Venus Williams pulls out of US Open with illness (BLOG)

NEW YORK (AP) — Two days after playing her first match in two months, Venus Williams suddenly pulled out of the U.S. Open on Wednesday, revealing she recently was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause joint pain.

The 31-year-old American has won seven Grand Slam titles, including at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and 2001.

"I enjoyed playing my first match here, and wish I could continue but right now I am unable to," Williams said in a statement released by the tournament. "I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon."

She was supposed to face 22nd-seeded Sabine Lisicki in the second round Wednesday.

Williams cited a virus when withdrawing from hard-court tuneup tournaments since losing in the fourth round at Wimbledon in late June.

She returned to action Monday, beating Vesna Dolonts 6-4, 6-3 in the first round in New York, then said: "No one is more in one-match-at-a-time mode than me now at this tournament. It will just be one match at a time, for sure."

According to the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation website, the disease is a chronic autoimmune illness in which people's white blood cells attack their moisture-producing glands. Common symptoms include dry eyes and dry mouth. As many as 4 million Americans have the disease.

In rare cases, it can cause arthritis and joint pain, said Dr. John Fitzgerald, director of clinical rheumatology at UCLA. Fitzgerald is not involved in treating Williams and does not know her symptoms or medical history. But, he said, if Williams has the typical symptoms, "it does not seem life-threatening or career-ending."

Williams arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Wednesday hours before her match was scheduled to begin and tried warming up by hitting balls.

When Williams left the site shortly before 5 p.m., wearing a white sweater and purple shorts, she was asked by reporters whether she would say anything. She smiled and waved and shook her head to indicate, "No," then climbed into the back of a tournament transportation car and rode away.

"All of us came with the full expectation she'd be playing today. She was geared up to play her match," said Williams' agent, Carlos Fleming.

"I just hope she's OK," Fleming added, "and I hope she's healthy and going to be fine."

Despite all of her past success, including a brief stint at No. 1 in the rankings, Williams was unseeded at the U.S. Open, because she has fallen to 36th after a year of little action. Since reaching the semifinals at last year's U.S. Open, Williams has played only 11 matches, and the WTA projects that her ranking now will slide out of the top 100.

Her younger sister, Serena, a 13-time Grand Slam champion, is scheduled to play her second-round match Thursday.

"A lot of times, they've drawn a lot of criticism. But, trust me, (in) five years, when they're gone, everyone is going to miss them. Everyone is going to realize they're going to be living legends for the rest of their lives. Two girls from Compton, dominating tennis — that's not an everyday story," said 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick, who's known the Williams sisters for about two decades.

"Venus is just the epitome of class, the way she's gone about it," he said. "I don't think she's ever even had a sniff of controversy around her. She's just done it the right way."

On Monday, Venus Williams was asked about the illness that caused her to skip tournaments this summer. She said that night that her ailment had been diagnosed, but wouldn't say what it was.

"It was just energy-sucking, and I just couldn't play pro tennis," she said Monday. "It was disappointing, because I had huge plans for this summer, of course, to improve my ranking. To miss out on all those points was definitely devastating. Just to miss so much time off tour was just disheartening. But I'm just really excited to be back."

Lisicki said she saw Venus Williams on the practice courts and in the locker room and expected to play their match — until the tournament referee passed along the news of the withdrawal.

"She's a tough girl, and I think she'll come back. You know, it would be unfortunate if she couldn't," Lisicki said. "Serena and Venus both are amazing players, and it's nice to have them in the women's sport. I hope she comes back."

Big-serving Serena Williams captures Toronto Cup (BLOG)

(Reuters) - Serena Williams won her second straight tournament and proved her mettle ahead of the U.S. Open with a convincing 6-4 6-2 win over Australia's Samantha Stosur in the Toronto Cup final on Sunday.

The former world number one, playing in just her fourth tournament since returning from an 11-month layoff in June, capped the victory in style with an ace and then raised her arms in the air before jumping up and down repeatedly.

Williams, who won the Stanford Classic last month, held her serve throughout the 77-minute match and called her game solid despite acknowledging there is room for improvement for the U.S. Open, which begins on August 29.

"My game is here and I feel like there are a lot of improvements I want to make -- being able to close out big points and winning on big points and capitalizing on that and still returning a little bit better," Williams told reporters.

"But overall it's solid, I want to definitely keep it up and not go down."

Stosur went toe-to-toe with Williams in a first set that went with serve until the 13-times grand slam champion broke in the ninth game with a forehand volley to the empty side of the court. She served out in the next game.

Williams had sent a screaming backhand winner down the line one point previously, which she said was when the match turned in her favor.

"I definitely think that's when the match started changing, but for the most part I was really fighting until that point," Williams said.

Williams broke Stosur in the opening game of the second set with a cross-court winner.

And after dropping a 12-point game to Stosur, Williams captured 12 of 14 points during a three-game stretch to go ahead 5-1.

The 10th-seeded Stosur held serve in the next game but tournament organizers, perhaps unknowingly, showed little faith in her ability to mount a comeback.

During a change of sides before Williams had her first chance to serve for the match, they squeezed in a short clip on the main scoreboard thanking fans for attending the tournament and asking them to buy tickets for next year.

Williams followed that with a solid final game, firing four of her nine aces past a helpless Stosur, who saw only one break point during the match.

"For me to be able to win I had to play close to my best tennis, and I wasn't quite at that that mark," Stosur told reporters. "She makes it look very easy and it's not that easy just to come back on tour and win two events in your first four tournaments."

Williams, who next plays the Cincinnati Open, improved to 11-0 in hard court matches this year and is looking like the dominant player who captured the Wimbledon title last year before her layoff.

She entered the tournament as the world number 80 but is projected to go as high as 31 when the rankings are released on Monday.

Despite that, Williams considers herself an underdog for the year's final grand slam. "I never go in as a favorite, I feel like I'm still the underdog," she said.

"I went through a lot of things physically, mentally and emotionally, and going through so much so I am just taking it one day at a time and kind of like one match at a time."

Victoria Azarenka withdrew from the doubles final with an injured right hand, clouding the world number four's participation in the U.S. Open.

Azarenka, who lost in straight sets to Williams in Saturday's semi-final, withdrew from the doubles match along with playing partner Maria Kirilenko before taking the court.

Serena Williams advances to Rogers Cup final (BLOG)

TORONTO (AP) — Serena Williams advanced to the final in the Rogers Cup, beating fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday night.

The 29-year-old Williams, playing just her fourth tournament since being sidelined for a year by injuries and illness, will face 10th-seeded Samantha Stosur in the final.

"My goals have been just to give it my all at every match and every tournament," Williams said. "Not that it wasn't like that before, but I had a tremendous amount of focus in the Grand Slams, and I think I still will. But every now and then. ... you never know, tomorrow is not promised and I want to give it my all at every opportunity I have."

Stosur beat Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

Williams, the 13-time Grand Slam champion who isn't seeded as she continues her comeback, put in her most dominant performance this week, winning in 1 hour, 17 minutes.

Dressed in an emerald green long-sleeved shirt and black skirt, her hair pulled back in a black headband, Williams was the clear crowd favorite at Rexall Centre stadium.

The match was her's for the taking when she broke Azarenka's serve on a double-fault to go up 4-3 in the second set. Williams carried all the momentum from that point on, eventually winning on a blistering shot to the back corner that Azarenka had little hope of getting to.

"I feel it's better today than it has been the past couple of rounds, but I feel it's coming along, I feel I can still do a little better but overall I'm almost where I was. Almost," Williams said. "But I want to exceed that level."

Williams was injured shortly after claiming her fourth Wimbledon title. A few days after that victory, she cut her foot on glass at a restaurant in Germany, and underwent two operations. She spent 10 weeks in a cast and 10 weeks in a walking boot. Then she was diagnosed in February with blood clots in her lung, and didn't return to practice court in April.

While her philosophical approach to the game might have changed, her biting sarcasm hasn't. The former world No. 1-ranked player is well down in 80th as she continues her comeback, and was asked if she feels like a top-10 player simply disguised in a No. 80 label.

"You think?" Williams fired back, prompting chuckles from reporters. "Maybe I'm like a changeling and maybe I am really top-10 and I am disguised. That's a good theory. I'm going to look into that."

The 11th-ranked Stosur, from Australia, will return to the top 10 in the WTA rankings next week.

"I think it's always for any person playing a professional sport like tennis, that benchmark is the top 10, and then you make your top five, and from there, you never know what's possible," Stosur said. "But I was definitely very excited when I broke the top 10 the first time.

Federer upset by Tsonga in Wimbledon quarterfinals (BLOG)

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Six-time champion Roger Federer was upset in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second straight year Wednesday, squandering a two-set lead for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament and losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Federer barely looked challenged while winning the first two sets against the 12th-seeded Frenchman. But the Swiss star, who had been 178-0 in matches in which he had won the opening two sets at a major tournament, was broken one time in each of the last three sets.

"It's kind of hard going out of the tournament that way, but unfortunately it does happen sometimes," said Federer, who was playing in his 29th straight major quarterfinal. "At least it took him sort of a special performance to beat me, which is somewhat nice."

Federer may be right. The 16-time Grand Slam champion finished the match with only 11 unforced errors, half as many as Tsonga, but it didn't help him get close to breaking Tsonga's serve when he needed it.

"I was two sets down and I break. I did a good game of return and after that it was just amazing," said Tsonga, who had 63 winners, five more than Federer. "I just played unbelievable, served unbelievable and now I'm here, I'm in semifinal and I can't believe it."

Tsonga will face second-seeded Novak Djokovic, who defeated 18-year-old Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Defending champion Rafael Nadal also advanced, beating Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. The two-time champion will face fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Federer was seeking to equal Pete Sampras' record of seven Wimbledon singles titles. He breezed through his opening four matches, losing only one set, and played his usual elegant game against Tsonga.

In the first set, Federer earned his one and only break point of the match in Tsonga's first service game, and converted it. He held the rest of the way, and then won the second set in the tiebreaker.

But Tsonga finally got his first break in the third set, and another in the fourth and another in the fifth.

"He can come up with some good stuff and some poor things at times," Federer said. "He had basically good return games along the way in the third, fourth, and fifth. I think especially the third set, the break I get is very unusual. He chips back a couple, they stay in."

Those were the Frenchman's only three breaks, and they were just enough to send Federer home early again.

Last year, he lost to eventual runner-up Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals.

"It's the biggest champion in my sport," Tsonga said. "He achieved a lot of things and he's just the best player in the world and I'm just so happy to win against him, especially on grass because it's maybe one of his favorite surface and I'm just so happy today."

Instead of Federer improving on his record haul of major titles, 10-time Grand Slam champion Nadal can add to his own.

The top-seeded Spaniard lost one set but did not appear to be bothered by the left foot he injured in his previous match againstJuan Martin del Potro.

"Today it was better. The treatment worked and I'm fine. I'm here," Nadal said. "The previous match was tough for me because for a moment I didn't know if I had a serious injury, but since (it's) nothing important (it's) probably going to work."

On Court 1, Djokovic overcame a tough match against his protege, holding on to reach the semifinals for the third time in his career.

Djokovic has been practicing with Tomic on-and-off since the two became friends last year in Australia, but this was the first meeting between the two in a competitive match.

After Tomic put a forehand into the net on match point, the pair had a brief chat at the net. Then, with the crowd applauding, Djokovic did the same while motioning toward Tomic.

"It was a very even match. In the first set I felt I played quite well," said Djokovic, who finished the match with fewer winners than Tomic, 43-39. "Then I played one really bad service game and he got back into the match. And from that moment on, he was the better player."

At the start, Djokovic appeared to have little to worry about, rolling through the first set and on his way to a fifth straight major semifinal. But Tomic didn't quit, instead breaking Djokovic to take a 3-1 lead in the second set and eventually evening the match.

"He is such an unpredictable player. He's very young, and obviously, first quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for him means a lot," Djokovic said. "But he didn't have anything to lose, so he was hitting a lot of winners today."

Tomic again went up a break in the third, but that's when Djokovic got going. The two-time Grand Slam champion won five straight games to take the third set, and then won the first two games in the fourth. Although Tomic got back on serve at 2-2 and was two points from winning the set at 5-4, Djokovic soon broke to take a 6-5 lead and held for victory.

"It was really hard to predict where he's going to go. He was not making a lot of unforced errors from the baseline, and that made my life really difficult," Djokovic said. "I tried to change the pace, but he was better at that. We were playing cat and mouse, I think. But in the end, I'm just happy to get through."

Djokovic started the 2011 season by winning 41 straight matches, but that came to an end with a loss to Federer in the French Open semifinals. If the Serb reaches the final at the All England Club for the first time this year, he will guarantee himself the No. 1 ranking. He can also claim the top ranking if Nadal fails to defend his title.

Tomic was the youngest man to start in the men's draw this year, and is the youngest to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Boris Becker defended his title in 1986.

Murray is trying to become the first British man to win the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936. And against Lopez, he was never really bothered.

He saved the two break points he faced, both in the third set, and finished off the match by winning the final game at love.

"I've played a little bit better every year I've come here," said Murray, who is in the semifinals for the third straight year. "I want to go further."

Venus Williams, Nadal, Roddick win at Wimbledon (BLOG)

WIMBLEDON, England – Time and again after losing a point, Venus Williams rolled her eyes, slumped her shoulders and let out a shriek of dismay that echoed through Centre Court, reverberating off its roof.

Facing the most, uh, experienced woman in the Wimbledon field — 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan — Williams was mired in a three-set struggle that lasted nearly three hours Wednesday, a tight, high-quality contest brimming with the sort of at-the-net, classic grass-court play seen so rarely nowadays.

"She doesn't play anywhere near her age," Williams said.

In the end, Williams, a five-time champion at the All England Club, mustered every bit of her competitive drive and considerable talent to pull out a 6-7 (6), 6-3, 8-6 comeback victory over Date-Krumm and reach the third round.

"She played unbelievable today. I thought she had some luck on her side, too, with net cords, balls hitting lines. I just thought today was a perfect storm for her to try to get a win," said Williams, who again wore her decidedly original lace romper, featuring draped sleeves, deep "V" neckline, gold belt and gold zipper.

"Thankfully," Williams added, "I had some answers."

None more effective than her serve, in the late-going, anyway. That stroke delivered 12 aces, helped Williams escape several jams and was clocked at 120 mph even in her final service game. Contrast that with Date-Krumm's serves, mostly about 80 mph. One was 65 mph.

Date-Krumm, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 1996, quit tennis later that year, then came out of retirement in 2008, marveled at Williams' serve afterward, saying: "Not only speed — it's on the corner. So it was very, very difficult to break her."

Not at the outset, actually. Date-Krumm won 13 of the first 16 points Williams served, breaking three times en route to a 5-1 lead. The 23rd-seeded Williams turned things around, taking five consecutive games to go ahead 6-5. Williams then wasted a set point, and Date-Krumm eventually won the tiebreaker. In the second and third sets, though, Williams played much more cleanly, and she wound up winning by breaking in the final game.

It was hardly easy.

"Venus came out slow, and that girl took off like a brand new motor," said Williams' father and coach, Richard. His daughter missed time with a bum hip and is playing only her fourth tournament since Wimbledon in 2010.

On Tuesday, his other daughter, Serena, needed three sets to win, too. After ambling out of Centre Court this time, Dad tapped his umbrella's wooden handle on his chest and said, referring to those matches: "They're tough on the heart. The heart's not as young as it once was."

He wasn't the only one toting an umbrella around the grounds Wednesday, when rain prevented any action until after 3 p.m., other than under the retractable roof at the main stadium. After Williams managed to sneak through, fans with Centre Court tickets had a chance to see easy wins for two-time champion Rafael Nadal, then three-time runner-up Andy Roddick.

The top-ranked Nadal beat Ryan Sweeting of the United States 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, compiling 38 winners and only seven unforced errors. In the third round, Nadal will face Gilles Muller of Luxembourg — the only man other than Roger Federer to beat him at Wimbledon in the past six years. Since losing to Muller in the second round in 2005, Nadal is 28-2 at the All England Club; that includes defeats against Federer in the 2006 and 2007 finals, titles in 2008 and 2010, and missing the 2009 tournament with bad knees.

"Will be a big, big test for me," Nadal said.

Roddick's strong serve was clicking again in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Victor Hanescu of Romania. The No. 8-seeded American hit 15 aces, saved the only break point he faced and limited his unforced errors to six — all with a special pair of fans sitting at Centre Court: his parents.

"This is the first time they've seen me play here. ... I think today was the first time they ever sat in a box in my entire career," said Roddick, who won the 2003 U.S. Open. "They picked a good court to debut that on. I think they're having fun."

Other winners included No. 4 Andy Murray, No. 9 Gael Monfils and 72nd-ranked Alex Bogomolov Jr. of the United States, who reached the third round in his first trip to Wimbledon by knocking off No. 25 Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 6-0, 6-3, 6-4.

The only seeded woman to lose was No. 30 Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States, who caused a stir with her Lady Gaga-inspired jacket that had white tennis balls attached to it, then was beaten 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 by 133rd-ranked Misaki Doi of Japan.

When Mattek-Sands arrived at the court, she noticed a tour official scrutinizing her getup. So Mattek-Sands made clear her unusual accessory would be removed before warmup time.

"I'm not hitting any balls in it," Mattek-Sands said. "Don't worry."

SERENA WILLIAMS' INJURY FORCES HER TO PULL OUT OF AUSSIE OPEN

Two-time defending champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open because of a foot injury.

Tournament director Craig Tiley released a statement Thursday saying Williams had pulled out of the Hopman Cup international mixed teams competition in Perth and the Australian Open in January.

It is the second consecutive Grand Slam tournament Williams will miss, and the loss of 2,000 rankings points could cost the 29-year-old star her place in the top 10.

Williams has played only one exhibition match since winning Wimbledon in July. She had surgery after cutting her foot on broken glass at a restaurant following her win at the All England Club. She returned to practice in September, but twice put off her comeback, missing the U.S. Open, the season-ending WTA tournament, the Fed Cup and a handful of tour events.

She said she had additional surgery last month and couldn’t risk returning before the injury had properly healed.

“As I recently learned, pushing myself back into my intense training too early only caused me further injury and damage,” Williams said. “While I desperately want to be back on the court and competing in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, it is imperative for my health that I continue to work with my doctors to ensure my foot heals properly.

“This decision, though heavy on my heart, is the right one. I am praying for a healthy recovery and I promise my Aussie fans and my fans around the world that I will be back better than ever as soon as I can be.”

Williams has won the Australian Open five times and is a popular draw in Melbourne.

“Serena is a great champion and we will miss her in January,” Tiley said.

When healthy, Serena and sister Venus Williams have dominated women’s tennis during the past decade. Serena has won each of the four majors at least once, and she has 13 Grand Slam singles crowns in all.

Serena Williams finished No. 4 in the rankings in 2010 despite playing only six tournaments, including her wins at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

She missed three months early in the season with a left knee injury, and hasn’t played a tour tournament since Wimbledon. Despite that, she spent most of the year at No. 1 — taking her career tally to 123 weeks atop the women’s rankings — until being replaced by Caroline Wozniacki on Oct. 11.

While recuperating, Serena Williams has spent time pursuing her wide-ranging business and fashion interests and work for her foundation, which is dedicated to educating children in Africa.

-AP