“I don’t know about you, but 75,000 is a lot of money to me,” said Williams on being fined for potentially skipping Madrid. “I’m redecorating a house and $75,000 is my furniture budget…I can’t just go writing cheques for $75,000 in this economy.”

“He was very angry with me and I changed my game completely,” Safina said. “It was smart to call him.”

Roger Federer faces Andy Roddick once again on a big stage. Will the outcome be any different than it’s been in the past?

Two rounds down and five to go at the Australian Open. Sean Randall breaks down what ahead in the season’s first Grand Slam.

Sean Randall dissects the 2009 Australian Open draw, and picks Roger Federer and Venus Willams to walk away with the titles.

Top-seeded Elena Dementieva, continuing her confident run since capturing gold at the 2008 Olympics, won her 12th career title Saturday in the all-Russian final at the ASC Classic in Auckland, sweeping past unseeded Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-1.
ADHEREL
Dementieva was successful even without the constant presence of her mother/coach Vera.
“The crowd’s support was awesome, not just today [...]

Venus Williams is into the WTA Championships final after defeating top seed Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

Venus Williams got her younger sister again today, beating Serena 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 to qualify for the semifinals in the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha, Qatar.

“I think I was behaving like a really spoilt girl today,” Safina told reporters.

Roger Federer hasn’t won four matches at a hardcourt tournament since the Australian Open. With three wins under his belt, Federer today tries for No. 4 against the heavy-hitting Igor Andreev.