Robby Ginepri is the first U.S. man to reach the fourth round of the French Open since Andre Agassi in 2003. Ginepri, the last American man or woman playing singles in this year’s tournament, beat Florent Serra of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 Saturday. The 88th-ranked Ginepri never had won a match at Roland Garros until this week, losing in the first round in each of his previous five appearances at the…

Sven Davidson, Sweden’s first Grand Slam winner and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died. He was 79. The hall said he died Wednesday of pneumonia in Arcadia, Calif. Davidson had been diagnosed with an initial stage of Alzheimer’s disease one year ago. Davidson, who was inducted to the hall last summer, was the Swedish singles champion from 1950-60 and became the first Swede to…

Venus Williams had a much easier time in the second round of the French Open than in the first. The No. 8-seeded Williams overcame 25 unforced errors and used a six-game run to take control en route to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over 241st-ranked qualifier Selima Sfar of Tunisia at Roland Garros on Thursday. Williams’ serve was broken to put her behind 2-1, but she didn’t drop another game until leading 1-0…

Marat Safin is chasing his past glory. The two-time Grand Slam champion, a former No. 1 player now ranked 73rd, advanced to the second round of the French Open on Wednesday by beating Jean-Rene Lisnard of Monaco 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 in a match that took two days to complete. “Now I’m pretty solid, confident, and looking forward.

There was plenty of joking among the U.S. men playing in the French Open that they couldn’t help but improve upon the country’s 0-9 showing from 2007 because two Americans were facing each other in the first round. No one could have assumed there would be this much improvement. Five of 10 American men in this year’s field won their opening matches — and one of them already moved into the third…

Former tennis star Roscoe Tanner has been arraigned on felony theft charges in Knox County. According to information from the Knox County General Sessions Court, Tanner is accused of writing a $72,263.43 check to a Knoxville Toyota dealership for two Toyota Highlanders and refusing to return the vehicles when the check bounced.

Rafael Nadal has improved his career record at the French Open to 22-0 by winning his rain-delayed first-round match. The three-time reigning champion beat qualifier Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 Wednesday in a match that was suspended Tuesday after only two games because of bad weather. Nadal, seeded No.

Former French Open champion Yannick Noah doesn’t think his son Joakim’s arrest for possession of marijuana and having an open container of alcohol is a big deal. Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah was arrested Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., after an officer spotted him on a sidewalk holding a plastic cup.

Richard Gasquet has withdrawn from the French Open because of a left knee injury. The eighth-seeded Frenchman pulled out shortly before he was scheduled to play Florent Serra on Monday. Florian Mayer of Germany also withdrew. Mayer, who will be replaced by Evgeny Korolev of Russia, pulled out because of gastroenteritis.

To James Blake, 1-0 sounds a lot better than 0-9. A year after all nine U.S. men competing at the French Open lost in the first round, Blake won his opener at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament Sunday, beating former top-10 player Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (3). “We’ve already done more,” the No.

Gustavo Kuerten bid farewell to tennis Sunday in the first round of the French Open, losing 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to Paul-Henri Mathieu at the site of his biggest triumphs. The former top-ranked Brazilian won three French Open titles. The 31-year-old Kuerten has been bothered by a hip injury since 2001. Since having surgery in 2004, he has played in only 19 tournaments and won five matches.