SAN DIEGO (California) (Reuters) Former world number one Dinara Safina ended a six match losing streak by beating Alona Bondarenko 6-1 7-6 in the first round of the San Diego Open on Monday. Safina was joined in the second round by another Russian, Alisa Kleybanova, who overcame Aravane Rezai of ...

TOKYO (Reuters) - World number one Dinara Safina collapsed to a stunning 7-6 4-6 7-5 defeat by Taiwanese qualifier Chang Kai-chen at the Pan Pacific Open on Monday. The Russian, dumped out of the U.S. Open in the third round earlier this month, struggled from the start in her opening match ...

CINCINNATI (Ohio) (AFP) - Serbia's Jelena Jankovic boosted her US Open hopes with a brisk 6-4, 6-2 victory over world number one Dinara Safina on Sunday in the final of the two million-dollar WTA Cincinnati Open. "My smile is back and I'm having fun playing the matches," said Jankovic, who started ...

LONDON (AFP) - China's Peng Shuai was narrowly beaten by Polish number 11 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in a thrilling second round match at Wimbledon on Thursday. The Chinese number three lost 6-2, 6-7 (7/6), 9-7 in a three-hour clash on Court 14, but showed plenty of guts and determination ...

Dinara Safina rolled past another opponent on Wednesday at the French Open, this time beating Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia 6-1, 6-1 in the second round. The top-seeded Safina took a 5-0 lead to open the match, stretching her streak to 17 straight games after winning 6-0, 6-0 in the first round. ...

ROME (AFP) - World number two Serena Williams was stunned by Patty Schnyder as the American crashed out of the second round of the WTA Rome claycourt International 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 on Tuesday. Apart from an improved second set, Australian Open champion Serena was lethargic throughout the match and at ...

STUTTGART (Germany) (AFP) - World number one Dinara Safina made light work of Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova as she needed just over an hour to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament here on Thursday. Having blasted her way past Italy's Sara Errani 6-0, 6-1 in the first round, Safina was ...

INDIAN WELLS (AFP) - Polish wildcard Urszula Radwanska ended Svetlana Kuznetsova's hopes of reaching a third straight Indian Wells final, ousting the sixth-seeded Russian in the second round on Friday. Radwanska, ranked 107th in the world, triumphed 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, but not before an ankle injury ...

MELBOURNE (AFP) - Serena Williams thrashed Russia's Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 to win her fourth Australian Open title Saturday, bringing up her 10th Grand Slam and reclaiming the world number one ranking on the way. In one of the most lop-sided deciders ever, the American utterly dominated third seed ...

Serena Williams will gun for her 10th Grand Slam title and the world number one ranking against Dinara Safina in the Australian Open final after they both came through tough clashes on Thursday. With the roof of the Rod Laver Arena closed as temperatures soared to a sweltering 44.3 C (111.7 F), ...

STUTTGART (AFP) - Wimbledon champion Venus Williams said Thursday she is relishing her first meeting with world number three Dinara Safina in the quarter-finals of Stuttgart's WTA event. The American needed a little over an hour of Thursday's second-round match to hit an impressive 12 aces as ...

TOKYO (AFP) - Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova set up an all-Russian final with crushing wins at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament on Saturday. Safina enjoyed her first victory over compatriot Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-0, while Kuznetsova brushed aside Slovenian qualifier Katarina Srebotnik ...

NEW YORK (AFP) - Sobs turned to lobs as an emotional Dinara Safina stormed into the quarter-finals of the US Open, defeating German qualifier Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-5, 6-0 on Monday. Safina's coach Zeljko Krajan had to raise Safina's spirits before she would agree to take the court against the ...

NEW YORK (AFP) - Top seed Ana Ivanovic struggled but held on to win her opening match, while a pair of wannabe number ones advanced in straights sets during day two of the US Open. World No. 1 Ivanovic, who captured the French Open earlier this year for her first Grand Slam title, didn't make ...

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese star Li Na's giant-killing run was brought shuddering to a halt by in-form Russian Dinara Safina in the Olympic Games semi-finals on Saturday. Safina braved a partisan crowd to oust Li 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 and set up an all-Russian final with 2000 silver-medallist Elena ...

PARIS (AFP) - Russia's Dinara Safina mounted an astonishing comeback from a set and 2-5 down to send top seed Maria Sharapova crashing out of the French Open in an epic fourth round battle on Monday. Safina triumphed 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, saving a match point along the way, in a tie which ...

PARIS (AFP) - It's been a struggle for the world No.1 in the first week of the French Open but she believes the real Maria Sharapova has finally shown up. The tournament's top seed has spent nearly seven hours on court in winning her first three rounds and at times she has despaired over her ...