Tennis

[abadani69]

Anna Kournikova will open the season, Pete Sampras plans to play four matches and John McEnroe will try to keep up "with the big boys" of World Team Tennis.

Co-founded by Billie Jean King, the coed league kicks off its 32nd season Thursday. The monthlong series will feature appearances by Venus and Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and the top-ranked doubles duo of Bob and Mike Bryan.

King and WTT commissioner Ilana Kloss have been innovators in the sport -- debuting instant replay, on-court coaching and no-ad scoring -- and will launch a "Go Green" effort in two of the league's 11 cities.

"We're trying to take a leadership role in going green," Kloss said of the energy-conscious endeavor with FirmGreen. "We know it's a huge job. We're committed to start in California with the two teams in Sacramento and Newport Beach."

Kournikova will headline the Sacramento Capitals' home opener Thursday against the Springfield (Mo.) Lasers. It's her fifth season in WTT and third straight with the Capitals.

"It's awesome that tennis gets to be displayed in cities where normally you don't have big tournaments," Kournikova said. "It's so friendly for the fans. You get to see the current players. You get to see the young and up and coming. So it's just a diversity."

The youngest is 14-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito, who upset Meghann Shaughnessy earlier this year. McEnroe, 48, is the oldest of the 53 players from 18 countries in the league.

McEnroe, who will play for the New York Sportimes in Mamaroneck, said he's "deluded enough to think I can play with the big boys." McEnroe's matches include the regular-season finale against Sharapova's Newport Beach team on July 25.

His strategy against the No. 2 player in the world?

"Keep it nice and low -- she's quite tall," McEnroe said.

Sampras, who will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 14, made his WTT debut last summer. He'll be inducted with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, who will play for the Boston Lobsters.

"They've been trying to get me to play Team Tennis since I was a pro," Sampras said, laughing. "It was kind of my first commitment to playing again -- it got me on the court and in shape. I enjoyed it, even though I looked a little rusty."

Players may be joking around in the relaxed atmosphere of mascots, coaches, cheerleaders and music between games. But it gets serious once the ball is in play.

"It's competitive, it's the real deal," said Sampras, who will play for the Newport Beach Breakers. "We're there to play to win."

The men's and women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles format includes four-point games, five-game sets and supertiebreakers.

"People can get into it, make some noise," Sampras said. "I enjoy the team atmosphere of the event. Billie deserves a lot of credit for what they're doing with team tennis. It's accessible and lots of fan contact."

Sampras will play at home July 10 against Sacramento and travel to New York (July 1, Philadelphia (July 19) and St. Louis (July 24). In the meantime, he's been playing golf and keeping up with sons Christian, who is 4 1/2 , and Ryan, almost 2.

The 26-year-old Kournikova retired in 2003 because of back and foot injuries. A winner of two Grand Slam doubles titles at the Australian Open (1999, 2002), she gives tennis clinics at Boys & Girls Clubs and is launching a new sports clothing line.

Her Sacramento coach is Wayne Bryan, father of the Bryan brothers.

"Oh, he's just a blast," Kournikova said. "He is a true tennis enthusiast. He loves the game, and he really is an amazing motivator."

FirmGreen, an alternative fuels and energy company, is trying to motivate fans to think about energy conservation. It's one of six sponsors of the league, and FirmGreen CEO Steve Wilburn is a Newport Beach season ticket holder.

The "Go Green" effort includes planting trees, using solar panels, educating fans about recycling and using hybrid buses. Players will be introduced on a "green carpet" made of recycled material.

"We look at ourselves as a think tank," Kloss said. "We think it's good to try new things. We've really done that throughout the history of the league."

Matches will be shown on the Tennis Channel and Versus, along with regional coverage in WTT cities, which also include Houston, Kansas City, Wilmington, Del., and Schenectady, N.Y. The foreign players drive interest in television packages to Russia, Australia and Japan.

Kids 4 to 16 receive free tennis rackets from sponsor Advanta (100,000 so far), and WTT recreational leagues are offered year-round. Kloss would like to coordinate with the U.S. Tennis Association to be part of the summer "team season" and the buildup for the U.S. Open series.

"We can be an unbelievable way to grow the sport from a community level," she said.

The WTT championship for the King trophy will be held July 27-29 in Roseville, Calif.

[abadani69]

The season-ending ATP championships will move to London from Shanghai starting in 2009.

The Masters Cup, which features the top eight players and doubles teams, will be renamed the ATP World Tour Finals and played in London for four years, the ATP said Tuesday.

The $4.5 million tournament will continue to be played in November when it moves to the O2 Arena in East London. Last year's event, won by Roger Federer, had prize money of $4.45 million.

"They may not like the weather here, but this place has a roof," ATP executive chairman Etienne de Villiers said.

Anschutz Entertainment Group, the O2 Arena's owners, and the Lawn Tennis Association financed the bid to stage the competition, with the All England Club providing logistical and marketing support.

De Villiers said there was a good chance the ATP tournament would stay in London beyond the initial four-year agreement.

The move follows the WTA's decision last week to move its end-of-season championships to Qatar in 2008 for three years and then to Istanbul from 2011-13.

The O2 Arena, located in the former Millennium Dome, opened last month as a multipurpose venue and will stage basketball and gymnastics events at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The arena will also host concerts, including The Rolling Stones, Prince and Elton John, and will be the venue for some NHL games in September.

[abadani69]

Five days after they started a second-round match, Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa had themselves a record-breaking victory at Wimbledon.

The Brazilians beat Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett 5-7, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (7), 28-26 on Wednesday in a match that started Saturday and got delayed by rain over and over.

The 102 games were the most of any Wimbledon doubles match, beating the previous record of 98. It was also a record number of games in a fifth set for any Wimbledon match.

Told at a news conference that they had set the records, the duo high-fived.

"Physically, we're not so bad, but mentally we're completely exhausted," Sa said. "It's tough to play a match for five days and, every time in the fifth set, we were having to serve to stay in the match."

Play lasted 5 hours, 58 minutes, ending on an ace by Melo, after which the pair fell to the ground together in a heap. Former top-ranked Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten watched the match.

"Guga was here and he has been helping us a lot, warming us up the last four days," said Sa, who was asked if he would hire Kuerten as a full-time coach.

"If we keep winning like this, for sure, but I think he'll be very expensive."

The previous record for the most games in a doubles match at Wimbledon was set in 1966, when Eugene Scott and Niki Pilic beat Cliff Richey and Torben Ulrich 19-21, 12-10, 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 in the first round.

The most games in a fifth set was the 46 played by Heinz Guenthardt and Balazs Taroczy when they defeated Paul Annacone and Christo van Rensburg 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 24-22 in 1985.

Melo and Sa were congratulated by fellow players when they returned to the locker room, including Andy Roddick, Bob and Mike Bryan, Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra.

"Matches like that, that's what makes a Grand Slam -- the possibility of something crazy like that happening," Roddick said.

NO REST FOR RODDICK: Roger Federer is having the sort of schedule at Wimbledon that Andy Roddick can only dream about.

Roddick completed a 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (6) win over Paul-Henri Mathieu on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals and stay on course for a semifinal match against four-time defending champion Federer. Roddick stretched his winning streak in tiebreakers to 18 and has won 24 of 27 this season.

But Roddick's last match took two days to complete because of rain, while Federer hasn't played since Friday and had a bye into the quarterfinals when Tommy Haas pulled out injured.

"We've been stuck in a locker room for 9 hours a day, and he's been chilling out taking the double-decker bus red-thing tour, maybe," said Roddick, who lost to Federer in the 2004 and '05 finals. "Given the choice, I'll take a living room over a locker room."

Roddick, who next faces Richard Gasquet, hasn't had any other options, however.

"The things that you love about Wimbledon with the tradition ended up making it tough this time," Roddick said. "You're sitting in the locker room the whole time knowing if it clears you could be on the court in 20 minutes.

"We all start getting a little loopy."

But even with a backlog of matches, Roddick was OK with the possibility of the tournament stretching beyond its scheduled close on Sunday.

"I don't have much of a life outside of what you're seeing here," Roddick said. "I wouldn't even mind it. I got nothing to do at home. ... Let's just play Wimbledon for like 12 weeks a year."

EVERY DAY: Novak Djokovic may have to play seven straight days if he makes it to the Wimbledon final, and he's not blaming that on the weather.

Djokovic completed a 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (5) win over Nicolas Kiefer on Wednesday to reach the fourth round. That match was stretched over three days because of rain, leaving him with four matches in four days if he makes it to Sunday's final.

The fourth-seeded Serb said tournament organizers should have scheduled matches on the traditional middle Sunday off to help alleviate the backlog. Rain has hit Wimbledon on eight of its nine days.

"They knew the forecast for this week is going to be bad," Djokovic said. "I didn't understand why they didn't have any play on Sunday. Plus, Sunday was a very nice day, so they would have finished all the matches."

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal, who beat Robin Soderling in a five-set match that was played over three days, felt the same.

"I didn't understand why we didn't play on Sunday," Nadal said. "The weather was OK, so much better than yesterday, Monday and today, too."

Djokovic has been so frustrated by the bad weather, he even wrote to All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie about it.

"I asked him, 'Why do you have so much rain?"' Djokovic said. "He told me, 'I can be blamed for many things, for lack of entertainment, for a lot of rain, but what can I do?"'

Ritchie assured Djokovic things will improve -- when Centre Court gets a retractable roof in 2009.

SLEEPY TIME: Marion Bartoli took a nap in the locker room Wednesday before rallying to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

The 18th-seeded Frenchwoman had lost the first set to Michaella Krajicek and was leading 1-0 on serve in the second when rain interrupted play for two hours.

Bartoli took advantage of the break, and came back on court after a little sleep to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and set up a match against top-seeded Justine Henin.

"I was so tired, I just laid down and closed my eyes and that's it," Bartoli said. "After that I was feeling much better."

AP Sports Writer Stuart Condie contributed to this report.

[abadani69]

Who could blame Rafael Nadal and Robin Soderling for being a bit sick and tired of each other and, well, Wimbledon as a whole?

They did, after all, spend an awful lot of time trying to finish their third-round match, until the No. 2-seeded Nadal finally won 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 4-6, 7-5 Wednesday, more than 90 hours after the pair first stepped on Court 1 to warm up.

Still, the on-court animosity and verbal shots traded afterward were hardly in keeping with the genteel setting. The usually affable Nadal, in particular, had harsh words for Soderling -- and questioned tournament organizers.

"He's a strange guy," Nadal said. "I've said 'Hi' to him at least seven times since I've been on the tour and he's never answered back. I asked other players about it. It doesn't only happen to me."

Nadal was critical of the way Soderling appeared unconcerned when the three-time French Open champion fell to the turf at one point. Nadal also didn't like the way Soderling pumped a fist instead of offering the customary "sorry about that" wave of a hand after winning a point with the help of a favorable net cord.

"He must have been in his complaining mood today," the 28th-seeded Soderling said. "If my opponent gets a lucky shot and he doesn't say, 'I'm sorry,' I don't care. For me, it's OK. Why should I say I'm sorry when it's the happiest moment of my life?"

The last straw for Nadal: What he considered a halfhearted handshake at the net when their marathon ended.

"After four days," Nadal said, "that's not normal."

Told of Nadal's comments, Soderling responded: "I'd probably say the same, but I won't do that. I keep it to myself."

On Monday, Soderling was upset that Nadal persisted in his slow, between-point rituals that many players have complained about, including Andre Agassi at Wimbledon last year. With Nadal ready to serve the opening game of the fifth set, Soderling walked deliberately to the sideline to change rackets -- sending a message.

When Soderling returned to the baseline, Nadal stopped his service motion and held up the ball, as if to say, "Ready now?" That's when Soderling turned away from Nadal and tugged at the back of his shorts, mimicking one of the Spaniard's habits and drawing guffaws from fans.

Remember, that all happened Monday, when there were three rain delays -- including one right after Nadal missed a forehand on match point at 7-6 in the third-set tiebreaker. By the time they had to stop Monday night after 8 p.m., Soderling had won that set and the fourth, too. Nadal, though, led 2-0 in the fifth.

When they picked up again Tuesday, they got in a total of 19 minutes, enough for Soderling to even the set at 4-all. Sometimes, matches don't resume immediately after rain stops because weather reports predict more precipitation on the way, but Nadal and Soderling were ushered out onto court for stints of eight and 11 minutes.

"That's very tough for the players," said Nadal, last year's Wimbledon runner-up. "They don't think very much about the players here, maybe."

He and Soderling originally were scheduled to play Saturday, and they began hitting at 4 p.m. that day. But drizzles forced them off before the match actually began, and then came the traditional day off on the middle Sunday.

"I didn't understand why we didn't play on Sunday," Nadal said. "The weather was OK, so much better than yesterday, Monday and today, too."

It took him about 20 minutes to close it out Wednesday, and he celebrated by dropping to his knees, as though the championship were his. Instead, Nadal or No. 4 Novak Djokovic -- who completed a three-day, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Nicolas Kiefer -- faces the prospect of playing on seven consecutive days if either makes it to Sunday's final.

Then again, who knows whether the men's final will be played Sunday? It's rained on eight of nine days so far, including Wednesday.

"I've got nothing to do next week," two-time finalist Andy Roddick said with a smile, "so I'm here as long as I keep going."

He beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (6) in a fourth-round match suspended Tuesday and now faces No. 12 Richard Gasquet. Roddick trailed Mathieu 5-0 and 6-3 in the third-set tiebreaker before taking the final five points. The No. 3-seeded American has won 18 consecutive tiebreakers.

All the remaining men are scheduled to play Thursday, including four-time reigning champion Roger Federer -- who's been off since Friday. He avoided all of the rain hassles because his fourth-round opponent withdrew with an injury.

"We've been stuck in a locker room for nine hours a day, and he's been chilling out taking the double-decker bus tour, maybe," Roddick said. "Given the choice, I'll take a living room over a locker room."

[abadani69]

Venus Williams giggled and hopped on her toes Wednesday, looking more like a kid who just won her first match than a veteran who just beat Maria Sharapova in a showdown of Grand Slam champions at Wimbledon's Centre Court.

Up in the players' guest box, Williams' father jumped for joy, too, thrusting his arms in the air repeatedly.

Two hours later, the setting and the family were the same, yet the mood was far more subdued. Younger sister Serena shuffled off to the locker room, having lost to No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals at a second consecutive major.

What could have been another wonderful day for the Williams clan at the All England Club was only half so: After three-time Wimbledon champion Venus overwhelmed Sharapova 6-1, 6-3, two-time Wimbledon champion Serena couldn't overcome her own poor health or a determined Henin in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 defeat.

"I wasn't even sure if I was going to go out and play," said Serena, who played with tape on her left calf and left thumb, both injured in her dramatic fourth-round victory Monday. "If I'd have been healthy, I think I would have won, 100 percent."

Managing to be slightly more gracious than after losing to Henin at the French Open -- "All she had to do was show up," was the postmatch assessment then -- Serena said Wednesday: "She played a very high-quality game. I thought she played probably some of her best tennis."

Adventurous tennis, as well, especially late. Trailing 15-30 while serving in the final game, Henin won a 10-stroke rally with a drop shot. She serve-and-volleyed on her first match point, though that didn't work. It ended when Serena sent a backhand long.

Despite acknowledging that she battled nerves late, Henin moved two victories away from her first Wimbledon title, which would complete a career Grand Slam.

Henin next meets No. 18 Marion Bartoli, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by coming back to beat No. 31 Michaella Krajicek 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 after taking a nap during a rain delay.

"After that," Bartoli said, "I was feeling much better."

Henin acknowledged she still has "a lot of work to do," and Serena would agree. Asked whether she thought she lost to the eventual champion, Serena said: "The eventual Wimbledon champion I saw playing in the fourth round today, definitely."

That, of course, would be Venus, who was pretty close to flawless against 2004 champion Sharapova.

She averaged 115 mph on first serves and reached 126 mph. She won 33 of 42 points on her serve and only once was taken to deuce. She compiled a 9-3 advantage on points that lasted at least 10 strokes.

"You've got to give her credit," the second-seeded Sharapova said. "Her average first serve was 115, and some men don't do that."

They played all of three points Tuesday at 800-seat Court 3 before the fourth-round match was suspended because of rain. They resumed at 13,000-plus Centre Court on Wednesday, then had to deal with a rain delay of nearly two hours that came in the middle of an epic game at 1-1 in the second set.

Sharapova was serving, and the game featured 13 deuces and seven break points, filled with high-pitched grunts and high-powered groundstrokes. The shrieks, so loud at both ends of the court, drew snickers from spectators.

Eventually, Sharapova held and again for a 3-2 lead in the set, but she wouldn't win another game.

Even though there were showers on an eighth of the tournament's nine days, all seven singles matches on Wednesday's schedule were completed, making it more likely that the men's and women's titles will be decided on time.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal finally wrapped up a victory over No. 28 Robin Soderling in a third-round match that was supposed to start Saturday. No. 4 Novak Djokovic also reached the fourth round, while No. 3 Andy Roddick and No. 12 Richard Gasquet set up a quarterfinal meeting.

For Venus, it was a masterful performance against a tough competitor. Given that Venus owns five major titles, that shouldn't be surprising at all. Given that she was two points from defeat against 59th-ranked Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round and was down 5-3 in the final set against 71st-ranked Akiko Morigami in the third, it was surprising.

"Well, that happens. That's tennis. That's life," said Venus, who meets No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. "What mattered is that I got through it. It built character."

She has plenty of that nowadays, at 27 and a pro since 1994. Injuries have kept her off court in recent years, a reason she's ranked 31st and faced Sharapova so early.

"In my whole life, I've been a big-match player," Venus said. "It wasn't the ideal draw for her."

The Williams' father, Richard, is rarely shy about expressing an opinion and had plenty to offer after watching Venus win.

"I think she can be a champion until she's 34, I really do," he said. "I'll tell you something else I believe: I don't think you've seen the best of Venus."

Another thought he shared: He didn't want Serena to play Henin because of her injuries.

"If Serena was in her right mind," Richard Williams said, "she'd go home."

A little while later, she was headed that way. Done in singles, she withdrew from doubles, where the sisters were competing for the first time since 2003.

Henin's coach, Carlos Rodriguez, said it was tough for the Belgian to figure out how to approach a match against an opponent whose fitness was in question.

"I wasn't really focused on what did happen on the other side of the net," Henin said.

[persian_king]

Serena shouldnt even pass the first round. she is too weak to play tennis . she should retire. i saw the whole match when she passed the third round with well acted hollywood style trick when she on purpose asked for pitty from judge and her opponent by wasting everybody's time for 15 mins just to recover her breath.
im very happy that she is out.

[abadani69]

تيم گاز خوستان در هفته پنجم مسابقات تنيس قهرماني باشگاه*هاي برتر ايران با غلبه بر تيم البرز كيش صدرنشيني خود را حفظ كرد.

تيم گاز خوزستان چهارشنبه*شب در زمين تنيس شركت نفت برابر تيم البرز كيش با نتيجه ۴بر يك به برتري رسيد.

تيم تنيس گاز خوزستان با كسب اين پيروزي ، شمار امتيازات خود را به ۱۵ رساند.

مسابقات تنيس قهرماني باشگاه*هاي برتر ايران با شركت هشت تيم برگزار مي*شود.

در ادامه اين مسابقات امروز در ورزشگاه شهيد شيرودي تهران دو تيم شهيد پازوكي و سيمين سپاهان اصفهان به مصاف هم مي*روند و دانشگاه آزاد اسلامي در مجموعه ورزشي انقلاب مقابل تيم مزرعه گل خادم قرار مي*گيرد.

ديدار دو تيم نيك ورزش مشهد و هيات تنيس استان كرمانشاه به دليل عدم تهيه بليت هواپيما توسط مسوولان تيم كرمانشاه به زمان ديگري موكول شد.

[abadani69]

"رافائل نادال" تنيس*باز جوان اسپانيايي چهارشنبه*شب با پيروزي مقابل حريف سوئدي خود به مرحله چهارم پيكارهاي تنيس آزاد ويمبلدون انگليس صعود كرد.

به گزارش خبرگزاري فرانسه، نادال بخت شماره دو كسب عنوان قهرماني با نتيجه ۳بر ۲و با امتيازهاي ۶بر ۶ ، ۴بر۶ ، ۴ بر ۴ ،۷بر ۶و ۷بر ۵از سد "روبين سودرلينگ" گذشت و به مرحله بعدي راه يافت.

در ساير ديدارها، "نواك دكوويچ" صربستاني با نتيجه ۳بر " ۲نيكولاس كيفر" تنيس باز كهنه كار آلماني را شكست داد، "اندي روديك" آمريكايي در سه ست متوالي بر "پل هنري متئو" فرانسوي غلبه كرد و "ريچارد گاسكوئت" فرانسوي با همين نتيجه برابر ديگر هموطن خود "ويلفريد تسونگا" به پيروزي دست يافت.

در دور چهارم بخش زنان، " ماريا شاراپووا" بخت شماره دو كسب عنوان قهرماني با نتيجه ۲بر صفر مغلوب " ونوس ويليامز" آمريكايي شد، "ماريون بارتولي" از فرانسه " با نتيجه ۲بر يك از سد "ميشالا كراجيسك" هلندي به برتري رسيد و "ژوستين هنين" بلژيكي با همين نتيجه "سره*نا ويليامز" از آمريكا را پشت سر گذاشت.

صد و بيست و يكمين دوره رقابت*هاي تنيس آزاد ويمبلدون به مدت دو هفته در جنوب غربي لندن پايتخت انگليس برگزار مي*شود.

[abadani69]

Wimbledon will stay on NBC through 2011 after the network and the All England Club agreed to a four-year contract extension.

This is the 39th consecutive year NBC has aired the grass-court Grand Slam.

"We are delighted that our long partnership with NBC Sports is to continue," All England Club chairman Tim Phillips said Thursday.

ESPN, which is the fifth and final year of its deal with Wimbledon, is also nearing an extension.

"Our conversations and negotiations are active, ongoing, and we look forward to expanding an extending our relationship with the All England Club," said Len DeLuca, ESPN senior vice president, programming and acquisitions.

[abadani69]

Lower back pain, tennis shoes without traction and a feisty opponent didn't stop Novak Djokovic.

The fourth-seeded Serb reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time Thursday, stumbling and tumbling to the grass before beating 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-6 (5).

"I did some slipping, sliding, whatever," said Djokovic, a French Open semifinalist last month. "So it was a bit dangerous."

Djokovic fell to his knees -- on purpose -- after winning, then got up, took off his shirt and pounded his chest with his fist while looking at his parents, who were hugging and cheering in the players' box.

"It was one of the best matches in this year's Wimbledon," Djokovic said. "So this win means a lot to me."

Djokovic, who saved two set points in the first-set tiebreaker, broke Hewitt when the Australian was serving for the fourth set at 5-4. That led to another tiebreaker.

"It's pretty interesting how many tiebreaks I won in my career and how many I lost," said Djokovic, who has won 45 of 61 tiebreakers in his three years on tour. "I have much more success in tiebreaks, which is very encouraging and positive thing for me, considering the fact I'm only 20 years old."

Djokovic, who was twice treated during the match for a lower back problem, received a boost on the first point of the fourth-set tiebreaker when he successfully challenged his forehand being called long. After that, he took a 4-0 lead and eventually held three match points at 6-3.

NO RAGGING ON RAFA: Rafael Nadal already had one feud this week, so it's good Tomas Berdych is sparing him another.

Nadal, who's from the Spanish island of Mallorca, lost to Berdych in last year's Madrid Masters and called the Czech "a bad person" for trying to keep the fans quiet.

That drew animosity toward Berdych from Madrid crowds the rest of the tournament and caused friction between the players.

But Berdych said there won't be any problems when he plays his first Wimbledon quarterfinal. That's against Nadal, who questioned Robin Soderling's temperament on Wednesday after the pair traded on-court taunts.

"I don't see any problem between us two," Berdych said. "I said it in Madrid, that it was just emotions after the match, and that's it."

Berdych said Nadal visited him in the locker room in Halle, Germany, last month to offer congratulations for winning the title there.

"Also, we just meet in the locker room (here)," Berdych said. "I congratulated him after his tough match today."

ANOTHER LOOK: Instant replay is making its Wimbledon debut this year, but the "Hawk-Eye" technology is only available on Centre Court and Court 1.

Jonas Bjorkman wishes it were also being used elsewhere.

"Two courts is maybe not enough in a Slam," the 19th-seeded Bjorkman said after getting in an argument with the chair umpire over a call in his 6-4, 6-0, 6-7 (6), 6-0 loss to No. 7 Tomas Berdych on Court 18. "Obviously it's all about money, I guess."

Bjorkman had three break points in the sixth game of the third set -- his only break points of the match -- but was upset when he thought one Berdych serve was a fault.

"A horrendous call," said Bjorkman, who reached the semifinals last year at the All England Club.

[abadani69]

Through all of those injuries and inconsistency, all of those early defeats at majors and dips in the rankings, Venus Williams clung to this thought:

At her best, she's as good as there is, particularly on a certain patch of grass.

With a second consecutive close-to-perfect performance on Centre Court, Williams beat No. 5-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4 Thursday to reach the semifinals and close in on a fourth Wimbledon title.

"I believe in my abilities. I've been blessed with a lot of things to work with on the tennis court," Williams said. "I feel like as long as I'm healthy and have a chance to prepare, I definitely am going to have a foot in the door."

She threw it wide open two days in a row against top-five players who own major titles. Williams ceded a grand total of 11 games in her victories over 2004 Wimbledon and 2006 U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova in the fourth round Wednesday, then 2004 U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova.

Perhaps that old Williams intimidation factor is back.

"Players go into the match knowing that they have to play very, very well," she said. "That could be pressure."

In Friday's semifinals, Williams will face French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic, the No. 6-seeded Serb, who saved three match points and got past No. 14 Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

"Coming in here, I didn't expect this," the 19-year-old Ivanovic said. "Venus is a great player. She is playing so good the last couple of matches. It's going to be very tough for me."

Serving while down 5-3 in the final set, Ivanovic was one point from losing three times. She saved the first match point with a big forehand into a corner that forced an errant forehand from Vaidisova, and the second with a clean forehand winner. On the third, Vaidisova dumped a return into the net, beginning a stretch in which Ivanovic won 13 of 15 points thanks to aggressive play.

"I like to take risks," said Ivanovic, who wore pink and black tape around her right knee as a precaution. "I didn't want to wait and see if she's going to make a mistake or not. I just wanted to take this in my hands and make the shots."

Williams' five Grand Slam singles titles include Wimbledon in 2000, 2001 and 2005. She also lost to younger sister Serena in the 2002 and 2003 finals.

"Centre Court has just been good to Williams in the last seven years or so," Venus said. "So it's a good thing if your last name's Williams here."

Ivanovic hadn't so much as set foot in the tournament's main stadium until Thursday morning. She went to watch two games of Williams-Kuznetsova, she said, "so I could get a little feel" for the place before facing Vaidisova.

The other semifinal pits No. 1 Justine Henin against No. 18 Marion Bartoli. They won quarterfinals Wednesday, when Henin beat Serena Williams and Bartoli eliminated Michaella Krajicek.

Henin, twice a runner-up at the All England Club, is trying to complete a career Grand Slam. Bartoli, meanwhile, never had been beyond the third round at any major until reaching the quarterfinals last month at Roland Garros.

"Even if on paper I'm going to be the favorite," Henin said, "it's going to be another kind of story on the court."

Venus Williams, for her part, was far less cautious. Asked whom she considers the favorite for the title, her face lit up.

"Now why would I say anyone else?" Williams said, her grin wide as can be. "Come on."

Indeed, despite all of her health problems over the years -- an abdominal tear, wrist and knee injuries, and the list goes on -- she nearly always seems to find her footing at Wimbledon. The slick grass makes her fast serves seem even faster, her strong groundstrokes seem even stronger.

"Her game hurts a lot on grass," Kuznetsova said.

After being two points from defeat against a 59th-ranked opponent in the first round, then double-faulting 14 times and trailing 5-3 in the third set against a 71st-ranked foe in the third -- both on Court 2 -- Williams improved dramatically the past two days.

She smacked serves at up to 123 mph Thursday, even conking Kuznetsova in her cornrows with one 118 mph offering that left the Russian shaking her head. The biggest lapse for Williams came when she tried to serve it out at 5-4 in the second set. She blew four match points, including one with a double-fault, but converted her fifth by hanging tough in a 20-stroke rally that ended when Kuznetsova sent a forehand long.

In the two years since Williams' last Grand Slam championship, she's missed two majors because of a bad left wrist, exited in the first round at another, and done no better than getting to the quarterfinals at any -- until now.

So while Williams arrived at Wimbledon ranked outside the top 30, and is seeded 23rd, as of Thursday night she was one of only four women who could take home the women's singles trophy, which just happens to be named the Venus Rosewater Dish.

[abadani69]

Now Roger Federer has a taste of what Rafael Nadal and plenty of others have been going through at this wettest of Wimbledons.

Off for nearly a week, four-time reigning champion Federer finally returned to the court Thursday for his quarterfinal against 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero. After 37 minutes and less than a set, drizzles forced them to stop -- and more than three hours later, everyone was sent home for the day.

"Unfortunately," came the evening announcement over loudspeakers around the All England Club, "the rain in the air and the fading light mean that it's now unrealistic for us to resume."

What's still not entirely clear is how realistic it is that Wimbledon will finish by Sunday, although organizers are optimistic about the singles tournaments. That's because all remaining men's fourth-round matches were completed Thursday -- with No. 2 Nadal, No. 4 Novak Djokovic, No. 7 Tomas Berdych and No. 10 Marcos Baghdatis winning -- as were the two remaining women's quarterfinals -- with three-time champion Venus Williams and No. 6 Ana Ivanovic advancing.

"Consequently, we should be able to finish the singles ... on time," tournament referee Andrew Jarrett said at day's end.

Still, the schedule already is a jumble, thanks to rain on nine of the grass-court Grand Slam's 10 days. Friday's forecast calls for more showers.

The women's semifinals -- Williams vs. Ivanovic, and No. 1 Justine Henin vs. No. 18 Marion Bartoli -- are slated for Friday, a day later than usual. The men's quarterfinals also are on Friday's program, two days later than they were supposed to be. And instead of the women's final getting its customary moment in the spotlight as the only singles match Saturday, it will share the day with the men's semifinals.

Weather permitting, of course.

"It's boring, I guess. That's the way it is," said Baghdatis, a 2006 Wimbledon semifinalist who beat No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-3. "We have to find a way to get through. That's life. That's what I did."

No one has had it worse, or complained aloud more, than 2006 runner-up Nadal and Djokovic, who would be forced to play on seven consecutive days if either made it to a Sunday men's final.

Both played third-round matches that stretched from Monday to Wednesday, both were back out there for the fourth round Thursday, and both won again.

Djokovic defeated 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-6 (5), then renewed an earlier complaint that the tournament took the traditional day off on the middle Sunday.

"Even though they knew the conditions were really bad, they knew the conditions were going to be bad, they didn't play on Sunday," he said, "which is not understandable for me and the other players."

Three-time French Open champion Nadal dug himself a two-set deficit against No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny before coming all the way back for a 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

"After the first two sets, the next three sets, maybe I played my best game on grass in my life," Nadal said.

It probably helped that, after the third set, Youzhny put a towel down on the grass and rested on his stomach while a trainer massaged his bothersome lower back. The Russian was limited somewhat the rest of the way, and Nadal picked up early breaks in each of the last three sets.

"Against Nadal," Youzhny summed things up, "it's very tough to beat him if you are not moving good."

In the fourth set, some raindrops began to fall, and the chair umpire climbed down to run the back of his hand through the grass, checking if it was too slick to play. On several other courts, matches were suspended, but this one continued, and one had to think that Nadal was probably prepared to plead to play even if it were snowing. After all, his third-round victory finished more than 90 hours after he and his opponent first stepped on court to warm up.

On the other hand, as Nadal put it Thursday, "Anyway, if it rains one month, (I'm) going to be motivated 100 percent, no?"

His quarterfinal opponent is Berdych, who ended the run of 35-year-old Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-0, 6-7 (6), 6-0.

Bjorkman earned only three break points the entire match, and all came while he was up 3-2 in the third set. On the third, Berdych hit a serve that Bjorkman was sure was a fault, but the chair umpire didn't agree. That launched an argument that lingered into the next changeover, and at match's end, Bjorkman didn't shake hands with the official.

"A horrendous call," the Swede said. "That's just unfortunate."

Now Nadal, Berdych, Djokovic and Baghdatis -- all in the bottom half of the draw -- are essentially caught up with Federer, Ferrero, Andy Roddick and Richard Gasquet on the top half.

No. 3 Roddick and No. 12 Gasquet went on court to warm up for their quarterfinal Thursday afternoon but never began the match. At least Federer did get some competition in; he went 138 hours, 58 minutes without playing a point, from the end of his third-round victory over Marat Safin on Friday evening to the fault he opened with against Ferrero.

In between, Federer's fourth-round foe withdrew with a torn stomach muscle, then rain pushed back his quarterfinal, which was tied 5-5 with Federer serving at deuce when Thursday's showers came.

"I refuse to hit indoors," Federer said during his time off. "If it rains, I just don't play."


"I believe in my abilities. I've been blessed with a lot of things to work with on the tennis court," Williams said. "I feel like as long as I'm healthy and have a chance to prepare, I definitely am going to have a foot in the door."

She threw it wide open two days in a row against top-five players who own major titles. Williams ceded a grand total of 11 games in her victories over 2004 Wimbledon and 2006 U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova in the fourth round Wednesday, then 2004 U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova.

Perhaps that old Williams intimidation factor is back.

"Players go into the match knowing that they have to play very, very well," she said. "That could be pressure."

In Friday's semifinals, Williams will face French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic, the No. 6-seeded Serb, who saved three match points and got past No. 14 Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

"Coming in here, I didn't expect this," the 19-year-old Ivanovic said. "Venus is a great player. She is playing so good the last couple of matches. It's going to be very tough for me."

Serving while down 5-3 in the final set, Ivanovic was one point from losing three times. She saved the first match point with a big forehand into a corner that forced an errant forehand from Vaidisova, and the second with a clean forehand winner. On the third, Vaidisova dumped a return into the net, beginning a stretch in which Ivanovic won 13 of 15 points thanks to aggressive play.

"I like to take risks," said Ivanovic, who wore pink and black tape around her right knee as a precaution. "I didn't want to wait and see if she's going to make a mistake or not. I just wanted to take this in my hands and make the shots."

Williams' five Grand Slam singles titles include Wimbledon in 2000, 2001 and 2005. She also lost to younger sister Serena in the 2002 and 2003 finals.

"Centre Court has just been good to Williams in the last seven years or so," Venus said. "So it's a good thing if your last name's Williams here."

Ivanovic hadn't so much as set foot in the tournament's main stadium until Thursday morning. She went to watch two games of Williams-Kuznetsova, she said, "so I could get a little feel" for the place before facing Vaidisova.

The other semifinal pits No. 1 Justine Henin against No. 18 Marion Bartoli. They won quarterfinals Wednesday, when Henin beat Serena Williams and Bartoli eliminated Michaella Krajicek.

Henin, twice a runner-up at the All England Club, is trying to complete a career Grand Slam. Bartoli, meanwhile, never had been beyond the third round at any major until reaching the quarterfinals last month at Roland Garros.

"Even if on paper I'm going to be the favorite," Henin said, "it's going to be another kind of story on the court."

Venus Williams, for her part, was far less cautious. Asked whom she considers the favorite for the title, her face lit up.

"Now why would I say anyone else?" Williams said, her grin wide as can be. "Come on."

Indeed, despite all of her health problems over the years -- an abdominal tear, wrist and knee injuries, and the list goes on -- she nearly always seems to find her footing at Wimbledon. The slick grass makes her fast serves seem even faster, her strong groundstrokes seem even stronger.

"Her game hurts a lot on grass," Kuznetsova said.

After being two points from defeat against a 59th-ranked opponent in the first round, then double-faulting 14 times and trailing 5-3 in the third set against a 71st-ranked foe in the third -- both on Court 2 -- Williams improved dramatically the past two days.

She smacked serves at up to 123 mph Thursday, even conking Kuznetsova in her cornrows with one 118 mph offering that left the Russian shaking her head. The biggest lapse for Williams came when she tried to serve it out at 5-4 in the second set. She blew four match points, including one with a double-fault, but converted her fifth by hanging tough in a 20-stroke rally that ended when Kuznetsova sent a forehand long.

In the two years since Williams' last Grand Slam championship, she's missed two majors because of a bad left wrist, exited in the first round at another, and done no better than getting to the quarterfinals at any -- until now.

So while Williams arrived at Wimbledon ranked outside the top 30, and is seeded 23rd, as of Thursday night she was one of only four women who could take home the women's singles trophy, which just happens to be named the Venus Rosewater Dish.

[/B]

[abadani69]

Improbable as this Wimbledon title might have seemed, Venus Williams knew it could happen.

Far away as that trophy might have appeared only last week, Williams knew she had the game and the grit to grab it.

Oh, how her serves and strokes sizzle on the grass of Centre Court.

With a dominant run through the latter rounds, Williams became the lowest-ranked woman to win Wimbledon, beating Marion Bartoli of France 6-4, 6-1 Saturday for her fourth championship at the All England Club.

"I was really motivated because no one picked me to win. They didn't even say, 'She can't win.' They weren't even talking about me," said Williams, who reached No. 1 in 2002 but entered Wimbledon ranked No. 31. "I never would doubt myself that way."

Even after missing time with a left wrist injury? Even after being two points from defeat against a teenager ranked 59th in the first round? Even after trailing 5-3 in the final set against someone ranked 71st in the third?

There really wasn't a smidgen of surprise that she once more got to clutch the Venus Rosewater Dish, as the Wimbledon champion's plate happens to be known?

"For me? No," she said. "I just have to go out there and execute. I have the experience and everything to do it."

It was similar to the performance turned in by Williams' younger sister Serena in January, when she won the Australian Open while ranked 81st. Clearly, rankings mean nothing when it comes to the Williams siblings. Nor does recent form.

If they are in a tournament, they can win it.

"As long as we're fit," the 27-year-old Williams said, "we just have so much more to give on the court."

Bartoli, who hits two-fisted forehands and backhands, learned that lesson quickly.

She hadn't faced Williams anywhere, let alone on grass -- where balls skid more than they bounce -- and Bartoli quickly discovered it was like nothing she'd ever experienced on a tennis court.

By the end, she was flexing her wrists and shaking her hands, trying to alleviate the sting from Williams' serves at up to 125 mph.

"I'm not playing against girls every day hitting the balls like this," Bartoli said. "I mean, it's not possible to beat her. She's just too good."

Similar has been said about top-ranked Roger Federer, who will bid for a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title in the men's final Sunday against No. 2 Rafael Nadal. Federer beat Richard Gasquet in a straight-set semifinal Saturday, while Nadal advanced when Novak Djokovic stopped because of a toe injury.

Nadal will be playing on a seventh consecutive day because of all the rain during the tournament. Williams was forced to play her last four matches without a break, and she dropped a grand total of 22 games while beating No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals, No. 6 Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals, and Bartoli.

It was a remarkable display of shotmaking, court coverage and consistency, match after match. Not only did Williams whip perfectly placed strokes from all sorts of angles, she repeatedly tracked down opponents' apparent winners and got them back.

Against Bartoli, she compiled a whopping 27-9 edge in winners and won 13 of the 18 points that lasted at least 10 strokes.

"I know how to play this surface," said Williams, the first woman to receive the same paycheck as the men's champion at the All England Club. "If there's a surface to pick, grass at Wimbledon's not a bad choice."

Right from the start, Williams took it to Bartoli, going ahead 3-0. But Bartoli, who upset No. 3 Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round and No. 1 Justine Henin in the semifinals, made things interesting by breaking back with the help of a double-fault and two groundstroke errors by Williams.

All the while, Bartoli stuck to her routines. Before each of her serves, she would walk to the baseline and hop high once, then bounce a couple of times, something she said relaxes her legs. Before most of Williams' serves, Bartoli would turn her back to the court and take two big cuts, a forehand and a backhand, like a batter in the on-deck circle.

After 37 minutes, things were even at 4-4. But Williams held at love, then broke to end the first set with a swinging backhand volley.

That pretty much ended the competitive portion of the proceedings.

Perhaps because the sun finally emerged from the clouds and the temperature was suddenly in the 70s -- ball kids held umbrellas at changeovers to provide shade -- both finalists needed medical timeouts with Williams up 3-0 in the second set.

Bartoli had her left foot treated, while Williams got down on the court to have her left leg worked on. The American played the rest of the way with a thick bandage under her white spandex shorts, which she began wearing in the second round because the s***t she planned to use was too big.

"She's a fighter," said her boyfriend, golfer Hank Kuehne. "She's one of those people that definitely has the ability to elevate her game. ... If that's on one leg, then she's going to do that."

As the break stretched to 10 minutes, Bartoli went to the baseline, then noticed that bored fans were doing the wave. Clearly enjoying her first Grand Slam final, she joined right along, raising her arms.

After the next point, a fan shouted, "Come on, Tim!" -- the familiar rallying cry for Tim Henman -- and Bartoli, who was about to serve, dropped her arms to her side and laughed. Then she turned and wagged a finger.

Williams was playing in her 12th Grand Slam final, sixth at the All England Club, and winning her sixth major title. Bartoli was in her sixth tournament final and never before had been beyond the fourth round at a major.

"You walk into that court," she said, "and you know you're a part of history."

When they walked off that court, the one Williams knows so well, they passed the board that lists the past champions. Already stenciled in, below similar entries for 2000, 2001 and 2005, was Williams' name, next to 2007. Clutching a bouquet of flowers, Williams stared at it, her mouth agape.

At about that time, her father was recalling that when Venus was 9, she would talk about how many Wimbledon titles she wanted to win one day.

"I think she can win three more," Richard Williams said, "and I would be disappointed if she didn't."

At this point, who would doubt it?

[abadani69]

Roger Federer sneaked a peek at Bjorn Borg in the Centre Court stands, then carried on with the business at hand.

One eye on the past, one on the present.

Troubled little in a straight-set semifinal win Saturday, his 33rd consecutive victory at Wimbledon and record 53rd in a row on grass, Federer strolled into what amounts to a two-sided challenge in the final.

On Sunday, Federer will try to beat his present-day nemesis Rafael Nadal, in order to equal past star Borg's mark of five straight Wimbledon championships.

"It is tricky when you see him sitting there, because he is a living legend," Federer said, sounding something like a teen who spotted his favorite rock star. "I have so much respect for him that it is great that he's here. I hope I can do the job tomorrow."

Because all the rain during the tournament jumbled the schedule, Federer's quick semifinal was followed by the women's final Saturday. Under a blue sky dotted with puffs of clouds, Venus Williams claimed her fourth Wimbledon title with a matter-of-fact 6-4, 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli of France.

"I peak at this tournament," Williams said. "My sixth Slam -- I want some more."

At No. 31, she's the lowest-ranked women's champion at Wimbledon, and Bartoli is ranked only No. 19. In contrast, just like last year at the All England Club, and the past two years at the French Open, the men's championship will be decided by No. 1 vs. No. 2, Federer vs. Nadal, Roger vs. Rafa. Each of those earlier Grand Slam finals went four sets, with Federer winning on the grass, and Nadal winning on the clay.

"Sure, he's the favorite. No one has any doubt about this," Nadal said, ignoring his 8-4 career record against Federer. "But I'm going to try my best, no?"

One would assume he also will have to be at his best to have a chance on this surface against Federer, someone so talented on the court and so universally well-liked off it that Borg said Saturday he wouldn't mind seeing the Swiss star equal his 1976-80 reign at Wimbledon.

Federer gave himself a chance by beating No. 12 Richard Gasquet of France 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in a semifinal that was competitive for a set. Nadal advanced when No. 4 Novak Djokovic of Serbia quit because of an infected blister on his left little toe while trailing 3-6, 6-1, 4-1.

Here's how relaxed Federer was against Gasquet, a 21-year-old playing in his first Grand Slam semifinal. In addition to taking time to enjoy Borg's presence, Federer also glanced at the scoreboard during changeovers, keeping track of what was happening in Nadal-Djokovic.

Federer had noticed Djokovic was trying to deal with his foot problem in the locker room and later said he was surprised Nadal dropped the opening set. Federer, too, was in danger of losing his opening set against Gasquet, who knocked off No. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals after falling behind 2-0 in sets.

There were two key sequences in Federer-Gasquet, and the first came in the 11th game. With Federer serving at 5-5, Gasquet smacked a cross-court forehand winner to earn two break points at 15-40 -- one point from serving for the set.

But Federer responded with all the skill of a 10-time major champion and the savvy of, at 25, a relative veteran. First came one of his 20 aces, on a corner at 127 mph, to erase one break point. Then came a forehand winner down the line to erase the other. Federer took the next two points, too, to hold for 6-5.

"If I (won) this break point," Gasquet said, "everything can happen."

Instead, beginning with that four-point run, Federer won 44 of the last 54 points on his serve.

The next game was key, also, because Gasquet was one point from forcing a tiebreaker at 40-15. But Federer put together another four-point streak, with help from a suddenly tight Gasquet, who slapped two volleys into the net.

And that, essentially, was that.

Maybe that's just what happens when a guy never before past the fourth round at a major faces a guy playing in his record 13th straight semifinal at a major. Or when a guy who's never been ranked in the top 10 faces a guy who's been No. 1 for a record 179 weeks in a row.

"I was tired," explained Gasquet, whose match against Roddick ended at 8 p.m., while Federer was off the court 3 1/2 hours earlier Friday.

The Frenchman also needed treatment for a left ankle problem in the second set Saturday.

That was nothing compared to Djokovic, who tried to grin and bear it against the relentless Nadal with a bad toe plus a bothersome lower back, not to mention sheer exhaustion from playing on a sixth consecutive day thanks to rain interruptions.

"It's been a very strange two weeks," Djokovic said.

He also stopped during his 2006 French Open quarterfinal against Nadal, and lost in three sets to the Spaniard in this year's semifinals at Roland Garros.

Nadal, of course, has won three French Opens in a row, something no one had done since Borg. Now, like his rival Federer, Nadal is chasing Borg again, trying to become the first man to win at Roland Garros and the All England Club in the same year since the Swede did it every year from 1978-80.

But Federer stands in Nadal's way, just as Nadal stands in Federer's.

"It's very fitting," Federer said. "I'm just hoping for one more good match."

[abadani69]

Long touted as the next great American tennis player, Donald Young played the part Sunday by winning the Wimbledon juniors title.

The 17-year-old Young beat top-seeded Vladimir Ignatic of Belarus 7-5, 6-1.

"If I'd have lost the first set, it would have been a real dogfight to come back and try to win the second because he would have just got even more confident," said Young, who was seeded third. "But me getting up a set, I relaxed a little, he started pressing."

Young, who was born in Chicago and lives in Atlanta, is No. 292 on the ATP Tour rankings, which made him the highest-ranked player in the boys' draw. He's 0-10 on the men's tour but now a two-time major champion in juniors.

Young has long fielded questions about being the next U.S. star.

"We're used to having all the great players, (Nos.) 1 and 2 in the world, three, four Slams a year there's an American person winning," Young said. "I mean, hopefully I can step up, do well, just be a part of it."

Young won the Australian Open junior title in 2005, the same year he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. He said he may play juniors in one more major event -- the U.S. Open -- before joining the regular tour full time.

In the girls' final, Urszula Radwanska of Poland beat Madison Brengle of the United States 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Brengle lost 12 straight games after winning the first set and leading 3-0 in the second. She said she was bothered by a stomach muscle injury.

"It happened in my first service game in the third," said Brengle, who also reached the final at the Australian Open in January.

It was the first time in 26 years that Americans reached both junior finals at Wimbledon. In 1981, Matt Anger beat Pat Cash of Australia, and Zina Garrison defeated Rene Uys of South Africa.

SHIRTLESS CELEBRATION: Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra went a little too far while celebrating Sunday after beating American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the Wimbledon men's doubles final.

The French teammates threw their rackets and shirts into the crowd after upsetting the defending champion Americans 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Llodra neglected to keep a spare shirt and had to borrow one from Clement's brother before picking up his trophy.

And that may not even be the worst of it.

"I have to play next week at a tournament in Newport (Rhode Island)," Llodra said. "I have no more rackets now. I don't know what I am doing."

The 10th-seeded French duo, who were within a point of losing to Amer Delic and Bobby Reynolds in a three-day, second-round match, hit a series of winning volleys and passing shots to clinch their first Grand Slam doubles title together.

But did Llodra consider collecting his trophy shirtless?

"Probably if it was in Roland Garros," he said, referring to the French Open. "But in England, you know, it's not my hometown."

In the women's doubles final, 2005 Wimbledon champions Cara Black and Liezel Huber beat Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

A KISS IS A KISS: Jelena Jankovic knew how to motivate partner Jamie Murray in the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon.

"When it was a break point, I'd tell him, 'Jamie, let's go. This return, hit a good one because you're going to get many kisses,"' Jankovic said.

It worked.

"I was just looking for that kiss from her, to be honest," Murray said Sunday after he and Jankovic beat Jonas Bjorkman and Alicia Molik 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Murray gave Jankovic a peck on the cheek in the Royal Box, where the pair received their trophies. Then he praised the Serb for her ability.

"She won the match in the end, because she kept returning the guy's serve and I couldn't do it," Murray said.

Jamie Murray is the younger brother of Andy Murray, who reached the fourth round in singles at Wimbledon last year but pulled out of this year's tournament because of a right wrist injury.

The brothers hugged before the trophy ceremony.

"He said he was so proud of what I've done," Jamie Murray said.

TV RATINGS: With Venus Williams back in the Wimbledon final, TV ratings went way up.

The coverage of the women's final and men's semifinals on Saturday drew a 2.8 overnight rating on NBC, a 27 percent increase from the 2.2 in 2006.

Williams beat Marion Bartoli of France to win her fourth title at the All England Club. Last year's women's final was between Amelie Mauresmo of France and Justine Henin of Belgium.