Rich Benvin

Amelie Mauresmo is healthy and ready to defend her Wimbledon title. The fourth-ranked Frenchwoman, who injured her groin and lost in the third round at the French Open, said Tuesday she is feeling better. "I had some trouble recovering from the injury I got in Paris, but I'm feeling much better now and really looking forward to playing some matches on grass," Mauresmo said at the Wimbledon warm-up...

The International Tennis Federation sent condolences to the Iraqi Tennis Federation on Tuesday following the deaths of a coach and two players in Baghdad. Gunmen shot and killed coach Hussein Ahmed Rashid and players Nasir Al-Hatam and Wissam Adel Auda on Friday, reportedly because they were wearing shorts.

Venus Williams pays enough attention to her tennis to know she no longer is ranked in the top 10. Precisely where she stands, however, is a bit of a mystery to her. "What am I ranked?" Williams asked Monday after beating Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-4, 6-3 in the first round at the French Open. Told her ranking, she asked: "What am I seeded?" When that reply came, she answered: "Oh, man.

Rafael Nadal's home-court advantage was again too much for Roger Federer. Renewing a rivalry that tends to be all about the setting, king of clay Nadal won his third consecutive French Open title Sunday, spoiling Federer's latest bid to complete a career Grand Slam. The next time they meet -- perhaps at Wimbledon in four weeks -- Federer will likely have the upper hand, with the surface more to his...

Benjamin Kohlloeffel became UCLA's first men's NCAA singles champion in 31 years, beating Virginia's Somdev Devvarman 6-1, 6-4 on Monday. "This is an incredible feeling," said Kohlloeffel, also the fourth straight German winner. "Seeded No. 1, I could imagine winning it, but you can never plan it. I was really nervous but a good start helped me feel better." In the women's final, California's Suzi...

Novak Djokovic received a tennis lesson courtesy of Rafael Nadal in the French Open semifinals. "From every match, I learn something new," said Djokovic, who lost Friday to Nadal, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2. "Especially this tournament -- it's one of the four biggest tournaments in tennis, and it brought me a lot of positive things.

Success comes with perils for Justine Henin. Her strategy is to simply ignore all her achievements. The top-ranked Belgian player heads into Saturday's French Open final against seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic with more landmarks within her reach. "I forget about this because it's not going to help me win," Henin said.

If Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are going to build a rivalry for the ages, it wouldn't hurt the TV ratings or buzz factor if there were a bit of animosity -- or at least a difference of opinion. Well, it looks like they've got the latter. Both usually say all the right things about the other's talent and place in the game, but a touch of tension arises when it comes to Federer's contention that...

Prospects for U.S. women at the French Open already seemed bleak, what with Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport sidelined, and Venus Williams a bit rusty. After Friday's draw, things look about as tough as could be. Of the 12 Americans in the women's field, Venus Williams is the only one who's seeded, and most of the 11 others drew top opponents right from the start.

Two-time champion Serena Williams withdrew from Wimbledon on Friday because of a chronic knee injury. She had also withdrawn from the French Open, which starts Sunday. Wimbledon starts June 26. Williams won Wimbledon in 2002 and 2003, beating her older sister Venus in both finals. She reached the third round last year, while Venus won the title for the third time.

Top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo and No. 3 Maria Sharapova withdrew Sunday from the Italian Open, an important clay-court tuneup for the French Open. Mauresmo, the two-time defending champion in Rome, said she had a cold and fever. Sharapova has a bruised bone in her right ankle. Mauresmo lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the German Open semifinals Saturday.

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Lleyton Hewitt pulled out of next week's Sydney International on Saturday with a torn right calf muscle and could miss the Australian Open. One day after Roger Rasheed quit as coach of the two-time Grand Slam tournament champion, Hewitt's manager, Justin Cohen, said the 25-year-old Australian has a calf injury that requires therapy and rest.

Having already displayed his prowess on hard courts this season, Novak Djokovic is showing he's capable of dominating on clay, too. Djokovic won the 10th title of his career Sunday, rallying to beat unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Rome Masters. "I was aiming for Rome and Roland Garros as my two priorities on clay courts this season," Djokovic said.

Dina Safina pulled off her third upset of a top-10 player in a week at the German Open, winning the title Sunday by defeating ninth-ranked Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. The 17th-ranked Safina also beat No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 8 Serena Williams at the clay-court event. The 22-year-old Russian overcame a slow start and dropped the first set -- just like in her two other upsets -- before her shots...