Stanford 2012 Finals Live Stream: Serena Williams vs Coco Vandeweghe

It will be a battle between a veteran American tennis star and an up-and-coming American player who is 10 years younger and is playing in her first ever WTA finals when top-seeded Serena Williams plays lucky loser Coco Vandeweghe in the 2012 BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC tennis tournament in Stanford, California. The premier level tournament will have it's championship match today Sunday, July 15, 2012 at 1pm local time. The doubles final will follow after the completion of the singles final. Watch the Stanford 2012 finals live online streaming here for non-US viewers. For fans within the United States, online live streaming links are available here.

Vandeweghe, who lost in the last round of qualifying, was allowed in the main draw along with two other lucky loses after three players including no. 7-seed Petra Martic withdrew before the tournament started due to injuries. The young American then went on a tear beating Melinda Czink in the first round, no. 4-seed Jelena Jankovic in the second round, Urszula Radwanska in the semifinals, and finally downing no. 5-seed Yanina Wickmayer 62 36 62 to reach her first ever WTA final.

Vandeweghe is currently ranked no. 120 but her finals appearance guarantees her a jump to at least the top 80 in the rankings which will allow her to gain outright entry into the US Open main draw starting in the last week of August. She also is the first lucky loser to reach the final of a tournament after the same achievement was done by Czink, Vandeweghe's first round opponent, at Canberra in 2005.

In the night match, top seeded and world no. 4 Serena Williams was just too powerful for Romanian no. 9-seed Sorana Cirstea. Their semifinal match was done in an hour with Serena the 61 62 victor. Serena is playing in Stanford after winning her 5th Wimbledon title and 14th Grand Slam last weekend. She is the defending champion and has dominated her opponents losing just 10 games in three matches on her way to the final. She had a first round bye, defeated American wildcard Nicole Gibbs in the second round, beat no. 6-seed Chanelle Scheepers in the quarterfinals before her semi-final against Cirstea. She is aiming to win her fourth title of the year after lifting trophies in Charleston, Madrid and Wimbledon.

Williams has now won 27 of her last 28 matches and is aiming to match the 43 WTA titles her older sister currently have, which is the most amongst active players. Williams and Vandeweghe will be playing each other for the first time and Vandeweghe doesn't have a single top 5 win to her name. The winner takes home the $96,000 top prize money earnings and 470 ranking points. The runner-up wins $53,000 and 320 ranking points.

Watch the 2012 Bank of the West Classic singles finals in Stanford through live online video streaming featuring Serena Williams vs Coco Vandeweghe.

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2012 Newport Tennis Finals: Isner vs Hewitt Live Online Stream

It will be a battle between the American no. 1 and a former no. 1 player from Australia when John Isner and Lleyton Hewitt contest the finals of the 2012 Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport today Sunday, July 15, 2012. The men's singles final starts at 2pm local time followed by the men's doubles final between the Great Britain team of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins vs the Mexican-American pair of Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky. Watch the 2012 Newport tennis finals featuring Isner vs Hewitt live through online streaming here.

The top-seeded Isner is the defending Newport titlist and is aiming for his first ATP title of the season. He defeated fellow American and no. 6-seed Ryan Harrison 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semi-finals. Harrison and Isner will be representing the United States in the Olympics and both players are using the Newport grass tournament as tune-up for the Olympics event that will also be held in the grass courts of Wimbledon. Isner reflected on his past 12 months which saw him rise all the way to being the top American player.

"It’s feeling very similar to last year... I wasn’t playing well and I was ranked in the 40s when I came here last year. I desperately needed some wins and confidence, and that’s exactly what I got... This year, it’s pretty much the same, although I’m ranked a lot higher than 46th. I didn’t play well in Europe. It’s as simple as that. I’m always most comfortable in the U.S., which is something I need to work on. This is where I play well the most."

Isner's final opponent is Australian's Hewitt who is currently ranked no. 233 in the world. Hewitt holds a 2-0 advantage over Isner winning their initial meeting in the hard courts of Shanghai in 2009 and on the clay courts of Dusseldorf in 2010. Both affairs have been identical 6-2 6-4 wins for Hewitt who has 28 ATP career titles against 3 for Isner. At 6'9", Isner is almost a foot taller than the Australian who stands at 5'11". Hewitt defeated 2009 champion Rajeev Ram 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to reach his first ATP final in more than two years. Hewitt is now through to his eighth grass court final and he has never lost in the seven previous occasions.

The winner takes home $68,220 in prize money earnings along with 250 rankings points. The runner-up wins $35,920 in prize money and 150 ranking points. Watch 2012 Newport Tennis Finals live online and enjoy the men's singles finals match featuring Isner vs Hewitt.

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Watch ATP Newport Tennis 2012 Live Online Stream

After Wimbledon, the grass court season continues with the only professional tournament played on grass in North America at the 2012 Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships held from July 9 to July 15, 2012. The tournament is an ATP World Tour 250 level held at Newport, U.S.A and features a men's singles and doubles events. The total prize money is $398,250. The event has attracted several of the world's top 50 players led by defending champion and top American men's player John Isner. Watch the ATP Newport 2012 Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships tennis matches 2012 live online streaming here.

Favorites: Last year, Isner became the first top seed to win the title since the inaugural edition in 1976. It was a battle featuring one of the tallest players on tour against one of the shortest player as 6’9’’ American defeated 5’6’’ Olivier Rochus in straight sets to win his second ATP World Tour title. This year, Isner reached a ranking milestone of entering the world's top 10 for the first time and becoming the top-ranked American as well. Top Japanese player Kei Nishikori is the second seed while Canada's no. 1 Milos Raonic is the third seed. Both Nishikori and Raonic are playing in Newport for the first time.

Two young Americans who are Olympics-bound are using this tournament as tune-up for the 2012 London Games that will be played in the grass courts of Wimbledon. Ryan Harrison is seeded no. 6 and reached the quarterfinals of this event in 2010. Donald Young is seeded no. 7 and he reached the round of 16 in his previous visits in 2008 and 2011. Besides Harrison and Young, sixteen other players in the draw, including Isner, Nishikori and Raonic have also qualified for the Olympic tennis men's singles draw.

Isner and Raonic are both on the top half of the draw and are seeded to meet in the semi-finals. Nishikori and no. 4-seed Dennis Istomin are the top seeded players in the bottom half of the draw. Wildcard spots were awarded to former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and American Jack Sock.

2012 Newport Tennis: Points/Prize Money (Singles)
Points Prize $
W 250 68,220
F 150 35,920
SF 90 19,460
QF 45 11,085
R16 20 6,530
R32 0 3,870
--
--
Q 12
Q3 6 660
Q2 0 315
Q1 0 0

2012 Newport Tennis: Points/Prize Money (Doubles)
Points Prize $
W 250 21,800
F 150 11,480
SF 90 6,220
QF 45 3,560
R16 2,090

Watch the ATP Newport 2012 Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships tennis matches 2012 live online streaming through TennisTv.com.

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Tennis Olympics 2012 - Who will win in London?

It's a once-in-four-years experience for tennis players in the world's greatest sporting event - the Olympics. For the 2012 London Olympics, the top players in both the ATP and WTA professional tours will be in attendance led by current world no. 1 players Roger Federer and Victoria Azarenka. The Olympic tennis tournament will be held at the grass courts of the All England Club in Wimbledon, England from 28 July to 5 August 2012. The men's gold medalist in singles will be awarded 750 ranking points while the women's gold medalist will be given 685 ranking points. In perspective, these ranking points are more than what a Grand Slam quarter-finalist would receive but less than that of a Grand Slam semi-finalist.

Who are the favorites to win in London? For the men's singles tournament - current Wimbledon champion and world no. 1 Federer, 2008 Olympic gold medalist Rafael Nadal, Australian and US Open champion Novak Djokovic and hometown favorite and 2012 Wimbledon finalist Andy Murray are expected to contend for the gold medal. In women's singles, the prohibitive champion is 2012 Wimbledon titlist Serena Williams. Top ranked Azarenka - the reigning Australian Open champion, French Open champion Maria Sharapova, US Open champion Samantha Stosur, world no. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska and 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova are expected to challenge Williams for the gold medal.

Don't forget to return in two-weeks time as this blog will be covering the 2012 London Olympics tennis events. Five gold medal events are going to be contested - the men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles and the mixed doubles, a new event being played for the first time in 2012.

Related Links: Women's Singles Entry List | Men's Singles Entry List | Women's Doubles Entry List | Men's Doubles Entry List | Mixed Doubles Entry List | Watch Tennis Olympics 2012 Live Streaming | 2012 London Olympics - Tennis TV Schedule

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Watch WTA Stanford Tennis 2012 Live Online Stream

After three weeks on grass, the WTA tour shifts to the hard court season in preparation for the year's last Grand Slam in Flushing Meadows, New York this coming September. The first tournament on the North American summer calendar is the Bank of the West Classic held in STANFORD, USA from JULY 9 - 15, 2012. The tournament is a WTA premier-level and for 2012, it has attracted four of the world's top 20 players. The surface is hard courts and the tournament director is Kim Hall Uliasz. The total 8prize money for the tournament is $740,000. TennisTv.com will start broadcasting tennis matches starting July 13 to July 15. Watch WTA Stanford tennis matches live online here.

Fresh from winning her 7th Wimbledon title, American tennis star and defending Stanford champion Serena Williams is the top-seeded player and top attraction for the 2012 Bank of the West Classic. The world no. 4 Serena used this tournament last year as part of her comeback after almost a year away from tennis. Ranked no. 169 last year, she rampaged through the draw, defeating then world no. 5 and no. 2-seed Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals en route to her first tournament win in 2011.

In this year's draw, Serena is joined by world no. 10 Marion Bartoli who will be this year's no. 2 seed. Bartoli finished runner-up to Serena in 2011 and has a good history in this tournament. She reached the finals in two other previous occasions winning in 2009 and finishing runner-up in 2008. Third-seeded Dominika Cibulkova - a semifinalist in Stanford last year - and fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic will both be seeking to shake off first round losses at Wimbledon.

2012 BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: Order Of Play
Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Stadium (from 11.00hrs)
1. Michelle Larcher de Brito vs. Chanelle Scheepers
2. Yanina Wickmayer vs. Heather Watson
3. Serena Williams vs. Nicole Gibbs (NB 15.00hrs)
4. Erakovic/Watson vs. Kops-Jones/Spears
5. Coco Vandeweghe vs. Jelena Jankovic (NB 20.00hrs)

Court 6 (from 13.30hrs)
1. Chan/Chan vs. Cibulkova/Husarova
2. Gajdosova/King vs. Cirstea/Keothavong (NB 14.30hrs)
3. Burdette/Gibbs vs. Grandin/Uhlirova (NB 17.00hrs; after suitable rest)

2012 BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: Seeded Players

1. WILLIAMS, Serena
2. BARTOLI, Marion
3. CIBULKOVA, Dominika
4. JANKOVIC, Jelena
5. WICKMAYER, Yanina
6. SCHEEPERS, Chanelle
7. MARTIC, Petra (withdrew)
8. ERAKOVIC, Marina
9. CIRSTEA, Sorana

2012 BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: Prize Money (Ranking Points)

Winner $96,000 (470)
Finalist $53,000 (320)
Semi-Finalist $28,500 (200)
Quarter-Finalist $15,500 (120)
2nd Round $8,750 (60)
1st Round $4,600 (1)

Watch WTA Stanford Tennis 2012 live online stream through TennisTv.com.

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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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Federer wins 7th Wimbledon title, takes no. 1 Ranking

Roger Federer won the Wimbledon 2012 men’s singles title to extend his record to 17 Grand Slams when he beat local favorite Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. The win enabled Federer to equal Pete Sampras' record of 7 Wimbledon titles and also to grab the world no. 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic. Federer started the tournament ranked third in the world but jumped two spots after the top two players and last year's Wimbledon finalists - Djokovic and Rafael Nadal - failed to reach the finals this year. Nadal was eliminated in the second round while Federer eliminated Djokovic in the semifinals. Federer will take home the £1,150,000 men's singles champion prize money while Murray will take home the runner-up prize money of £575,000.

Watch the Wimbledon 2012 mens' singles championship match highlights and interviews with both Roger Federer and Andy Murray here.

Roger Federer (SUI) vs Andy Murray (GBR) - Finals Match Statistics

12 Aces 16
3 Double faults 1
90 of 131 = 69 % 1st serves in 88 of 157 = 56 %
68 of 90 = 76 % 1st serve points won 61 of 88 = 69 %
20 of 41 = 49 % 2nd serve points won 33 of 69 = 48 %
130 MPH Fastest serve 133 MPH
116 MPH Average 1st serve speed 121 MPH
98 MPH Average 2nd serve speed 88 MPH
53 of 68 = 78 % Net points won 24 of 39 = 62 %
4 of 12 = 33 % Break points won 2 of 7 = 29 %
63 of 157 = 40 % Receiving points won 43 of 131 = 33 %
62 Winners 46
38 Unforced errors 25
151 Total points won 137

Congratulations to Roger Federer for winning the Wimbledon 2012 men's singles title.

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Wimbledon 2012 Men's Quarterfinals Live: Federer, Djokovic, Murray in Action

It's down to the last eight in the third Grand Slam of the year. Five of the top eight seeds have made it to the Wimbledon 2012 men's singles quarterfinals, and three lower ranked seeds have crashed the party. On July 4, Wednesday afternoon, world no. 1 Novak Djokovic, no. 3 Roger Federer, local favorite and world no. 4 Andy Murray, and world no. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all take on lower ranked opponents as they aim to advance to the semi-finals of the only major played on grass. Watch Wimbledon 2012 men's singles quarterfinals live featuring Federer, Djokovic, Murray, and Tsonga in action here.

Wimbledon 2012 Schedule of Play, Wednesday, July 4
Centre Court
1:00 PM Gentlemen's Singles - Quarterfinals
Roger Federer (SUI)[3] vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[26]
David Ferrer (ESP)[7] vs Andy Murray (GBR)[4]

No. 1 Court
1:00 PM Gentlemen's Singles - Quarterfinals
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[1] vs Florian Mayer (GER)[31]
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[5] vs Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[27]

First off at the Centre Court is six-time Wimbledon champ Federer who is going for a record tying seventh Wimbledon title. He is slated to meet surprise quaterfinalist in no. 26-seed Mikhail Youzhny. Federer had not been playing up to par, but it is a given that he should win the match-up against the Russian. Federer leads Youzhny 13-0, winning all their previous encounters.

Next up in Centre Court is the UK's best hope for a men's champion in Murray. The Scot has reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in the past three years and is faced with good fortune this year as world no. 2 Rafael Nadal was bundled out of the tournament leaving Murray as the top seed remaining in this half of the draw. Still, it won't be easy as Murray is the only one facing a top 10 seed in world no. 7 David Ferrer. It is a rematch of their French Open 2012 quarterfinals where the Spaniard emerged the victor.

Meanwhile, the first match on Court No. 1 belongs to top ranked Djokovic and no. 31-seed Florian Mayer. Djokovic is the defending champion but alas, he needs to reach the finals to ensure that he'll remain at the top of the rankings by next week. Federer has a chance to get back to the world no. 1 ranking if he wins the whole tournament, and that's something Djokovic doesn't want to happen. Expect the Serb to come out firing and advance to the last four in straight sets.

The last quarterfinal is between no. 5-seed Tsonga and another German, world no. 27-seed Philipp Kohlschreiber. The German took Nadal's spot in the draw and has the game to take out the top-ranked Frenchman but Tsonga was a semi-finalist last year and would like to go one step further at Wimbledon. Of the three quarterfinals, this is the most un-predictable but expect Tsonga to come out and edge Kohlschreiber in four tough sets.

Watch Wimbledon 2012 men's singles quarterfinals live online featuring Federer, Djokovic, Murray, and Tsonga through the Live @ Wimbledon website.

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Wimbledon 2012: Serena vs Kvitova Live Online Stream

When the quarterfinals of the women's singles at 2012 Wimbledon starts for the day, all eyes will be focused on the most promising encounter - the Serena Williams vs Petra Kvitova encounter at Centre Court. It is the second match in the main show court and features the last two winners at Wimbledon. The 6th-seeded Serena is the champion in 2009 and 2010, and in two other earlier occasions. Kvitova won her first major last year defeating Maria Sharapova in the final. Watch Serena vs Kvitova in Wimbledon 2012 women's singles quarterfinal live online here.

Serena and Kvitova are two of the three remaining Grand Slam champions left in the draw. The other major champion is this year's Australian Open champ, world no. 2 Victoria Azarenka who will be going against the only unseeded player left in Austria's Tamira Paszek. Azarenka and the world no. 3, Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, are in the running for the world no. 1 ranking after top-ranked Maria Sharapova lost a straight set shocker to German Sabine Lisicki. Azarenka is in Serena and Kvitova's half of the draw which means that there will be a first time Grand Slam finalist, and a 50% chance of having a first time Grand Slam winner, in this year's Wimbledon.

The day's most important - and fascinating - contest will be that between Williams and Kvitova and the sadness is that one will depart the scene. It is a tough one to call. Serena, four times a champion and twice the runner-up at Wimbledon, has the experience, the background and, at 30, definitely the incentive to hoist the Venus Rosewater Dish one more time, while Kvitova, the hard-hitting left-hander from the quiet Czech town of Fulnek, will understandably want to repeat last year's performance.

Serena has the edge when it comes to previous clashes, having won both. She conceded just three games to Kvitova in the second round of the 2010 Australian Open and then pulled off a much closer victory 7-6, 6-2 in the 2010 Wimbledon semi-finals. But as the sport's Serena-watchers have observed since she fought back from a serious illness and injury lay-off, a degree of uncertainty has crept into that once iron-clad game of hers. Will the errors outweigh the winners? Will the Kvitova howitzer forehand be too much? A great match is in prospect.

Serena Williams' passage to the quarterfinals has certainly not been plain sailing, and with defending champion Petra Kvitova standing in her way next, the journey is unlikely to get any smoother. In her third and fourth round matches, against Zheng Jie and Yaroslava Shvedova, Williams had to summon upon all her reserves of physical and mental energy, scraping by both in three grueling sets.

Kvitova had a scare of her own on Monday; coming from a set and a break down to defeat an inspired Francesca Schiavone. This was in stark contrast to the first three rounds, in which the Czech had barely broken sweat and looked to be approaching the devastating form that took her to last year's title. As one of the few players on tour capable of trading on equal terms with Williams, an on-form Kvitova will believe the match is on her racquet. What makes the encounter all the more intriguing is that Williams is undoubtedly thinking the exact same thing.

The winner for sure will be tennis fans who are excited about this match-up. But, who will show up for the day? Will it be the Serena who won thirteen Grand Slams, or the Kvitova who played fearless tennis in her first major final last year? Watch the Wimbledon 2012 semi-final between Serena and Kvitova live online through the Live @ Wimbledon website.

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Wimbledon 2012: 5 Shocking Results

As of Friday, the fifth day of competition, two top 10 seeded players in the Wimbledon 2012 men's singles draw have been eliminated and three top 10 seeded players in the women's singles draw have been beaten as well. This list is a running tab of the 5 biggest upset results in this year's Wimbledon championships. If a future result is a bigger upset, it will be added to this list. For now, here are the five biggest upsets so far:

#1. NADAL, Rafael ESP [2] lost to ROSOL, Lukas CZE 6-7(9) 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4.

This is hands down the shock of the tournament. The 100th ranked Lukas Rosol outclassed one of the men's favorites and two-time champion Rafael Nadal in five scintillating sets. This is the worst Grand Slam result for the world no. 2 since 2005 and it comes at the heels of the Spanish record breaking seven titles at Roland Garros. In tennis, you will definitely never know what to expect. This upset result is similar in shock value to Serena William's first round upset at last month's French Open to an opponent outside the top 100.

#2. STOSUR, Samantha AUS [5] lost to RUS, Arantxa NED 6-2 0-6 6-4

Young Dutch player Arantxa Rus has now pulled off her second biggest shock victory at a Grand Slam. First it was Kim Clijsters at the 2011 French Open; this year it was Sam Stosur who was shocked as Rus claimed a strange three-set victory in a wildly see-sawing encounter on No.1 Court. Not known for her mental strength, the world No. 5 was a first-round loser in the past two years at Wimbledon, a surface that was supposed to suit her aggressive and powerful game. Still, the current US Open champion couldn't find an answer to the 21-year old from the Netherlands and has failed to advance beyond the second round in nine appearances at Wimbledon.

#3. SHARAPOVA, Maria RUS [1] lost to LISICKI, Sabine GER [15] 6-4 6-3

Top ranked Maria Sharapova just won the French Open earlier this month completing a career Grand Slam and was certainly the favorite of many coming into Wimbledon, the site of her first ever Grand Slam win. She also beat German Sabine Lisicki in last year's semifinal, and the German isn't really in the best of form if recent results were to be considered. This result is not that much of an upset if we compare the games of both players, with Lisicki packing a powerful game is she's in the zone. Still, no one would have expected Sharapova to lose before the semi-finals.

#4. BERDYCH, Tomas CZE [6] lost to GULBIS, Ernests LAT 7-6(5) 7-6(4) 7-6(4)

Tomas Berdych reached the final of the 2010 Wimbledon but two years later, he crashed in the first round. Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, ranked 87th in the world, pulled off one of the classic first-day victories at Wimbledon with a straight sets victory over the sixth-seeded Czech. Gulbis had not won a Grand Slam match since last year's US Open and his previous best at Wimbledon was to reach the second round in 2008 and 2009. Gulbis, a former promising young player who has a big game has a quarter-finals of the French Open in 2008 as his best achievement.

#5. BARTOLI, Marion FRA [9] lost to LUCIC, Mirjana CRO 6-4 6-3

In 2007, Marion Bartoli reached the final of Wimbledon losing to Venus Williams. This year, she lost to a once promising tennis prodigy who was a 15-year old semi-finalist in 1999. As a wildcard ranked No.134 13 years ago, Mirjana Lucic defeated past top-tenners Monica Seles and Nathalie Tauziat to reach the final four where she was stopped by Steffi Graf in three sets no less. Now 30 and arguably fitter and healthier than at any stage of her tumultuous 15-year career, Lucic used her booming serve and devastating power to full effect during her straight set victory.

Other Notable Upsets:

WOZNIACKI, Caroline DEN [7] lost to PASZEK, Tamira AUT 5-7 7-6(4) 6-4

It is hard to imagine that Caroline Wozniacki was the top seed two Grand Slams ago. After reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open early this year, the former world no. 1 has fallen out of the top five and couldn't take advantage of two match points in her first round match against the Austrian Tamira Paszek. In fairness, Paszek came into Wimbledon in fine form winning her first WTA premier title at Eastbourne last Saturday. Still, Wozniacki was the favored player to win with her experience and achievements.

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Eastbourne 2012 Prize Money: Roddick wins €72K for Title

Sixth seed Andy Roddick continued his streak of winning an ATP title every year for the past 12 years when he dismissed reigning AEGON International champion Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2 in Eastbourne Saturday. This title winning streak matches Roger Federer’s streak of winning at least one ATP World Tour title in 12 straight seasons. The win was a perfect Wimbledon preparation for the former world no. 1 player and earned him €72,950 in prize money and 250 ranking points. Seppi took home €38,400 as runner-up along with 150 ranking points.

“I wanted to keep alive winning one tournament a year for 12 years. I know three or four people have done that,’ Roddick said. “I need to remind myself of those numbers just to [remember] this is a what-did-you-do-last-week-type sport? So looking back on that, maybe I need to look at those a little bit more and realise that I've done this for a long time pretty well.” The American wild card won 55 per cent of his return points to break Seppi five times. Roddick clinched the trophy on his first championship point to claim victory in 72 minutes. He improved to 2-0 against the third-seeded Seppi.

“I don't remember the last time I got broken twice and won 3 and 2. I felt real good,” said Roddick. “My returns this week were close to as well as I have. I was able to close well. I started off not serving great and then made an adjustment. I think I served 90 per cent in the second set, which is a pretty strong number, especially given the conditions.”

The triumph marks Roddick’s 31st career title, with five of them coming on grass. He is the first American to finish in the winners' circle this season.
Andy Roddick won his first title in over a year when he defeated defending champion Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday to win the Eastbourne grasscourt title, a perfectly-timed boost ahead of Wimbledon.

The American, a three-time finalist at the All England Club, is aged 29 and ranked 33rd, has been troubled by injury and illness for the past several seasons but may have turned a corner with his 72-minute confidence-building win over the Italian. He came to the event as a wildcard after losing his sixth match in a row last week in an early Queen's club exit.

Roddick will be seeded 30 at Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, where he starts against Briton Jamie Baker. With the victory, Roddick rises up 8 spots to become world no. 25 when the new rankings are released on Monday, June 25. The losing semifinalists, Ryan Harrison and Steve Darcis, each won €20,805 in prize money and 90 ranking points. Roddick's victory will increase his 2012 prize money beyond $270,000 - he was at 94th place with $172K in earnings prior to the tournament.

2012 ATP Prize Money Leaders (US$)

1. Nadal, Rafael $4,961,419
2 Djokovic, Novak $4,789,340
3 Federer, Roger $3,696,441
4 Ferrer, David $1,627,120
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
...
91 Mayer, Leonardo $180,152
92 Goffin, David $176,148
93 Roddick, Andy $171,978

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Eastbourne 2012 Prize Money: Paszek wins $107K for Title

Tamira Paszek was the surprise winner at this year's 2012 AEGON International women's singles final when she saved five match points in downing world no. 9 Angelique Kerber to lift her first WTA premier level trophy. Her 57 63 75 victory wrapped up a week of surprises in a tournament where the top three seeded players, all ranked in the top 10, crashed in the first round of competition. Paszek then beat the two remaining seeds (no. 4-seed Marion Bartoli and no. 5-seed Kerber) in back-to-back matches to secure the third WTA title in her career. Paszek earned her biggest paycheck to date taking home the Eastbourne winner's prize money of $107,000 and 470 ranking points.

With a 2-13 record on the year and five Top 10 players in the draw, Paszek wasn't exactly the favorite for the title at the start of the week. But match by match she started getting better and better, and the talent and toughness were both on full display in the semis as she came from the aforementioned deficit to upset No.4 seed and defending champion Marion Bartoli, 46 75 64. That wasn't Paszek's last great comeback of the week, either. With four straight set wins, Angelique Kerber got up to 40 match wins on the year - the WTA's match win leader in fact, two better than Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska. And the No.5-seeded German looked headed for her 41st win as she built a 5-3 lead in the third set, and even brought up five match points.

But Paszek served them all away - three from 0-40, two more on ad out - and after a few more tight games she won, and lifted her biggest title. Paszek has a first round match at Wimbledon with Caroline Wozniacki. "Caroline's a tough opponent, former World No.1, amazing competitor - she doesn't give you a free point. So from tomorrow I will just try to do my work with Andrei, adapt my game to the courts and atmosphere of a Grand Slam again, and we will see. I will just enjoy every moment and try my best there... We've known each other since we were like 10. I have a picture. We played when we were Under 12 or something like that. On tour she has beaten me once - that was the only time we played, I think. But in juniors many times.

The victory increased Paszek total 2012 prize money to $219,179. That puts her as #54 in the money leaders this week. Kerber earned the runner-up prize money of $57,000, while Bartoli and Klara Zakopalova each took home $30,550 for reaching the semi-finals. World no. 2 Victoria Azarenka is still at the top of the list with $4.6 million prize money this year followed closely by world no. 1 Maria Sharapova who has $4.4 million.

WTA Top Year-to-Date 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
...
50 Halep, Simona ROU $249,682
51 Peng, Shuai CHN $248,746
52 Stephens, Sloane USA $224,098
53 Arvidsson, Sofia SWE $220,687
54 Paszek, Tamira AUT $219,179

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Watch Eastbourne 2012 Women's Final Live: Kerber vs Paszek

A rising German star and a surprise finalist is set to battle for this year's 2012 AEGON International women's singles crown. World no. 9 Angelique Kerber is vying for her third tournament win this year while Tamira Paszek is hoping to revive a season where she lost in 11 first round matches and won only two matches prior to the start of the tournament. Watch the 2012 Aegon Internation women's final live online here featuring Kerber vs Paszek as both women go for their first ever title in Eastbourne, England. The match will start at 12 noon local time on Saturday, June 23, 2012.

While Kerber is seeded fifth, Paszek is unseeded in a tournament where the top three seeds were all beaten in the first round. World no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska, world no. 4 and reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, and world no. 7 and former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki all lost their opening matches. Kerber advanced to the final with a 60 63 win over Klara Zakopalova while Paszek advanced by rallying past world no. 9 and former Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli to move into her very first Premier final.

Paszek, who was already in her first Premier semifinal, lost the first set then was down 4-0 in the second set and 2-0 in the third but fought back each time, eventually beating the No.9-ranked Frenchwoman in three hours, five minutes. "Early in the second set I had my chances, but with the wind things just weren't working out," Paszek said. "But I just tried to stay there. I knew I was at the same level, and that I just had to wait for my chances again. Chances came... It feels amazing to be in the final. I love Eastbourne. My godparents live here, so for me it already feels like home. It's a pleasure coming back every year."

Paszek already showed signs of her grass court prowess last year, when she made her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon. "We have a pretty green country at home, it's probably that," the Austrian joked. "No - it just suits my game, same as hardcourt. I love fast surfaces. I just enjoy the grass. It's a special atmosphere to come here and have the different shoes, and all in white." Paszek got the third Top 10 win of her career, having beaten Ana Ivanovic at Montréal in 2008 and Francesca Schiavone at Wimbledon last year.

Bartoli needed a strapping on her thigh when she trailed 2-3 in the final set. "It was a nightmare to play in these conditions, honestly," said the 2007 Wimbledon finalist. "My leg got pretty tight and then tired, but I think in two or three days it will be back to normal... I felt I had chances in almost every game and ended up losing them. In these conditions, even if I was leading, you never felt comfortable... I didn't make one ace today, where yesterday I served 10 or 12. It's really levelling when you have those kind of conditions.

Bartoli was disappointed but very gracious towards Paszek. "I lost the match so I can't really say I'm happy about it, but on the other hand I really felt like I tried my hardest and there wasn't much I could have done better," Bartoli said. "And Tamira played really well. She deserved to win. She really fought hard and came back to win the match. Of course I'm disappointed, but I tried my hardest."

As for Kerber, she won her last three matches in straight sets but unlike Paszek who beat two seeded players on her way to the final, Kerber didn't meet a single seeded player. She raced into the final taking the first seven games of her match with Zakopalova and closing the Czech out after a closer second set, 60 63. "I came here a week ago and the plan was to have a lot of matches before Wimbledon, so it feels very good," Kerber said. "I can't get any more matches than this now, so I'll just focus on my last match here and then on Wimbledon... It's my first time reaching a final on grass, and it's a big thing for me."

Kerber's win was also her 40th match win of the year, the first to cross the big 4-0 this year (Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska are next at 38). Kerber and Paszek have an identical 2-1 career record in WTA finals, though Kerber is the only one who has been to a Premier final before (winning Paris [Indoors] this year). The winner will receive $107,000 in prize money and 470 ranking points. The runner-up will take home $57,000 in earnings and 320 ranking points.

Watch 2012 Aegon Internation women's final live online from Eastbourne featuring Kerber vs Paszek at TennisTV.com.

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Watch Eastbourne 2012 Men's Final Live: Roddick vs Seppi

Former world no. 1 Andy Roddick is aiming to continue a streak of 12 consecutive years of winning at least one ATP tour title when he battles defending champion Andreas Seppi in the finals of the 2012 AEGON International in Eastbourne, England. Watch the live online streaming coverage here starting at 1.30 pm local time on Saturday, June 23, 2012. Roddick's best finish in the tournament is a semi-final appearance in 2001 while Seppi won the title on his fourth visit last year. Both players have met just once before in 2008 with Roddick a straight set victor during the 2008 US Open.

No. 6 seed Roddick, a wild card entry, is appearing in his first ATP World Tour final since winning his 30th title in Memphis in February 2011 (d. Raonic). The 29-year-old American is attempting to increase his ATP World Tour title streak to 12 consecutive years and match Roger Federer, who has the longest streak among active players. Roddick is 30-20 in career finals and his last grass court title came at the Queen’s Club in London in 2007. Roddick came into Eastbourne losing six consecutive matches (the longest streak of his career) and ranked No. 33 (apart from being No. 34 during this year’s Miami fortnight, his lowest ranking in almost 11 years). But he’s only dropped one set this week, that coming in the quarter-finals on Friday vs. Fabio Fognini. Americans are 0-3 in ATP World Tour finals this year and the last American winner was John Isner in Winston Salem, N.C. last August.

Prior to Eastbourne, Roddick had endured a frustrating couple of months. Sidelined since the U.S. hard court swing with a hamstring injury, he returned to action in late May to lose all three of his round-robin matches in Dusseldorf and then his following two opening matches at Roland Garros and Queen’s Club. Roddick had requested a wild card to play at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament, and benefitted from two retirements - against Sam Querrey in the first round and Steve Darcis in the semi-finals. “Hey, I'll take them how I can get them,” he said with a smile.

No. 3 seed Seppi, who had an opening round bye, has not dropped a set this week. Seppi is making his fourth career ATP World Tour final showing (2-1) and the second of the season. Last month he picked up his second career title in Belgrade (d. Paire). The 28-year-old Italian is putting together the best season of his career. He advanced to a Grand Slam-best fourth round at Roland Garros, losing to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in five sets (after winning first two sets). Afterwards he improved to a career-high No. 24. The winner will take home €71,000 and 250 ranking points, the runner-up earns €37,400 in prize money and 150 ranking points.

Watch the Eastbourne 2012 men's final live online featuring Roddick vs Seppi.

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Watch Roland-Garros 2012 Match Highlights, Player Interviews

The Roland-Garros 2012 French Open grand slam is currently underway and featured videos including match highlights and player interviews are available here. Current trending top five featured matches include the following: Federer vs. Mahut - Enjoy the highlights from Roger Federer's 6-3,4-6,6-2,7-5 win | Fognini vs Tsonga - Highlights from their third round face-off | Sharapova vs Morita - Sharapova playing Morita in the second round | Stephens vs Johansson - See the highlights from their third round match | Sloane Stephens interview - "In calmness and confidence."

Other interesting videos from Roland-Garros 2012 French Open:

- Shots of the day 5: Some of the best shots from day five of the tournament.
- Astonishing rally: Amazing rally between Gasquet and Dimitrov.
- Mathieu vs Isner: Mathieu overcomes Isner in a marathon match.
- Li v Foretz Gacon: Fantastic tennis from their second round match.
- Istomin v Nadal: Watch the highlights from their second round match.

The videos are top-notch in quality imagery and sound. The top interviews are:

- Jo Wilfried Tsonga interview: "It's part of my objectives to remain calm."
- Samantha Stosur interview: "I stuck to the plan and was able to execute."
- Agnieszka Radwanska interview: "She was doing everything right today."
- Maria Sharapova interview: On today's match and winning Roland Garros.
- Road to RG with A. Radwanska: Radwanska puts her smarts and charms to good use.

Watch Rolan-Garros 2012 Match Highlights and Player Interviews through the RolandGarros.com website.

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Venus vs Radwanska, Azarenka in Roland-Garros 2012 Live Streaming Tennis

The action continues in the second round of the women's singles tournament at the 2012 French Open. A day after the shocking elimination of Roland-Garros favorite Serena Williams in the first round, world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka and world no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska take the court to vie for third round spots and try to avoid the fate of Serena. Azarenka is the first player in action at the Court Philippe Chatrier when she takes on unseeded German Dinah Pfizenmaier. The hottest match-up however, will be the second round battle between Radwanska and the most dangerous unseeded opponent in the draw - 7-time Grand Slam titlist Venus Williams.

Watch Venus vs Radwanska, Azarenka, and Bartoli in Roland-Garros 2012 French Open live stream second round tennis matches in the women's singles tournament here.

Venus will attempt to regain family honor but she is facing the player with the most match wins in the WTA this year in Radwanska. The pair have battled each other seven times before with Venus holding a career head-to-head lead of 5-2 ,but it was Radwanska who won their last meeting in Miami's hard-courts last March in a comfortable straight set victory. No one should overlook Venus' main strengths though - her power and athleticism is perhaps one of the best on tour and can beat anyone at any given day. Nevertheless, the Polish no. 1 has a very high degree of confidence going into the match having won a recent tune-up at the Brussels Open over the weekend. Radwanska is the slight favorite in this match-up with her recent form, but it will be no surprise to anyone if Venus wins in straight sets.

On the other hand, Azarenka will be all too keen to avoid the mishap that plagued fellow favorite Serena in her first round match. In her last outing, Azarenka lost the first set before coming back and focusing in the last two sets to beat an unseeded player. She committed numerous unforced errors to lose her first set of the tournament. Against the German qualifier Pfizenmaier, expect the top-ranked Belarussian to come out firing and she should progress to the third round untroubled and more consistent that in her last match.

In the featured women's matches in Court Suzanne Lenglen, the talented Petra Cetkovska and no. 24-seed goes up against Mathilde Johansson of France. Cetkovska made a name for herself in this year's clay season beating three top 5 players in Radwanska, no. 4 Petra Kvitova, and then no. 5 Samantha Stosur in Rome and Madrid. The French crowd will be heavily rooting for Johansson but Cetkovska will be too solid and will advance to the next round. France's best hope for a semi-finalist this year lies on the shoulders of France's no. 1 Marion Bartoli. Bartoli will play Petra Martic of Croatia in the third match at Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Two former French Open champions take to court aiming to gain entry into the last 32. No. 14-seed Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 champion goes up against Shahar Peer of Israel. Peer owns a perfect 3-0 record against Ivanovic and the Serb will aim to reverse that trend in their fourth meeting. 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, the no. 26-seed will play Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan while 2010 finalist Samantha Stosur, the no. 6-seed, will battle rising American Irina Falconi. Also in action is new top 10 player Angelique Kerber of Germany who is aiming for a victory over Olga Govortsova of Belarus.

Watch Venus vs Radwanska, Azarenka, Bartoli, Stosur, Ivanovic and Kuznetsova in Roland-Garros 2012 French Open live stream second round tennis matches through ESPN.

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Nadal, Murray in Roland-Garros 2012 Live Stream

The third day of action is all set for Tuesday, May 29 as the heavy favorite to win the men's title take to court to close the last day of first round matches in this year's Roland-Garros 2012 French Open grand slam. World no. 2 Rafael Nadal is the third match featured in the main court - Court Philippe Chatrier - as the Spaniard starts his bid for a record 7th French Open title against the unfortunate Simone Bolelli of Italy. The highest seeded player in Nadal's half of the draw, world no. 4 Andy Murray is also scheduled to play on Tuesday against Tatsuma Ito of Japan at the Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Watch Nadal and Murray live in action at Roland-Garros 2012 French Open through live stream here.

Other ATP seeded players featured on Tuesday's first round are no. 8-seed Janko Tipsarevic who is going against veteran American Sam Querrey in a potential upset. Tipsaveric hasn't been playing well on his previous clay court tournaments. Clay court specialist and no. 13-seed Juan Monaco of Argentina starts his French Open campaign against Guillaume Rufin of France. Monaco won the Houston clay court event in April is considered a dark horse at Roland Garros due to his strong clay court affinity. The man expected to challenge Murray for a place in the semi-final at his section of the draw, no. 6-seed David Ferrer is also scheduled to play his first round match on Court 2 against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia.

A couple of French players who are seeded were elevated to perform in the show courts in Roland-Garros over higher seeded players. No. 17-seed Richard Gasquet is the second match featured in Court Philippe Chatrier against Jurgen Zopp of Estonia. No. 29-seed Julien Benneteau is scheduled to play Mischa Zverev of Germany in the third match at Court Suzanne Lenglen. The full list of Tuesday's schedule of play is indicated below:

Roland-Garros 2012 French Open: Schedule of Play - Day 3: Tuesday, 29 May

Court Philippe Chatrier

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Francesca Schiavone(ITA)[14] vs. Kimiko Date-Krumm(JPN)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Jurgen Zopp(EST) vs. Richard Gasquet(FRA)[17]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Simone Bolelli(ITA) vs. Rafael Nadal(ESP)[2]

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Serena Williams(USA)[5] vs. Virginie Razzano(FRA)

Court Suzanne Lenglen

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Ashleigh Barty(AUS) vs. Petra Kvitova(CZE)[4]

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Alexandra Cadantu(ROU) vs. Maria Sharapova(RUS)[2]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Mischa Zverev(GER) vs. Julien Benneteau(FRA)[29]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Tatsuma Ito(JPN) vs. Andy Murray(GBR)[4]

Court 1

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Janko Tipsarevic(SRB)[8] vs. Sam Querrey(USA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Pauline Parmentier(FRA) vs. Urszula Radwanska(POL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Juan Monaco(ARG)[13] vs. Guillaume Rufin(FRA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Eleni Daniilidou(GRE) vs. Caroline Wozniacki(DEN)[9]

Court 2

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
David Ferrer(ESP)[6] vs. Lukas Lacko(SVK)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Benoit Paire(FRA) vs. Albert Ramos(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Irina-Camelia Begu(ROU) vs. Aravane Rezai(FRA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Shuai Peng(CHN)[28] vs. Tamira Paszek(AUT)

Court 3

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Jeremy Chardy(FRA) vs. Yen-Hsun Lu(TPE)

Not Before:12:30 PM
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Tommy Haas(GER) vs. Filippo Volandri(ITA)
To Finish 6-3 0-6 6-4 4-2

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Kaia Kanepi(EST)[23] vs. Alexandra Panova(RUS)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Maria Kirilenko(RUS)[16] vs. Victoria Larriere(FRA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
James Blake(USA) vs. Mikhail Youzhny(RUS)[27]

Court 4

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Dmitry Tursunov(RUS) vs. Go Soeda(JPN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Marina Erakovic(NZL) vs. Lourdes Dominguez Lino(ESP)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Igor Kunitsyn(RUS) vs. Denis Istomin(UZB)

Court 5

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Polona Hercog(SLO) vs. Ayumi Morita(JPN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Arantxa Rus(NED) vs. Jamie Hampton(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Lukas Rosol(CZE) vs. Carlos Berlocq(ARG)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Jarmila Gajdosova(AUS) vs. Magdalena Rybarikova(SVK)

Court 6

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Elena Vesnina(RUS) vs. Heather Watson(GBR)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Donald Young(USA) vs. Grigor DiMitrov(BUL)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Anne Keothavong(GBR) vs. Melinda Czink(HUN)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Ivan Dodig(CRO) vs. Robin Haase(NED)

Court 7

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Lucie Hradecka(CZE) vs. Julia Goerges(GER)[25]

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL) vs. Yanina Wickmayer(BEL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Paolo Lorenzi(ITA) vs. Nicolas Almagro(ESP)[12]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Juan Ignacio Chela(ARG) vs. Marcos Baghdatis(CYP)

Court 8

11:00 AM Start
Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Andreja Klepac(SLO) /
Alicja Rosolska(POL) vs. Raquel Kops-Jones(USA)[10] /
Abigail Spears(USA)[10]

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Sara Errani(ITA)[4] /
Roberta Vinci(ITA)[4] vs. Alberta Brianti(ITA) /
Patricia Mayr-Achleitner(AUT)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Flavia Pennetta(ITA) /
Francesca Schiavone(ITA) vs. Sorana Cirstea(ROU) /
Ayumi Morita(JPN)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Chia-Jung Chuang(TPE) /
Vera Dushevina(RUS) vs. Polona Hercog(SLO) /
Urszula Radwanska(POL)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Janette Husarova(SVK) /
Christina McHale(USA) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS) /
Lucie Safarova(CZE)

Court 10

11:00 AM Start
Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Nuria Llagostera Vives(ESP)[12] /
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez(ESP)[12] vs. Klaudia Jans-Ignacik(POL) /
Alla Kudryavtseva(RUS)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Nina Bratchikova(RUS) /
Edina Gallovits-Hall(ROU) vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands(USA)[15] /
Sania Mirza(IND)[15]

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Angelique Kerber(GER) /
Agnieszka Radwanska(POL) vs. Iveta Benesova(CZE)[8] /
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova(CZE)[8]

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Hao-Ching Chan(TPE) /
Yung-Jan Chan(TPE) vs. Jamie Hampton(USA) /
Chanelle Scheepers(RSA)

Court 14

11:00 AM Start
Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Gisela Dulko(ARG)[17] /
Paola Suarez(ARG)[17] vs. Darya Kustova(BLR) /
Anna Tatishvili(GEO)

Not Before:12:00 PM
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Alexandr Dolgopolov(UKR)[16] vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky(UKR)
To Finish 7-6(4) 4-6 6-7(4) 6-3

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Iryna Bremond(FRA) /
Sophie Lefevre(FRA) vs. A. Medina Garrigues(ESP)[11] /
Arantxa Parra Santonja(ESP)[11]

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Ksenia Pervak(KAZ) /
Lesia Tsurenko(UKR) vs. Olga Govortsova(BLR) /
Galina Voskoboeva(KAZ)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Casey Dellacqua(AUS) /
Alexandra Panova(RUS) vs. Eva Birnerova(CZE) /
Petra Cetkovska(CZE)

Court 16

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Klara Zakopalova(CZE) vs. Lesia Tsurenko(UKR)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Eduardo Schwank(ARG) vs. Ivo Karlovic(CRO)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Julia Goerges(GER) /
Samantha Stosur(AUS) vs. Ekaterina Makarova(RUS)[6] /
Elena Vesnina(RUS)[6]

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Greta Arn(HUN) /
Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL) vs. Anna-Lena Groenefeld(GER) /
Petra Martic(CRO)

Court 17

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Florian Mayer(GER)[32] vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Greta Arn(HUN) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS)[22]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Jarkko Nieminen(FIN) vs. Igor Andreev(RUS)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round
Sloane Stephens(USA) /
Yanina Wickmayer(BEL) vs. Liga Dekmeijere(LAT) /
Tamarine Tanasugarn(THA)

Watch Nadal and Murray live in action at Roland-Garros 2012 French Open through live stream.

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Roland-Garros 2012 Live Stream: Djokovic, Federer, Azarenka in Day 2

The top ranked players in the ATP and WTA tours start their Roland Garros 2012 campaigns with a goal of leaving the tournament in two weeks time holding the French Open winner's trophy. Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic will be playing at the Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday, May 28 aiming to advance to the second round and move a step closer in fulfilling their goals. Also in action on Monday are Na Li, the defending women's singles champion, 2009 winner Roger Federer, and the best Frenchman on clay this season - Gilles Simon.

Watch the Roland-Garros 2012 live stream here featuring Djokovic, Federer, Azarenka, Li, and Simon. World no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska is also starting her French Open campaign with a match against unseeded Bojana Jovanovski on Court 1. Listed below is the full schedule of play for the French Open 2012 on May 28, Monday - the second day of action.

Court Philippe Chatrier

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Victoria Azarenka(BLR)[1] vs. Alberta Brianti(ITA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Na Li(CHN)[7] vs. Sorana Cirstea(ROU)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Novak Djokovic(SRB)[1] vs. Potito Starace(ITA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Gilles Simon(FRA)[11] vs. Ryan Harrison(USA)

Court Suzanne Lenglen

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Kristina Mladenovic(FRA) vs. Dominika Cibulkova(SVK)[15]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Roger Federer(SUI)[3] vs. Tobias Kamke(GER)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Michael Llodra(FRA) vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Karolina Pliskova(CZE) vs. Marion Bartoli(FRA)[8]

Court 1

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Florent Serra(FRA) vs. Feliciano Lopez(ESP)[15]

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Alize Cornet(FRA) vs. Jie Zheng(CHN)[31]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Arnaud Clement(FRA) vs. Alex Bogomolov Jr.(RUS)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Agnieszka Radwanska(POL)[3] vs. Bojana Jovanovski(SRB)

Court 2

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Patricia Mayr-Achleitner(AUT) vs. Jelena Jankovic(SRB)[19]

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Timea Babos(HUN) vs. Vera Zvonareva(RUS)[11]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Rogerio Dutra Silva(BRA) vs. John Isner(USA)[10]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Paul-Henri Mathieu(FRA) vs. Bjorn Phau(GER)

Court 3

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Lauren Davis(USA) vs. Mona Barthel(GER)[30]

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Christina McHale(USA) vs. Kiki Bertens(NED)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Viktor Troicki(SRB)[28] vs. Thomaz Bellucci(BRA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Filippo Volandri(ITA) vs. Tommy Haas(GER)

Court 4

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Vania King(USA) vs. Galina Voskoboeva(KAZ)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Petra Martic(CRO) vs. Michaella Krajicek(NED)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Simona Halep(ROU) vs. Petra Cetkovska(CZE)[24]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Philipp Kohlschreiber(GER)[24] vs. Matthew Ebden(AUS)

Court 5

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Marcel Granollers(ESP)[20] vs. Joao Sousa(POR)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Ekaterina Makarova(RUS) vs. Sloane Stephens(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Radek Stepanek(CZE)[23] vs. David Goffin(BEL)

Court 6

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
A. Medina Garrigues(ESP)[29] vs. Laura Robson(GBR)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Adrian Ungur(ROU) vs. David Nalbandian(ARG)

Not Before:1:00 PM
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Kevin Anderson(RSA)[31] vs./i> Rui Machado(POR)
To Finish 7-6(2) 6-7(6) 4-6 6-1 7-7

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Roberta Vinci(ITA)[17] vs. Sofia Arvidsson(SWE)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Xavier Malisse(BEL) vs. Brian Baker(USA)

Court 7

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Blaz Kavcic(SLO) vs. Lleyton Hewitt(AUS)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Sabine Lisicki(GER)[12] vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Dudi Sela(ISR) vs. Tomas Berdych(CZE)[7]

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova(CZE) vs. Stephanie Foretz Gacon(FRA)

Court 8

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Yung-Jan Chan(TPE) vs. Kateryna Bondarenko(UKR)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Laura Pous-Tio(ESP) vs. Chanelle Scheepers(RSA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Tamarine Tanasugarn(THA) vs. Carla Suarez Navarro(ESP)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Olivier Rochus(BEL) vs. Leonardo Mayer(ARG)

Court 10

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Malek Jaziri(TUN) vs. Philipp Petzschner(GER)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Santiago Giraldo(COL) vs. Alejandro Falla(COL)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Yaroslava Shvedova(KAZ) vs. Mandy Minella(LUX)

Court 11

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Frank Dancevic(CAN) vs. Martin Klizan(SVK)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Romina Oprandi(SUI) vs. Olga Govortsova(BLR)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Jesse Levine(USA) vs. Benjamin Becker(GER)

Court 14

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Mikhail Kukushkin(KAZ) vs. Ernests Gulbis(LAT)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Varvara Lepchenko(USA) vs. Ksenia Pervak(KAZ)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Alexandr Dolgopolov(UKR)[16] vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky(UKR)

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Monica Niculescu(ROU)[32] vs. Nina Bratchikova(RUS)

Court 16

11:00 AM Start
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Nadia Petrova(RUS)[27] vs. Iveta Benesova(CZE)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Eric Prodon(FRA) vs. Horacio Zeballos(ARG)

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Bernard Tomic(AUS)[25] vs. Andreas Haider-Maurer(AUT)

Court 17

11:00 AM Start
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Andreas Seppi(ITA)[22] vs. Nikolay Davydenko(RUS)

Not Before:12:30 PM
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Lukasz Kubot(POL) vs./i> Karol Beck(SVK)
To Finish 7-5 6-2 4-4

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Su-Wei Hsieh(TPE) vs. Flavia Pennetta(ITA)[18]

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo(ESP) vs. Milos Raonic(CAN)[19]

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Vera Dushevina(RUS) vs. Claire Feuerstein(FRA)

Watch Roland-Garros 2012 French Open live stream: Djokovic, Federer, Azarenka, Radwanska live in action on Monday, May 28.

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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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