Venus Wins With Record Serve at Wimbledon

With swollen knee taped, Spaniard earns four-set first-round win

(NEWSER) - Spaniard Rafael Nadal fought his way through a knee injury to defeat Australian wild-card Alun Jones 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a first-round US Open match last night at Flushing Meadows. Nadal moved gingerly on his taped-up knee and was broken on serve several times by the low-ranked Aussie. More»

Venus knocks losing shot into the net

(NEWSER) - In a massive upset, Venus and Serena Williams, the top seeded pair in the women's doubles at Wimbledon, were knocked out today by an unseeded duo from Russia. Vera Zvonareva and Elena Vesnina knocked out the sisters Williams 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, Reuters reports. It was Venus who hit the last shot into the net, and she's now out of the tournament entirely, after a surprise loss to Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria yesterday. More»

Federer throws together 'Hit for Haiti,' raises big bucks

(NEWSER) - Stars of the tennis universe got together today to hit a few—and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Haiti earthquake relief. Less than a day before the start of the Australian Open, Roger Federer threw together "Hit for Haiti," a slate of doubles matches enlivened by the miked players, who included Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, Kim Clijsters, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Roddick. More»

Tennis superstar nabs more viewers than Federer

(NEWSER) - Serena Williams toiled this summer on a screenplay, which she compares to Desperate Housewives meets Sex and the City and Family Guy. But perhaps the best subject she could take on would be her and her sister’s own lives, writes Karen Crouse in the New York Times. It would certainly get viewers: “Even now, the single highest ratings getter for us is Serena,” says commentator Mary Carillo. “More than Roger Federer, more than Andy Roddick.” More»

(AP) - Serena Williams beat her big sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 today for her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam championship. In the fourth all-Williams final at Wimbledon, Serena came out on top for the third time by outserving her sister, lifting her game in the tiebreaker, and dictating play throughout the second set. Serena stopped five-time champion Venus from becoming the first woman to win Wimbledon 3 years in a row since Steffi Graf from 1991-93. More»