat a veteran player in 27-year-old Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson in Court Philippe Chatrier - the main show court of the French Open. The result, a 63 62 victory that allowed Stephens to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. Because of these results, Stephens is amongst the more popular players being searched on in the RolandGarros.com website.

In the French Open official website, Stephen's photo that depicted the player flashing an endearing mega-watt smile after beating Johansson is amongst the top 10 photos of the day. Two of the top six featured videos include her as well. One video featured the highlights from her third round match. Another video is of the 19-year old graciously answering questions from the press after her first visit to a Grand Slam's round of 16.

So far, Stephens has advanced without dropping a set in her first three matches. She beat world no. 37 Ekaterina Makarova in the first round 6-4 7-6(6). In the second round, she dominated fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1 6-1. Stephen's next two matches, if she gets that far, will be two of the women's title favorites. World no. 6 Samantha Stosur is Stephen's next opponent on Sunday. If she does beat Stosur, she will then set-up a quarterfinal match-up against world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka.

Stephens started playing professional tennis in 2007, on an ITF circuit in Brazil. In 2008, she played her first WTA tournaments qualifying for the Miami and US Open at the age of 15. In 2011, Stephens had a breakthrough season reaching the top 100 for the first time. She reached the quarterfinal stage at Carlsbad and reached the third round of the US Open. She finished the year as the youngest player in the WTA top 100 rankings.

This year, Stephens failed to make it past the qualifying stages in Brisbane and Hobart, but she progressed to the second round of the Australian Open losing to former world no. 2 Kuznetsova in the process. In March, she was leading Angelique Kerber of Germany, now a top 10 player, in the second round 62 51 with two match points before she succumbed to pressure and lost the match 26 75 64. In her next tournament in Miami, she lost in the third round to Maria Sharapova. Her best performance at a WTA tournament to date was reaching the semi-finals at Strasbourg losing to eventual champion Francesca Schiavone.

This blog wishes the best for Stephens. If she wins her match-up against Stosur, she will be able to qualify as a participant in this year's Olympics. If that happens, she deserves it. With the grace and good example she's been showing, she's a good representative and ambassador for the United States. Congratulations and keep up the good job, Sloane.

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Video of Serena Crying during French Open 2012 1st Round Loss

She was many a tennis expert's pick to win her second Roland Garros title, and first in 10 years. But a Frenchwoman ranked outside the top 100 had different aspirations. Virginie Razzano played lights out tennis in dealing American Serena Williams her first ever loss at the opening of a Grand Slam tournament. In her 47th first round match, Serena lost an exciting 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 match to the inspired Razzano once ranked no. 16 in the world. Razzano, who dealt with recent tragedy after the death of her fiance was heavily supported by the partisan French crowd at Roland-Garros Court Phillipe Chatrier. Serena managed to save 8 match points before finally sending a ball out to spark a wild frenzy amongst the spectators.

Watch the video of Serena Williams crying during her French Open 2012 first round loss below. The video was taken after the second set tiebreak, and before the start of the third set. Serena Williams was up 5-1 in the tiebreak and two points away from winning what could have been a routine first rounder for the 13-time Grand Slam champion. Instead, nervous play and a never-say-die attitude from an underdog who had nothing to lose resulted in one of the greatest upsets in Grand Slam history. No, this wasn't the Serena who was struggling on clay. It was the Serena who came into the French Open with 2 clay tune-up victories and riding a 17-match winning streak on the surface. It's a reminder once again that there are no sure winners in tennis. Perhaps, only a guy named Rafael Nadal.

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French Open 2012 Odds: Nadal, Serena are Favorites

Who are the bookmaker's favorites to lift the Roland-Garros 2012 French Open trophies this year? As the second Grand Slam of the year started today, the betting game is on as well. Six-time French Open champion and world no. 2 Rafael Nadal is the heavy favorite to win the men's singles title while 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams is the top pick to win the women's singles title. Nadal is aiming to be the first male player to win seven Roland-Garros titles while Serena is going for a second French Open crown to add to her 2002 victory. Listed below are the other men and women's tennis hopefuls according to a variety of online bookmakers.

Roland Garros 2012 Nadal's Main Challengers - Djokovic, Federer: World no. 1 Novak Djokovic is Nadal's primary challenger for the title. The winner of the past three major titles at Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open, Djokovic is going for an achievement that hasn't been done since 1969. He is aiming to be the first male tennis player to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time in more than 40 years. Djokovic is in the other side of the draw from Nadal but he is in the same half as Nadal's second main challenger - Roger Federer.

Federer has beaten Djokovic in last year's French Open semifinals and has looked very solid in the past eight months which included winning an ATP league leading four tournaments this season. While he won the Madrid clay event three weeks ago, Federer accomplished that without facing either Nadal and Djokovic. However, his first meeting on clay this year with Djokovic ended with the Serb scoring a straight set victory.

French Open 2012: Men's Darkhorses: Bookmakers have listed Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, and Juan Martin del Potro as darkhorses for the men's singles titles this year. The weakest player in this batch is undoubtedly world no. 4 Murray. While the top-ranked UK player reached the men's semi-finals last year, his performance this year has been suspect on clay and he failed to advance to a single semi-final in three clay court events. The others - Ferrer, Berdych and Del Potro all had a strong clay court season this year and though one of them maybe able to bring down one of the Big Three, it is highly unlikely that they'll be able to win matches in a row against the three top favorites to win the French.

French Open 2012 Serena's Main Challengers - Azarenka, Sharapova: As with the men's, the top-ranked Victoria Azarenka is only the second favorite to lift the title behind Serena, according to bookmakers. Azarenka is on the top half of the draw and will not face a strong French Open favorite until possibly the finals. On the other side of the draw where Serena was placed, world no. 2 Maria Sharapova is handed the toughest quarterfinal assignment as she could meet Serena in the final eight. This is a course of concern for Sharapova as she had been beaten soundly by Serena in their last two meetings. In fact, Sharapova hasn't beaten Serena since 2004.

Roland Garros 2012 - Women's Darkhorses: While Azarenka and Sharapova are the main challengers for Serena's quest for a second French Open title, a group of talented players are the bookmaker's favorites as tournament darkhorses. Included in this group of players are defending champion Li Na, current US Open champion Samantha Stosur, current Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, and Agnieszka Radwanska, the world no. 3 who holds the most match wins with 36 in the WTA this year. Like with the men's, it is possible that any of these players can outplay Serena, Sharapova and Azarenka in any given time. However, it would be difficult to imagine any of these players beat the top three favorites in two consecutive matches.

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Serena will win French Open 2012 - Tennis Experts

For the first time since 2007 when Justine Henin made the clay courts at Roland-Garros her personal playground, this year's French Open 2012 is not as wide as it had been in the past four years or so. In fact, based on the clay court results in the past two months - it is with great certainty that the French Open title will be hoisted by three women at the end of the fortnight. It would be a surprise indeed, a great upset even, if Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka or Maria Sharapova will not be lifting the trophy on June 9. But, with tennis and women's tennis in general, one interesting aspect of the game is the uncertainty of the results.

This year however, there seems to be some order creeping back into the WTA tour. For starters, Azarenka won four titles to start the year, winning her first Grand Slam in Melbourne and taking over the world no. 1 ranking. She went on a 26-match winning spree beating world no. 2 Maria Sharapova in the finals of the Australian and Indian Wells, and dominating the other successful player this season in Agnieszka Radwanska. Azarenka seemed poised to continue her domination of the clay court circuit but things took an interesting twist.

Two former no. 1 players and multi-Grand Slam winners entered the picture. 13-time major titlist Serena Williams overwhelmed a Charleston field and defeated both Azarenka and Sharapova in straight sets to win the Charleston and Madrid clay court events on her way to a perfect 17-0 winning streak on clay so far. Her minor hiccup was a withdrawal against French Open defending champion Na Li prior to their scheduled semifinal in Rome. The reason? A recurring back problem caused Serena to withdraw as not to jeopardize her ability to peak for the second Grand Slam of the season. Serena has always been vocal in her desire to add another French Open trophy to the one she won 10 years ago. This year, she seems to have mastered clay and intimidated opponents in the surface.

So then, with Serena showing her resolve of old, tennis experts from ESPN and CNN Sports Illustrated are predicting a 14th Grand Slam title for the American in her least favorite surface. In his French Open women's seed report, Jon Wertheim of CNN remarked: "Can we pause and acknowledge how remarkable it is that, a full decade after her lone French Open title, Williams is still going this strong? Again and again you'll hear, "When she's motivated and healthy, she is the best in the world." But truth is truth. It says here that Serena gets back in the winners' circle."

His counterparts at ESPN agree. Eight of twelve tennis experts picked her to win her second Roland-Garros trophy. The other four picks were distributed to Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanksa, and Samantha Stosur. Sharapova is actually a good pick being the only other player other than Serena to win two clay court events this spring. The Russian world no. 2 defeated Azarenka convincingly in the Stuttgart finals and also edged out reigning French Open champion Li Na to defend her title in Rome. As for Kvitova, Radwanska and Stosur, it's unclear how the other experts would pick those three considering their results in the tune-up tournaments.

What's strange about the ESPN's tennis experts picks is the absence of someone picking Azarenka. The world no. 1, if healthy, has the tools and confidence to win a second straight slam and the draw has been kind to her. Azarenka is drawn to meet Radwanska in the semifinals, a player she has beaten six times already this year. She however, must get past Stosur, a former French Open finalist, in the quarterfinals. Still, it is no question that Azarenka's draw is easier than that of Serena, who was dealt the toughest draw of all.

Serena could end up playing former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, Sharapova, and Li or Kvitova just to reach the finals. She has beaten Wozniacki and Sharapova on clay this year, but hasn't played against Li or Kvitova. The quarterfinal with Sharapova may very turn out to be the de-facto final. Whatever the case may be, a win by Serena, and to a lesser extent, wins by Sharapova and Azarenka, could make the WTA a more exciting product in the months to come.

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Sharapova slams Azarenka due to Withdrawal, Twitter comments

World no. 2 Maria Sharapova slammed world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka after the latter pulled out of Rome's 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2012 after winning her first match comfortably. In a late scheduled match on Wednesday, Azarenka dominated Shahar Peer 61 62 then promptly withdrew citing a shoulder injury. In her Twitter account, Azarenka fired a couple of posts blaming WTA rules, "If WTA rules were different then I could have focused on getting healthy, but I could not afford another zero pointer on my ranking..." and "Hopefully in the future there will be more protection for players rights..."

Afer reaching the semi-finals on Friday, Sharapova took a dig at Azarenka when she said, "She is probably injured more than any other player and to be number one in the world and be able to play a full schedule... I think last year she had more retirements that anyone but played a full schedule and after two days retirement you would see her practicing and so it’s tough to know what her state is and what she is feeling."

Sharapova derided Azarenka for not withdrawing earlier if she was feeling injured. The Russian said, "Personally, if I am injured however big or small the fine is, the body is no support for me and if this is the tournament where you have to participate or get zero points but to be honest I don't really care about that because but for me the health is the most important thing. If I am healthy then I can go on court and beat someone and not go and save whatever money and I pay the fine."

Sharapova also defended the WTA tour's right to fine players who pull out of competitions. "We have a new system of new rules and mandatory tournaments and its very successful because all the top players attend and the TV and the public covers you and the fan are there is no reason whey thus style doesn't work. Sometimes all the top players are not there because some players get injured but sometimes you have to pay a little out of your pocket and not play or you do a little more media for the tournament but if you are not healthy then you are not going to play."

Lastly, Sharapova indicated that playing a smaller number of tournaments is key noting the quality trumps quantity. "I have had a similar schedule since I got on tour it has worked... I am never a player that has played more than 16 or 17 tournaments a year, whether because I wasn't healthy or not. It isn't the quantity but the quality and so if you can’t do a tournament just to get the points. I didn't change my calendar and I kept to the same".

This is not the first time that Sharapova has taken a dig of Azarenka pertaining to the Belarussian's injuries. In a match in Beijing 2009, Azarenka asked for treatment and Sharapova said to the umpire, "Is her last name Jankovic?" referring to the former no. 1's penchant for mid-match drama. More recently, when Sharapova beat Azarenka in Stuttgart, she very sarcastically mentioned Azarenka's injury in her speech noting that it was "unfortunate that Vika was extremely injured today and just couldn't really perform her best game."

Sharapova is not the only one to criticize Azarenka on how she deals with injury. In a Doha quarterfinal last February, world no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska said she had "lost a lot of respect" for the new no. 1. Radwanska felt Azarenka made too big a show of her injury after rolling her ankle during the match.

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Serena out of Rome 2012 with Injury; Li advances to Finals

Serena Williams pulled out of a scheduled semi-final match against Na Li on Saturday, due to a low back injury allowing the defending French Open champion to reach the finals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2012 in Roma, Foro Italico. Serena was riding a career best 17-match win streak on clay having won titles in Charleston and Madrid and was an imminent favorite to win the Rome tennis tournament for the second time in her career. In a press conference, Serena revealed she had "some problems with the lower back" earlier in the week which prompted her decision to withdraw.

Serena played an abbreviated match in the last round when local favorite Flavia Pennetta retired while Serena was ahead 4-0 in the first set. Earlier in the week, Dominika Cibulkova advanced to the quarterfinals when world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka withdrew from the tournament. Read below for the rest of Serena's press conference after her withdrawal.

Q: What are you thinking about all of the things that are coming up in next months?

WILLIAMS: There is a huge schedule coming up and when a little pain you can't…. you just want to compensate and I have had a long treatment for the last couple months …….. and so I just want to relax and get ready for next few months. I had a really great time ……

Q: You suffered an injury and had to pull out in Cincinnati. Is this similar to that and is this going to affect your preparation for the French Open.

WILLIAMS: I feel fine. Its just with a lot coming up and this is a good week to get better and I'm confident that I'll be 100%.

Q: Yesterday was quite a short match. If Flavia hadn't retired and you had to play a full match would you have retired yesterday.

WILLIAMS: I would have played to see how I felt towards the end of the match and depends on how my back was doing towards the end of the match.

Q: Do you think this problem is related to the special conditions in Madrid?
WILLIAMS: Not at all. Its just life and playing a lot and the body is just getting used to playing a lot of matches and that’s all.

Q: On the injury side your form has been as spectacular. You could have equalled your best ever run if you had ever played today. How do you feel apart form that with the long slog ahead.

WILLIAMS: It feels good and I feel my form is good and hopefully I will be able to do good and stay in form and do well.

Q: Do you have plans for today and tomorrow here in Rome.

WILLIAMS: I love Rome and I might stay today and tomorrow. I mean, I meant to play – I mean to take a day or a couple of day off. I don't have any plans. I don't have any plans because my plans were to play tennis.

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5 Tennis Players in Forbes 2012 100 Most Powerful Celebrities

Five tennis players, two from the ATP men's tour and three from the WTA women's tour, made the Forbes’ 2012 list of the top 100 world’s most powerful celebrities. Of the five, 16-time Grand Slam champion and world no. 2 Roger Federer was the highest-ranked tennis player at No. 31. He is followed by world no. 3 Rafael Nadal at no. 47, women's no. 2 Maria Sharapova at no. 71, 13-time Grand Slam champ Serena Williams at no. 77 and 2011 French Open champion and Li Na at no. 87. Notable omissions from the list were the no. 1 players in the ATP and WTA tours for 2011 - Novak Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki. Current WTA world no. 1 and Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka is also missing from the list.

The annual THE CELEBRITY 100 ranking is published by Forbes and covers the period from May 1, 2011, and May 1, 2012. The list includes "film and television actors, TV personalities, models, athletes, authors, musicians and comedians". Unlike other Forbes lists that are based on money and earnings, this ranking is based on money and fame. In the criteria used for fame, factors taken into consideration were media visibility in print, television, radio and online, plus social media power, which was measured by looking at each celebrity’s presence on Facebook and Twitter. The list is on its 13th year and started in 1999.

Below are the profiles of these five tennis players included in THE CELEBRITY 100 from Forbes.com:

#31. Roger Federer
Earnings $52M As of May 2012

Age: 30
Source of Wealth: Tennis
Residence: Bottmingen, Switzerland
Country of Citizenship: Switzerland
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

#30 in Money
#41 in TV/Radio
#2 in Press
#28 in Social
#68 in Web

Federer has the most impressive endorsement portfolio in sports with nine sponsors that collectively earn Federer more than $30 million annually including long-term deals with Nike, Rolex, Wilson and Credit Suisse. He also commands more than $1 million per exhibition event. Federer is widely perceived as the greatest tennis player ever. He holds the records for most singles Grand Slam wins (16) and career prize money ($70 million). He appeared in a staggering 18 out of 19 Grand Slam finals between 2005 and 2010.

#47. Rafael Nadal
Earnings $33M As of May 2012

Age: 26
Source of Wealth: Tennis
Residence: Manacor, Spain
Country of Citizenship: Spain
Marital Status: Single

#58 in Money
#14 in TV/Radio
#3 in Press
#25 in Social
#54 in Web

Nadal has established himself as one of the top tennis players of all-time. He has ranked among the top two in the ATP's year-end standings for seven straight years. His $48 million in career prize money ranks second only to Roger Federer. He became the first person to win the same tournament eight straight years when he clinched the title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April, 2012. Nadal has expanded his endorsement portfolio in recent years and counts Nike, Babolat, Kia Motors, Richard Mille and Bacardi among his sponsors.

#71. Maria Sharapova
Earnings $26M As of May 2012

Age: 25
Source of Wealth: Tennis
Residence: Bradenton, FL
Country of Citizenship: Russia
Marital Status: Engaged

#67 in Money
#59 in TV/Radio
#20 in Press
#33 in Social
#76 in Web

The world's highest-paid female athlete earns much more off the court than on thanks to deals with Evian, Head, Nike, Samsung, Tag Heuer and Tiffany. Sales for the Maria Sharapova Collection, her line of products at Nike subsidiary Cole Haan, doubled last year. He ballet flat is the best selling female shoe for Cole Haan. Next up: her own candy company called Sugarpova.

#77. Serena Williams
Earnings $13M As of May 2012

Age: 30
Source of Wealth: Tennis
Residence: Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Country of Citizenship: United States
Marital Status: Single

#90 in Money
#40 in TV/Radio
#19 in Press
#47 in Social
#63 in Web

Williams was sidelined for much of 2011 with serious injuries, but still managed to win two of the six tournaments she entered. She is the only female athlete to earn more than $35 million in career prize money and her thirteen Grand Slam singles titles is sixth all-time. Williams has a clothing line that sells on HSN, in addition to endorsement deals with Nike, Wilson and Gatorade. Her latest venture is pushing Sleep Sheets, strips with melatonin that melt in your mouth.

#87. Li Na
Earnings $18M As of May 2012

Age: 30
Source of Wealth: Tennis
Residence: Wuhan, Hubei, China
Country of Citizenship: China
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Marital Status: Married

#77 in Money
#74 in TV/Radio
#37 in Press
#87 in Social
#94 in Web

Li was a 28-year-old journeyman tennis player with three career WTA victories before 2011 when she reached two Grand Slam finals and won the French Open title. The win in Paris made her the first Chinese tennis player ever to win a Grand Slam event. Despite the sluggish overall sponsorship market, she signed seven multimillion-dollar endorsement deals after the historic win. Li shills for Babolat, Haagan-Daaz, Nike, Samsung and Mercedes, as well as multiple Chinese companies.

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Azarenka withdraws from Rome's 2012 Tennis Tournament

World no. 1 Victoria Azarenka withdrew from Rome, Italy's 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tennis tournament just moments after she ousted Israeli Shahar Peer in a late second round match. Azarenka was dominant in her 61 62 victory but in the WTA website, the following third round result was displayed: Singles - Third Round
(14) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. (1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) w/o (right shoulder injury). It is not indicated how Azarenka obtained the injury. No press releases are available, and a quick check on Azarenka's website didn't provide any additional information.

Fans in a tennis forum has raised the potential of Azarenka withdrawing because of her next match which was scheduled less than 24 hours after her late second round victory. Her match-up against Cibulkova was also scheduled to be played in COURT #2, an outside court and not in one of the three show courts at the Fora Italico. The withdrawal came as a surprise because Azarenka has been in fine form reaching the first two finals of her clay court events this year. She lost to world no. 2 Maria Sharapova in the finals of the Stuttgart tournament, and last Sunday, was beated by Serena Williams in the finals of Madrid.

Next on Azarenka's schedule is the French Open 2012 where she will be top-seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. The French Open starts in 10 days. Azarenka, had she reached the semi-finals of Rome, would have potentially met Serena and possibly Sharapova in the finals.

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Tennis Players with Most Facebook Likes

Which tennis players has the most Facebook LIKES? Six of them have more than 1 million followers in Facebook and no, Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Ana Ivanovic, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray are not part of that exclusive list. The top six is split between three women and three men tennis players, but there's a huge gap between the #3 and #4 in the list. Check it out.

#6. Venus Williams. 1,069,572 Facebook LIKES. The elder Williams sister uses her Facebook profile to highlight activities off the court, particularly her fashion endeavors. Recent posts included a link to a New York times article she wrote for the New York times. The article was aptly titled "The Racket Is Optional". The latest post she has promoted a tennis dress which she designed under the brand ELEVEN, and which is available at the tennis-warehouse.com.

#5. Anna Kournikova. 1,734,669 Facebook LIKES. And yes, the retired Kournikova is a tennis player. Yes, she did not win a single singles tennis tournament title but the Russian starlet did come close reaching several championship matches and winning doubles Grand Slam titles. Her popularity has nothing to do with her tennis though. A recent Facebook post of Kournikova gave the following advice: "You don't want to leave things for tomorrow, because that's what you're going to do tomorrow. Even if only for 15 minutes, start today, start now." And, such wisdom was awarded with more than a thousand people giving the post a thumbs up.

#4. Novak Djokovic. 1,903,355 Facebook LIKES. He may be world no. 1 and winner of the last three Grand Slam titles but Djokovic is not no. 1 in Facebook. Not even close. He does post regularly, almost on a daily basis, sometimes more. I was particularly interested in what he posted after being upset in Madrid last week by fellow Serb Janko Tipsaveric. What I saw made me smile.

Djokovic posted a photo of him smiling behind the back of a loaded car with the following caption: "The great thing about tennis is that there is always another tournament around the corner where you have a chance to play better :) Heading to Rome with my team and wishing good luck to Janko for tonight's match! Thank you for all your support and understanding in the past week. :)". Yep, he didn't seem blue-court whiny to me. And, more than 15,400 fans indicated their approval.

#3. Maria Sharapova. 7,154,886 Facebook LIKES. What's likeable about Sharapova's Facebook posts is that she provides glimpses of her humor. Particularly popular are her poses in various places accompanied with some rather personal note. The most liked post she had this month was on a photo of her in a Stuttgart park in a giant chessboard. Here's what Sharapova had to say:

"Here is what I was doing while in Stuttgart...no no, not playing chess, just taking walks in some of the parks and pretending like I knew what I was doing with a chess board. Would be nice to learn...perhaps it will help my patience." That provoked almost 31,000 approvals from her followers.

#2. Rafael Nadal. 10,532,776 Facebook LIKES. Nadal reached 10 million followers a few weeks back and has gained significantly more Facebook followers than any other player since the start of the clay court season. Not really that surprising and I'll not be surprised if he will have the most Facebook followers anytime soon. It was on May 11 when, after losing in the Madrid blue clay, Nadal posed with a frightening catch of a fish with the following caption:

"A beautiful day to go fishing in Mallorca!! :)". The response was overwhelming. 54,500+ fans gave him a thumbs-up and 5,542 commenters gave him a pat on the back. Vamos Rafa!

#1. Roger Federer. 10,546,144 Facebook LIKES. In a few weeks, I believe that Nadal will catch-up to Federer as the current top tennis player with the most Facebook LIKES. In latest postings from the Swiss tennis player, his profile includes a photo of him enjoying a tourist bus tour in Rome, posing with fellow Gillette ambassador and Brazilian football star Kaka, and a link to a YouTube video featuring a sneak preview of the Roger Federer World Tour 2012 by a Federer sponsor, Credit Suisse.

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Sharapova vs Serena in 2012 Rome's Internazionali BNL d'Italia

World no. 2 Maria Sharapova is known for playing a strong and powerful game of tennis, but it's her stronger mental fortitude that brought her on-court results which has helped her become a three time Grand Slam champion, a former world no. 1, and the most marketable female professional athlete in the planet. Three weekends ago, she beat the three reigning Grand Slam champions including world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka to clinch her first clay event of the season in Stuttgart. But last week, Sharapova's tenacity was overwhelmed when she was beaten soundly by former world no. 1 Serena Williams 61 63 at the quarter-finals in Madrid.


In fact, Sharapova has not beaten Serena since 2004, more than seven years ago. After winning two of their first three matches including Sharapova's first major at Wimbledon, it was Serena who has won their last seven matches, the last three in straight sets. As Sharapova prepares to defend her Internazionali BNL d'Italia title in Rome, she acknowledges that it's Serena who is one of the biggest threat for her to retain her title. Serena has been a perfect 13-0 on clay this year winning tournaments in Charleston and last week at Madrid. Sharapova laments that Serena plays her better than Serena plays other players.

In an press conference in Rome, Sharapova remarked on Serena: "I see some of her previous matches and then she plays against me and produces 13 aces... What about the other matches? I am flattered that she likes to do that against me. She is serving very well and playing a second serve ace is also very tough for her as she goes for the lines. Clay court rallies are especially hard because they are long but obviously you have to believe you are strong."

Rome is Sharapova's last stop before she plays the 2012 French Open, the only Grand Slam missing in her resume. Her best performance in Roland Garros is reaching the semifinals in 2007 and 2011.

Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova Head-to-Head: Serena leads 8-2

2004 MIAMI HARD R16 S. Williams 6-4 6-3
2004 WIMBLEDON GRASS F M. Sharapova 6-1 6-4
2004 TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS HARD F M. Sharapova 4-6 6-2 6-4
2005 AUSTRALIAN OPEN HARD S S. Williams 2-6 7-5 8-6
2007 AUSTRALIAN OPEN HARD F S. Williams 6-1 6-2
2007 MIAMI HARD R16 S. Williams 6-1 6-1
2008 CHARLESTON CLAY Q S. Williams 7-5 4-6 6-1
2010 WIMBLEDON GRASS R16 S. Williams 7-6(9) 6-4
2011 STANFORD HARD Q S. Williams 6-1 6-3
2012 MADRID CLAY Q S. Williams 6-1 6-3

Follow the exciting rivalry between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at the Rome 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

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2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome Open): Djokovic, Sharapova to Defend Titles

One of the major clay court tennis tournaments get going live next week at the 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. The event is held two weeks prior to the only Grand Slam on clay - the French Open, and attracts the best and the most talented field of tennis players. This year, all the top 10 players in both the ATP and WTA ours are entered. Coming back to defend their 2011 titles are ATP world no. 1 Novak Djokovic and WTA world no. 2 Maria Sharapova. Both players beat an incredibly talented field last year to secure the men and women's singles championships.

Last year, then no. 2 Djokovic broke Rafael Nadal’s 37-match unbeaten run on clay in the Mutua Madrid Open final. The Serbian then beat the Spaniard again in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final with a 6-4, 6-4 win in Rome. That set-up the stage for Djokovic to eventually grab the top-rankd position from Nadal. This year, Djokovic will be bidding to lift his 12th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. If he wins the on-going Madrid tournament, the number could actually increase to 13. Challenging Djokovic will be the following three players:

World no. 2 Rafael Nadal will certainly try bounce back from his third-round defeat in Madrid to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. Nadal has five titles at the Foro Italico with victories in 2005-2007 and 2009-2010.

World no. 3 Roger Federer is competing for 12th time in a tournament he has never won. He lost in the finals in 2003 and 2006. He is 20-11 at the tournament.

World no.4 Andy Murray last year became the first British male to reach the Rome semi-finals since Pat Hughes finished runner-up in 1932. The Scot is 8-2 in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals.

On the WTA side, world no. 2 Maria Sharapova won her biggest clay court title yet when she beat former French Open finalist and now US Open champ Samantha Stosur in a straight set 62 64 victory. Showing her power game is most certainly adaptable to all surfaces, Sharapova captured the Internazionali BNL d'Italia crown and maintained her mastery over Samantha Stosur. The 2011 final got off to a gloomy start, three hours of rain delay pushing it until after 5pm; but once the clouds cleared Sharapova shone through, winning 16 of the first 19 points to storm ahead 4-0 and she never looked back. She ended it with a huge inside out forehand into the open court, her 18th winner of the match.

Sharapova's main challengers to defending her title will come from world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka and Charleston winner and former world no. 1 Serena Williams. Serena bundled Sharapova out of the Madrid tournament in a convincing straight set win, her seventh straight victory over the Russian.

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