Sharapova Conqueror: 'I Don't Like Her Outfit'

Surprise challenger upsets third seed in second round

(AP) - Former champion Maria Sharapova was ousted today in the second round at Wimbledon by 154th-ranked Alla Kudryavtseva. Kudryavtseva recovered an early break in the second set to beat the 2004 champion 6-2, 6-4; it was Sharapova's earliest exit from a Grand Slam event since her first full season on the circuit in 2003. More»

Czech upsets Maria Sharapova for first Grand Slam win

(NEWSER) - The new women's Wimbledon champ is Petra Kvitova, a Czech player who upset Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 today, reports AP . The victory is the first Grand Slam win for the 21-year-old, who is the first lefty to win since Martina Navratilova in 1990. She's a "new star," declared Navratilova herself afterward. Bleacher Report wonders whether Sharapova, who double-faulted six times, simply choked under pressure. More»

Williams sisters each get rare exit before quarterfinals

(AP) - Venus and Serena Williams were both eliminated in the fourth round of Wimbledon today, the first time in five years that neither sister will play in the quarterfinals. Defending champ Serena was the first to go, beaten 6-3, 7-6 (6) by Marion Bartoli of France. It cuts short her return to Grand Slam tennis after nearly a year out with serious health problems. Older sister Venus was ousted 6-2, 6-3 by Tsvetana Pironkova. Also knocked out was top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who fell 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 to No. 24 Dominika Cibulkova. More»

Bethanie Mattek-Sands lost her Wimbledon match, however

(NEWSER) - Bethanie Mattek-Sands promised Wimbledon had never seen anything like it, and she wasn't kidding. The 26-year-old American, famous for her unusual fashion taste, arrived on court today for her first-round match wearing a white fringed jacket with 12 tennis balls cut in half stitched down each silver-studded sleeve. She didn't play in it, but that didn't help her avoid a loss to Japan's Misaki Doi, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5. More»

(NEWSER) - If you’ve been—AUUGGGHHH!!!—watching women’s tennis lately, you’ll have noticed a whole lot of—VVVUUUUHT!!— grunting. “Close your eyes when you watch Wimbledon,” suggests Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated. “You could be forgiven for thinking the remote had inadvertently moved to a pay channel.” Tennis purists hate it, and some players argue that it’s artificial gamesmanship. But Wertheim doesn’t think it’s so bad. More»