Serena Williams

Serena Williams won 10 of the last 12 games to defeat Marina Erakovic 6-2, 6-2 and move into the quarterfinals at the Family Circle Cup on Thursday. The fifth-seeded Williams will meet either Sabine Lisicki or Yaraslava Shedova on Friday for a spot in the semifinals, where's Serena's sister Venus could be waiting. Venus Williams faces Anastasia Rodionova in a later third-round match. Serena Williams got her game going at 2-2 in the first set after she missed several chances to break Erakovic's serve before losing that game.

Between bites of some "frites" at the players' restaurant, Oracene Price smiled at the thought of being back at the French Open with her daughters, Serena and Venus Williams. The family wasn't at Roland Garros a year ago, making it the first Grand Slam tournament since 2003 without either Williams. Serena was still working her way back from a series of health scares, including two foot operations and blood clots. Venus revealed in August she'd been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue.

Serena Williams withdrew from the Italian Open with a lower back injury shortly before she was scheduled to meet French Open champion Li Na in the semifinals on Saturday. Williams said the problem also affected her earlier this week. "It was feeling a little stiff and I don't think this is the right moment to force (it)," she said. "I just want to relax and get ready for the next few months. " The withdrawal comes eight days before the French Open, but Williams said the move was mainly precautionary and that she'll be ready for the clay-court major.

Serena Williams withdrew from the Italian Open with a lower back injury shortly before she was scheduled to meet French Open champion Li Na in the semifinals on Saturday. Williams said the problem also affected her earlier this week. "It was feeling a little stiff and I don't think this is the right moment to force (it)," she said. "I just want to relax and get ready for the next few months. " The withdrawal comes eight days before the French Open, but Williams said the move was mainly precautionary and that she'll be ready for the clay-court major.

Serena Williams said her sister Venus has been training every day and will be ready for the Fed Cup matches against Belarus — her first competitive tennis since she pulled out of the U.S. Open because of an autoimmune disease. "She's coming along awesome. She's doing really well," said Serena Williams, who played her older sister in an exhibition in Colombia in November. "She's not wanting to take it too fast, come back too soon. But she's been training every day since before Colombia, so I know she's going to be ready.

Serena Williams needed just 49 minutes to advance a day after her sister withdrew at the U.S. Open. The 13-time Grand Slam champion beat 183rd-ranked Dutch qualifier Michaella Krajicek 6-0, 6-1 in the second round Thursday. She closed it out with her 10th ace. On Wednesday, Venus Williams revealed that she had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain. Younger sister Serena is coming off her own health scare of blood clots in her lungs over the winter.

WORCESTER - The former and maybe future queen of her sport is about to play the newest world No. 1 in a high-stakes match that could determine the future of US women's team tennis. And it's no big deal. Serena Williams, the career prize-money leader among female athletes (in all sports), rolled into town this week in advance of the weekend's Fed Cup matches at the DCU Center against Belarus and world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. "I played a lot of No. 1's," Williams said at a news conference.

Serena Williams kept swinging on the final point, and Caroline Wozniacki kept chasing the ball down, running from side to side in a grueling, grunt-filled exchange. A weary Williams finally hit one where her relentless opponent couldn't reach it: into the net. With that, Wozniacki had a 6-4, 6-4 victory Tuesday night, and a berth in the Key Biscayne semifinals for the first time. "I made her run," Wozniacki said. "Everyone I play always plays the match of the year," Williams said.

MELBOURNE - After taking a tumble on the next to last point of the match, Serena Williams got up and whipped a backhand winner down the line to finish off her second-round match at the Australian Open and her 500th career win. With the 6-0, 6-4 victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova today, Williams extended her winning streak to 16 matches at Melbourne Park, where she won back-to-back titles in 2009 and '10 but couldn't play last year because...

BRISBANE, Australia — Serena Williams injured her left ankle Wednesday at the Brisbane International in what looms as a major setback for her Australian Open preparations. Williams, in her first trip Down Under since winning the 2010 Australian Open and playing a tournament for the first time since losing last year's U.S. Open final, was serving for the match with a 6-2, 5-3 lead against Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski when she twisted her ankle and crashed heavily to the court.

A week after Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal made early exits in Madrid on an experimental blue court, both showed they remain a force on red clay Friday by reaching the Italian Open semifinals. The top-ranked Djokovic struggled with his serve in the opening set but found his range to eliminate fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 6-1. Nadal defeated seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5. "In the second set I played one of the best sets on clay this year and this is encouraging for the challenges to come tomorrow and with Roland Garros," Djokovic said.

Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from the Italian Open because of a right shoulder injury. Tournament organizers say Azarenka made the decision after routing Shahar Peer of Israel 6-1, 6-2 in the second round Wednesday night. Azarenka has won four titles this year, including the Australian Open. She lost the Madrid Open final to Serena Williams on Sunday. Her withdrawal means her scheduled opponent Thursday, 14th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, advances to the quarterfinals.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic made a solid return to red-clay courts, dominating Australian teenager Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-3 Tuesday night to open his Italian Open title defense. On the women's side, Serena Williams beat 46th-ranked Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-3 for her 14th consecutive victory, following titles in Charleston, S.C., and Madrid — and two wins in Fed Cup. Also, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and defending champion Maria Sharapova won in straight sets at Foro Italico to reach the third round.

Roger Federer rallied to beat Tomas Berdych 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 and win the Madrid Open for a third time on Sunday. Earlier, Serena Williams overpowered the top-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3 to win the women's final. While Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had blamed the new blue-clay court for their early exits, Federer's biggest obstacle was to overcome an opponent who had beaten him in three of their previous five meetings. "It is amazing to win here again," said Federer, who will overtake Nadal as the second-ranked player behind Djokovic.

Roger Federer will play for his third Madrid Open title with a chance to take over the No. 2 spot in the world ranking after cruising past Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-3 in the tournament semifinals on Saturday. The Swiss star and former No. 1 advanced to a finals matchup against Tomas Berdych, who edged Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) in the other semifinal. A victory will push Federer ahead of Spain's Rafael Nadal in the rankings. "It's going to be a tough match," said Federer.

Serena Williams overpowered Ukrainian teenager Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-1 Saturday to give the United States a 2-0 lead in the Fed Cup playoff series. In the opening match, American Christina McHale defeated Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 on clay at the Superior Golf and Spa Resort. The U.S. needs one victory among the reverse singles and doubles on Sunday to return to the top tier of the Fed Cup group. Williams could seal the U.S. place in the world group with a victory over Tsurenko on Sunday.

A week after Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal made early exits in Madrid on an experimental blue court, both showed they remain a force on red clay Friday by reaching the Italian Open semifinals. The top-ranked Djokovic struggled with his serve in the opening set but found his range to eliminate fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 6-1. Nadal defeated seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5. "In the second set I played one of the best sets on clay this year and this is encouraging for the challenges to come tomorrow and with Roland Garros," Djokovic said.

Serena Williams has plenty to keep her busy. There's college classes, a relaunch of her clothing line and a possible move to Paris. And, oh yeah, there's that brand of dominant tennis that Williams plays like few others in the world. Williams capped a week of powerful performances with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Lucie Safarova to win the Family Circle Cup on Sunday. It was Williams' 40th WTA title and first on clay in four years since capturing this championship in 2008. Williams didn't expect to show so strongly in her first event of the season on clay.