Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo was upset in the quarterfinals of the Sydney International on Wednesday and Nikolay Davydenko, seeded No. 2 in the men’s draw, became the fifth high-profile player to retire from the Australian Open warmup tournament. Mauresmo, who won the Australian Open last year for her breakthrough Grand Slam singles title, lost 7-5, 6-0 to Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic in the…

Roger Federer shook off some rust in a 7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) win over Radek Stepanek in a belated start to the season Wednesday that took longer and was hotter than he anticipated. Stepanek, wearing a camouflage-style outfit of his own design, almost ambushed Federer in the first round of the Kooyong exhibition tournament.

Former tennis pro Gloria Connors, who coached her son Jimmy Connors to multiple Grand Slam championships and a No. 1 world ranking, has died at the age of 82, the International Tennis Hall of Fame announced Tuesday. Gloria Connors died Monday at her Belleville home, apparently of natural causes, said Dale Kurrus, whose funeral home is handling the wake.

The best way to build confidence is usually by winning. For Andy Roddick, however, two losses to Roger Federer at the end of last year showed him that he might finally be closing the gap with tennis’ top player. “Probably for the first time in two or three years after those matches I felt like the gap was maybe going my way for once,” Roddick said in a conference call Monday to promote next month’s…

Former top-ranked Serena Williams beat Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-4, 6-0 in a first-round match at the Hobart International on Monday, ending a four-month injury layoff. Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, led 5-0 in the first set before allowing Arvidsson back into the match to 5-4, then easily won the final set.

Lleyton Hewitt’s former Davis Cup teammate, Scott Draper, will coach the two-time Grand Slam champion at least until the end of the Australian Open. Justin Cohen, Hewitt’s manager, said Monday that Draper had been appointed to a “coaching and support role” following Roger Rasheed’s sudden resignation last Friday after 3 1/2 years of coaching Hewitt.

Australian Samantha Stosur and Tatiana Golovin of France advanced to the second round of the Sydney International with straight-set victories Monday. Stosur beat Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-1, 6-4 and Golovin defeated Chinese qualifier Peng Shuai 6-4, 7-5 early on the first full day of competition in the joint ATP and WTA Tour event at the Sydney International Tennis Centre.

Top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 6-0, 6-4 Sunday in the only completed first-round singles match at the rain-delayed Hobart International tennis tournament. Steady showers forced postponement or suspension of most of the first-round and qualifying matches Sunday.

Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova pulled out of the Champions Challenge on Saturday because of bronchitis. It wasn’t immediately clear if the illness would prevent her from playing in the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 15. Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open winner, appeared fatigued during the tournament and struggled with her movement.

Justine Henin-Hardenne will skip the Australian Open and a preliminary tournament because of undisclosed personal reasons. Australian Open spokesman John Lindsay confirmed Thursday that Henin-Hardenne — the No. 1 player in the world — withdrew from the tournament that begins Jan. 15 in Melbourne. She was the runner-up last year.

Belgian Kim Clijsters kicked off her final season with a 6-3, 6-2 win Wednesday over China’s Zheng Jie in the quarterfinals of the Champions Challenge exhibition, a warmup for the Australian Open. Clijsters, ranked No. 5 in the world, broke Zheng’s serve in the opening game and led 4-1. Zheng, the reigning Wimbledon women’s doubles champion and Asian Games gold medalist, struggled with Clijsters…

Former U.S. Open and Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis said Wednesday he requires right knee surgery after tearing cartilage during a Hopman Cup match. Philippoussis had to retire Tuesday while trailing 4-1 in the first set against Jerome Haehnel of France. An MRI scan Wednesday showed Philippoussis has torn the lateral meniscus cartilage in his right knee.

Lleyton Hewitt, playing singles for the first time since losing in the Davis Cup last September, beat Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic at the Adelaide International on Tuesday after Tipsarevic retired late with a thigh injury. The former top-ranked Australian was leading the round-robin match 6-1, 4-2 when Tipsarevic decided he could not continue.

Florent Serra of France beat Sweden’s Joachim Johansson 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 Monday in a match between two former champions at the Australian men’s hardcourt championship, which is experimenting with a round-robin format for the first time. Peter Luczak upset fifth-seeded Dominik Hrbaty 6-3, 6-4 in one of three wins by Australian wild-card entries.

Second-seeded Anastasia Myskina of Russia dropped out of the ASB Women’s Tennis Classic on Monday, falling 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to Argentina’s Gisela Dulko in a first-round match. Myskina, the 2004 French Open champion, appeared to struggle with a foot injury and required courtside treatment before losing to the 59th-ranked Dulko.