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More than once during the past fortnight, Serena Williams has won an important point at Wimbledon and then returned to the baseline, her clenched fist leading the way. The ferocity of the gesture is understandable, given the obstacles she has beaten back in the past couple of years. A succession of health issues led to a long layoff that forced Williams to mount a career comeback, and she'll try to cap it Saturday when she plays Agnieszka Radwanska, the first Polish player to reach a Grand Slam final since 1939. Williams seeks her 14th major title, and would tie her...

For Roger Federer, it's Wimbledon final No. 8. For Andy Murray, it's No. 1 — and the first for a British man since 1938. Federer, a 16-time Grand Slam champion, beat defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Friday under the closed roof at Centre Court to reach a modern-era record eighth final at the All England Club. He is now one victory from equaling Pete Sampras' record of seven titles. "I have one more match to go. I'm aware of that," said Federer, who is 6-1 in Wimbledon finals. "Still, it's always nice beating someone like Novak, who...

WIMBLEDON, England — Novak Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title Sunday, and he beat defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 to do it. Djokovic, who was already guaranteed to take over the No. 1 ranking from the Spaniard on Monday, extended his mastery over Nadal this season with a fifth straight head-to-head victory. Djokovic assured himself of the top ranking just by reaching the final.

WIMBLEDON, England Ever tried signing autographs while cradling the Wimbledon cup in your left arm? It was possibly the most difficult thing Rafael Nadal had to do on finals day at Wimbledon as he walked out of the club’s front door to deal with the requests of hundreds of squealing fans. And, yes, he does sign with his right hand because it is only tennis that this great champion does as a southpaw, which leaves you wondering how good he would have been playing as nature intended. Better? Not as awkward to play? Whatever the answer, the only thing that...

WIMBLEDON, England — As Roger Federer walked off Center Court toward his earliest July vacation in eight years, he waved and signed autographs for the crowd. But that gracious demeanor ended soon afterward, when he blamed injuries instead of crediting his opponent.Tomas Berdych, the 12th seed, had finished the unthinkable, serving out a game he called the toughest in his career, in front of the packed house that Federer calls home. Berdych defeated Federer, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. It’s amazing,” Berdych said. “To play on this stadium, to play such a great player as Roger is,...

WIMBLEDON, England — Before Venus Williams started her quarterfinal here, the ranking of her opponent, Tsvetana Pironkova, seemed inconsequential. Then Yen-Hsun Lu knocked Andy Roddick from the tournament late Monday, and he shared two important things with Pironkova — a high-profile American opponent and a world ranking of 82. From this strange coincidence, sprang another upset. Before this tournament, Pironkova had won all of one match at Wimbledon in her career. On Tuesday, she captured her fifth victory this fortnight, a 6-2, 6-3 dismantling of Williams, the second-ranked player in the world. Her anticipated semifinal with Kim Clijsters, the No....

WIMBLEDON, England -- When John Isner finally won the longest match in tennis history, he collapsed on the Wimbledon grass and then summoned one last burst of energy, springing to his feet to applaud along with the crowd. The American hit a backhand winner to win the last of the match's 980 points, and he took the fifth set Thursday against Nicolas Mahut, 70-68. The first-round match took 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days, lasting so long it was suspended because of darkness -- two nights in a row. Play resumed Thursday at 59-all and continued for more than...

The now greatest player ever was bruised, but he wasn't beaten yet. After sustaining a barrage of aces, groundstroke winners and crisp volleys, Roger Federer faced two break points at 8-8 in the fifth set against American Andy Roddick, who was surely playing the Grand Slam match of his life in Sunday's Wimbledon final. But Federer did not want to walk away from the final like he did last year, his face splattered with tears after a wrenching 9-7 loss in the fifth set to Rafael Nadal. So this time, he responded, cracking a wicked service winner, launching another service...

With the blankest of blank expressions on their faces, these mysterious figures have been popping up in the most unlikely of places. The faceless mutants have a penchant for A-list celebrity bashes and have been spotted at Elton John's White tie ball and Harrods summer sale, opened by Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall.

To put it bluntly, everything you read today by sportswriters about tournament tennis prior to 1968 and the advent of the big-money professional game is completely wrong. For one thing, between 1930 and 1968 very few champions or top players were rich young men. Far from it....Perhaps from a distance they looked rich when they were tennis stars. They behaved like gentlemen. It was insisted upon.... But beginning in 1968, a strange reversal occurred. The teenagers could not act like adults because the adults -- even on Ivy League campuses -- had joined the kids, adopting their distinctive music, hair...

by Standard Reporter Venus and Serena Williams today denied claims that they had fixed matches. As Wimbledon got under way today, with fans queuing all night for tickets, the sisters denied that they played weakly against each other or pulled out of tournaments to avoid meeting. Venus, 22, told ITV's Tonight With Trevor McDonald: "I enjoy playing Serena as much as the other competitors." Serena, 20, added: "It's said (we decide who wins) but it's not true." Asked if they ever pulled out to avoid playing each other, she said: "It never happened."