Tennis

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Some of Jelena Jankovic's hardest blows came from her courtside seat.

Jankovic defeated Peng Shuai of China 6-1, 6-1 Wednesday in a first-round match at the East West Bank Classic despite a nagging cold she caught during last week's tournament near San Diego.

"I'm still not 100 percent and still blowing my nose on each changeover," said Jankovic, last year's runner-up. "I didn't practice the last four days. I was in bed taking medicine and just finished my antibiotics last night. I'm looking forward to feeling well."

Peng is winless in five career matches against Jankovic. The 21-year-old Chinese, coached by Michael Chang, fell to 16-15 this year.

Jankovic won a challenge on break point in the first set.


"I was right on almost all the challenges I made and my opponent was wrong," the 22-year-old Serb said. "I didn't play well, but at least I saw the ball well."

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova was to play her opening match against Eleni Daniilidou of Greece at night.

Jankovic next plays Sybille Bammer of Austria, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Olga Govortsova of Belarus.

In other matches, Virginie Razzano of France upset 10th-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (6); defending champion Elena Dementieva ousted 17-year-old American wild card Madison Brengle 6-2, 6-0; and No. 5 seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia beat American Jill Craybas 6-3, 7-6 (5).

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Venus Williams withdrew Tuesday from the Rogers Cup, an event still trying to recover from a rash of withdrawals last year in Montreal.

Reasons for Williams' withdrawal were not immediately available.

Top-ranked Justine Henin and No. 2 Maria Sharapova are scheduled to compete in the tournament that starts Monday at York University. Amelie Mauresmo withdrew Monday.

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Nikolay Davydenko, whose loss last week at an event in Poland is under investigation due to suspicious betting patterns, beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 7-6 (5) Wednesday in the Rogers Cup.

Davydenko, who said he felt "disappointment" when he first heard the news, was playing his first match since he retired because of injury from a match against Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina. He was seeded fourth and given a bye into the second round.

"People are talking not only, say, in Russia, in my country, but everywhere in the world," Davydenko said. "It's pretty tough for me and I get more pressure for this tournament. Mentally, it's pretty tough."

A British bookmaker said it received about $7 million in bets on the match -- 10 times the usual amount -- and most of the money was on Arguello to win, even after Davydenko won the first set 6-2.

The Association of Tennis Professionals, which is conducting the probe, said Monday it had no plans to suspend the Russian star or ask him to sit out.

In other matches Wednesday, top seed Roger Federer celebrated his 26th birthday with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) win over big serving Ivo Karlovic. The crowd suddenly began singing Happy Birthday late in the first set, making Federer's task a little more difficult.

"I enjoy it, of course," Federer said. "At the same time you're like, 'I'm struggling to get a ball back against this guy and they're singing Happy Birthday'

"Are they watching the same match as me?"

Fifth-seeded Andy Roddick advanced with a 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory over Arnaud Clement, and 14th seed Mikhail Youzhny defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4, but it was otherwise a difficult day for seeded players.

The No. 7 seed, Tommy Robredo, lost 6-2, 6-4 to Dominik Hrbaty, and No. 13 Andy Murray -- playing his first tournament since injuring a wrist three months ago -- fell to qualifier Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-2.

James Blake withdrew from the tournament before his second-round match against Lleyton Hewitt, citing abdominal problems. Hewitt will face Hrbaty in the next round.

Frank Dancevic, a 22-year-old player from Ontario, advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 win over American qualifier Wayne Odesnik.

Dancevic completed the victory with his 19th ace of the match, the same way he finished his first-round win over Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro late Monday night.

"It's better than playing a long game," Dancevic said. "I'd rather just serve and end it."

Toronto's Daniel Nestor -- playing with partner Mark Knowles of the Bahamas -- registered his 600th career doubles victory in a 6-3, 6-4 second-round win over Tomas Berdych and Nicolas Kiefer.

Tennis Canada presented Nestor with a bottle of champagne on center court as ball boys and girls held letters that spelled out "Congratulations Daniel 600" along the baseline.

Dancevic -- coming off his first career ATP final last week in Indianapolis -- is quickly becoming the crowd favorite. Though his match was held on Court 1, opposite Federer's match on center court, Dancevic said the fans made it seem as though he was the main attraction.

"It was really incredible," he said. "I felt like I was on center court."

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Tennis-Federer plays down significance of Djokovic defeat

Roger Federer described his defeat by Novak Djokovic in the Montreal Masters final on Sunday as "insignificant" overall, but admitted the Serb had deserved to win his second Masters Series title.

The world number one was left to rue six missed set points in the opening set as Djokovic, who will rise to third in the world rankings on Monday, became the first man to beat the Swiss and Rafael Nadal in the same tournament.

"The goal was to win Wimbledon," Federer told reporters. "Done that. Then, try to stay number one in the world. It would have helped to have won today but you can't have it all.

"Looking at the U.S. Open, and down the road, the Masters, there's still a long way to go. I can't start being disappointed about just one match."

With a break in the second game, Djokovic raced to a 3-0 lead but he was pegged back to 3-3 and Federer looked odds on to win the set when he led 6-5, 40-0 on his own serve.

But a couple of loose shots, combined with some free hitting from Djokovic handed the break back and the Serb then played inspired tennis to win the tiebreak.

Federer won the second set thanks to two breaks, but after hauling himself back from 4-2 down in the third, he lost the deciding tiebreak to give Djokovic the title.

"I was pleased that I came back in the second set," Federer said.

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A couple of childhood friends gave Serbia one of its best sporting days Sunday.

Ana Ivanovic hit 31 winners, including 23 off her powerful forehand, and beat Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-4 to win the East West Bank Classic.

Ivanovic completed a big day for the Eastern European country by winning her second tournament of the year. Earlier, countryman Novak Djokovic upset world No. 1 Roger Federer in three sets to win the Rogers Cup title in Montreal.

"I saw some of his match," she said. "He played amazing tennis, so I was motivated to do the same thing. That's an amazing day for us."

Djokovic became the first player since Boris Becker in 1994 at Stockholm to defeat the top three ranked players at an ATP event. Besides Federer, he took out Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals and Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.

"It's unbelievable for a small country without such big tennis tradition," he said. "Everybody's wondering themselves how it happened. Probably it's in our water or something. It's great to see."

Ivanovic and Djokovic have been friends for about 14 years. They met as 4-year-olds at his parents' mountaintop restaurant in Belgrade. Growing up, they practiced together and played hide and seek.

"I hated when I had to search for him because I was scared," she said. "We never dreamed we could play Grand Slams at the same level. It's nice to know someone for so long. I love spending time with him."

That includes sharing dinner when their tournament paths cross, but there is no romance going on.

"We are really good friends, nothing more than that," she said.

A year ago, Ivanovic was ranked 19th. On Monday, she is projected to rise one spot to a career-high fourth in the WTA Tour rankings. In between, the 19-year-old was runner-up at the French Open and a semifinalist at Wimbledon this year.

"This is probably the best time of my career," she said.

Ivanovic closed out the 1 1/2 -hour match by serving a love game, punctuated by an ace into the outside corner of the service box, one of four she had. The third seed connected on 70 percent of her first serves and was broken just once after saving four break points in her first service game of the match.

She took the first set with a crosscourt forehand winner that was out of Petrova's reach.

"It's very hard to be a set down," the fourth-seeded Petrova said. "You have to start all over again."

Ivanovic led 4-2 in the second set before Petrova's forehand volley winner left the Russian trailing 5-4. Petrova hit 19 winners in the match, which were offset by 22 unforced errors.

Ivanovic dropped one set in five matches in Carson, against Serb rival Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals. She earned $88,260 for the victory.

Petrova's coach had advised the 25-year-old Russian to pull Ivanovic wide by hitting to her backhand, making it harder for the Serb to hit her forehand on the run.

It didn't work.

"She just rips it off without even thinking," Petrova said. "Sometimes I think she didn't even know where it was going. It's the best forehand by far on tour."

Petrova advanced to the final when top-seeded Maria Sharapova defaulted because of a lower left leg strain Saturday night. Petrova, ranked ninth in the world, hasn't won a title since February.

Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan and retired Los Angeles Kings star Luc Robitaille were among the fans at Home Depot Center.

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Patty Schnyder of Switzerland defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Rogers Cup on Monday.

The 10th-seeded Schnyder was making her fifth appearance in the event, but first since 2002, when she lost in the second round to Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

"I would never take matches as routine, because you always have to be aware of the opponent's weapons," Schnyder said. "I just went through nicely, like the court tells me. But yes, I had to stay focused, and handle the conditions, and it was not easy."

Shahar Peer of Israel beat Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 7-5, 7-6 (7).

"I think I was just not playing," said Peer. "It's not that was playing good, and probably she was feeling the same. It's just that I made so many mistakes I didn't get to the ball proper, and I was just not in the match."

Other players advancing Monday included Francesca Schiavone of Italy defeated Austria's Tamira Paszek 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, while Roberta Vinci, also of Italy, cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Spain's Nuria Llagosteria Vives.

China's Peng Shuai defeated Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-2, and Italian Flavia Pennetta ousted Olga Poutchkova of Russia 6-3, 7-5.

The top eight seeds had a bye into the second round of the $1.34-million tournament at the Rexall Centre at York University.

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Maria Sharapova travels the world as the highest-paid female athlete, cocooning in fancy hotels, dining at swanky restaurants and indulging her love of shoes.

Yet there's one place the 20-year-old tennis superstar's journeys have never taken her -- the region devastated 21 years ago by the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster.

Sharapova's mother, Yelena, was pregnant with her only child when the plant in Ukraine exploded and spewed radioactive clouds over the western Soviet Union and northern Europe.

"A lot of families were moving, but not a lot of them could because they didn't really know where to go," Sharapova told The Associated Press. "My mom's dad happened to be working in Siberia, so that's why we had a sense of direction."

Sharapova's father, Yuri, and her mother fled the city of Gomel in Belarus -- about 80 miles north of Chernobyl -- shortly before she was born in Nyagan, Siberia.

Gomel was one of the areas most affected by radiation. Sharapova said she still has family there, including grandparents.

Sharapova plans to visit Chernobyl as a United Nations goodwill ambassador, perhaps after Wimbledon next July.

"It's in the beginning stages of what exactly I'm going to be doing," she said. "But I want to visit the facilities that they're building right now for the children -- computer labs and hospitals."

Sharapova started hitting tennis balls at age 4. Two years later, she was discovered by Martina Navratilova at a Moscow exhibition. At 9, Sharapova and her father moved to Florida, beginning a two-year separation from her mother because of visa restrictions and limited finances.

She's never forgotten her roots.

In 2004, Sharapova won the season-ending WTA Championships and received a car worth more than $56,000. She donated the money to those affected by the Russian school hostage crisis in Beslan in which 334 people died, more than half of them children.

In February, when Sharapova was appointed an ambassador for the U.N. Development Program, she donated $100,000 to help recovery in the Chernobyl region.

Goodwill ambassadors try to draw attention to the plight of some of the world's poorest spots. Sharapova, who has earned more than $9 million in career prize money, has a two-year contract with the UNDP that pays her a symbolic salary of $1 a year. Goodwill ambassadors pay their own way on trips.

"They wanted me to work with them because they felt like people in those areas didn't really feel like they had a chance to survive," Sharapova said. "They wanted me to help raise the awareness that by building schools, hospitals, cleaning the air that there is pride and a side they can head towards instead of thinking all those negative things."

Her trip to Chernobyl will last just a few days.

"Unfortunately, I have about 28 days a year for the work that I do and for the sponsors, for the photo shoots and the visits," she said. "Time is very, very limited."

Sharapova won her first title of the season a week ago near San Diego. During the tournament, she met with a group of Russian children visiting the United States.

Their trip was sponsored by The Children of Chernobyl, a nonprofit group that brings healthy children from Belarus between ages 8 and 12 to America for a six-to-eight week visit. They are placed with host families and the children receive free medical, dental and eye care treatment.

Upon meeting Sharapova, some of the families asked what advice she could give the children.

"It's tough because most of them don't have any parents, and what's really helped me in my life was having my mom and dad be so supportive and around me," she said.

Despite her Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles and No. 2 world ranking, Sharapova didn't expect the children to know who she was.

"They had all these questions lined up for me. The kids are pretty young and the questions they were asking me were so mature and so beyond their years," she said. "This young kid asked me how I wanted to raise my children. I was like, 'Geez, you're a kid yourself.' It was very strange."'

The children knew only rudimentary English phrases, like 'How are you?,' so they questioned her in Russian and Sharapova responded in her native language.

Hearing the kids squeal about their trip to Sea World brought back memories. As sophisticated as Sharapova comes off in photo spreads and on red carpets, she says she acts like a kid away from the court and cameras.

"I still love things that you don't even need to pay for," she said. "Going to the beach and being around five of your friends and having a good time means so much more than going out and spending hundreds of dollars. It did make me realize that, 'Wow, all these small things are making them happy."'

Sharapova is to begin her U.S. Open title defense Aug. 27. She withdrew from the semifinals of last week's tournament in Carson because of a leg injury. She said she plans to compete for another seven years.

"I have so many other things in my life that I want to try and do," she said, ticking off marriage and children among her goals. "I'd love to open a tennis school for children in my hometown of Sochi."

Sharapova said she recently read a book about Africa, and it, along with her charity work, has helped expand her world of forehands and backhands.

"If you're able to help some people and make them smile and make them realize that life is good," she said, "then that's worth so much more than buying a pair of shoes."

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Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Aretha Franklin, Carol Moseley Braun and other pioneering black women will come together on the U.S. Open's opening night to celebrate the legacy of late tennis star Althea Gibson.

The USTA is commemorating the 50th anniversary of Gibson's historic title at the U.S. National Championships. In 1957, she became the first black tennis player, male or female, to win the tournament, which became the Open.


"Tennis has its own Jackie Robinson, and we want to tell the world the story," said Arlen Kantarian, the USTA's chief executive of pro tennis.

Gibson will also be inducted into the U.S. Open Court of Champions, based on the result of an international media vote, during the Aug. 27 ceremony.

Titled "Breaking Barriers," the tribute to Gibson will feature trailblazers in the worlds of sports, entertainment, politics and the arts. Franklin, the first black woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will perform.

Among the other women scheduled to participate are Joyner-Kersee, the Olympic track and field champion; Braun, the former U.S. Senator; Phylicia Rashad, the "Cosby Show" actress; former WNBA star Cynthia Cooper; Winter Olympians Vonetta Flowers and Debi Thomas; tennis player Zina Garrison; astronaut Mae Jemison; and BET co-founder Sheila Johnson.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Billie Jean King and Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson's widow, are also expected to attend.

The tribute has been more than six months in the making, Kantarian said, and its scope grew as other trailblazing women responded with great enthusiasm to the idea.

"Once we reached out and began to let people know what we were thinking of doing, we were overwhelmed with all those who wanted to be a part of this ceremony," he said.

Gibson broke the color barrier in tennis in 1950 and went on to win 11 Grand Slam titles. She died in 2003 at the age of 76.

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Stephanie Dubois of Canada upset Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5 Tuesday in the first round of the Rogers Cup.

Dubois, ranked 115th, fired a tennis ball in delight into the stands at Rexall Centre after completing her victory against her 27th-ranked opponent.


"This means a lot to me because that's my favorite tournament," Dubois said. "Since I'm little, I'm watching it and I wanted to play in it, so I'm really happy."

In all, three Canadians will advance. Aleksandra Wozniak of Montreal was up 6-4, 5-0 when Russia's Anastasia Rodionova retired with an apparent leg injury and Marie-Eve Pelletier was scheduled to play Ekaterina Shulaeva later Tuesday night.

The last time three Canadians made it out of the first round was 1991, when Helen Kelesi, Patricia Hy-Boulais and Rene Alter (now Collins) advanced.

Canadian women went 0-15 in first-round action from 2001 to 2005 and did only slightly better last year in Montreal, though Dubois made it to the third round.

Nathalie Dechy of France defeated Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland 6-4, 7-5, and Virginie Razzano beat Aravana Rezai 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in an all-french match.

Elini Daniilidou of Greece downed Gisela Dulko of Argentina 6-2, 6-3, and Maria Elena Camerin of Italy ousted Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3.

Sybille Bammer of Austria defeated Emilie Loit of France, 6-1, 6-2. Slovakian Andreja Klepac beat American Meilen Tu, 6-3, 6-1. Russia's Maria ***ilenko defeated Germany's Martina Muller, 6-1, 6-3, and Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States beat Mara Santangelo of Italy, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

In the second round, Shahar Peer of Israel topped Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-3, 6-2.

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Andy Roddick bounced his racket after one poor shot, stared at the sky in disbelief after another. A little off at times, he still had that serve to pull him through.

Roddick relied on the best part of his game -- the nasty serve -- to set up a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory Tuesday night over Fernando Verdasco in his first match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.

Roddick won the tournament last year, making a triumphant return from a long slump and pulled side muscles that had left him vulnerable. This year, the tournament is more about maintaining than regaining.

"This is where the big turnaround took place," said Roddick, who went on to reach the U.S. Open final after winning Cincinnati last year. "It feels like home."

After a ragged first set, he settled in and finished off Verdasco for his 20th victory in his last 23 matches. Roddick served 13 aces, one of them clocked at 146 mph.


"I don't think I hit the ball great early, but I got better as the match went on," Roddick said. "I served better. I haven't been serving well the last couple of weeks."

The third-seeded Roddick was the only player among the tournament's top six with a match during the first two days. The top eight seeds got first-round byes this year, giving them time to relax and practice.

Rafael Nadal welcomed the break. The second-ranked Spaniard has been bothered by a sore right knee since his epic Wimbledon final loss to Roger Federer. His first match is on Wednesday.

"I have to be careful with the knee," he said Tuesday morning, shortly after a workout. "But I'm happy about how the knee's working in Montreal. It wasn't a problem, and I come here with the same expectations."

In other matches Tuesday, two other players coming off injuries got vastly different results.

Britain's Andy Murray, struggling to come back from a wrist injury, became the first seeded player to lose in the tournament. The 14th-seeded Murray never got into a rhythm during a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Marcos Baghdatis.

Murray was sidelined for three months by an injured right wrist. He returned in Montreal last week and lost to qualifier Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-2.

"I'm pretty comfortable now that it (the wrist) is not going to hurt, but your swing changes a bit when you're not hitting for a while and you're obviously not swinging as hard," Murray said. "It's just getting used to swinging hard consistently all the time."

By contrast, ninth-seeded James Blake got better as his match went along, beating Alejandro Falla 7-6 (5), 6-1. The American had to withdraw from Montreal last week after he strained abdominal muscles during his first-round match.

He was careful at the outset Tuesday, curious to see how the injury would react.

"I was a little nervous at the start, but I felt great at the end," he said. "My main goal is to still be careful and be ready for the U.S. Open. That's my biggest tournament of the year, the one I love to play in."

Lleyton Hewitt needed 2 hours and 58 minutes to beat Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in a match with so many twists that it lacked a turning point.

"Tough one," the 26-year-old Australian said. "Long match in the heat. That's what you need heading into a Grand Slam. Three sets and a tiebreak at the end. It was a little bit of a toss of the coin at the end."

The biggest question about Nadal is how his knee will hold up on the hard-court surface, the same type that is used at the U.S. Open. He got the knee treated during his five-set loss to Federer on Wimbledon's grass, and had it taped when he tested it at Stuttgart later in July.

He dropped a two-set match to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals in Montreal on Saturday, but that was more a case of losing to the tour's hottest player. Djokovic went on to beat Federer for the tournament title on Sunday.

"Last week, I started playing very bad," Nadal said. "I finished the week playing so much better. I hope to continue playing my game this week."

So does Djokovic, who is coming off a tournament title like few others. He beat Roddick, Nadal and Federer last week, the first time anyone beat the world's top three players in the same tournament since Boris Becker pulled it off in 1994 at Stockholm.

Is he on the verge of cracking into that elite group at the top?

"I think I have a lot of confidence," Djokovic said Tuesday, before his doubles match. "I showed enough quality that I can potentially be there on that level with them, but it's still early to talk about that. My lifetime goal is to be No. 1 in the world, but I'm still 20 years old and I have a lot of time."

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"روژه فدرر" سوييسي با كسب عنوان قهرماني پيكارهاي تنيس مردان سينسيناتي آمريكا ، فاصله خود را با ساير تنيس بازان سرشناس جهان در فهرست بهترين*هاي اين رشته افزايش داد.

به گزارش خبرگزاري فرانسه، فدرر بامداد روز دوشنبه در فينال اين رقابت*ها در دو ست متوالي و با نتايج ۶بر يك و ۶بر ۴برابر " جيمز بلاك" آمريكايي به برتري رسيد و باز هم اختلاف امتيازات خود را با ساير رقبا بهبود داد.

اتحاديه تنيس بازان حرفه*اي جهان عصر دوشنبه جديدترين فهرست رده*بندي برترين*هاي جهان را اعلام كرد كه فدرر با كسب ۷۶۰۵امتياز بسان ماه*هاي قبل در صدر ايستاد.

اسامي ۱۰تنيس باز برتر جهان از ابتداي سالجاري ميلادي به شرح زير است:
- ۱روژه فدرر از سوييس با ۷۶۰۵امتياز
- ۲رافائل نادال از اسپانيا با ۵۴۸۵امتياز
- ۳نواك دكوويچ از صربستان با ۳۶۷۰امتياز
- ۴نيكولاي داويدنكو از روسيه با ۳۴۱۵امتياز
- ۵اندي روديك از آمريكا با ۲۹۹۰امتياز
- ۶جيمز بلاك از آمريكا با ۲۳۱۰امتياز
- ۷فرناندو گونزالز از شيلي با ۲۲۲۵امتياز
- ۸تامي روبردو از اسپانيا با ۱۹۵۰امتياز
- ۹توماس برداريچ از جمهوري چك با ۱۹۲۵امتياز
- ۱۰تامي هاس از جمهوري چك با ۱۸۸۰امتياز

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A stadium full of tennis fans swayed and sang along as Aretha Franklin belted out the familiar refrain of her anthem:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Respect was what black tennis players were denied before the late Althea Gibson broke the color barrier. Respect is what Gibson demanded with her historic championships a half century ago.

Franklin and nearly two dozen other pioneering black women were a formidable presence Monday at opening night of the U.S. Open. They came together to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Gibson's 1957 title at the U.S. National Championships, the forerunner to the Open, when she became the first black player, male or female, to win the tournament.

"It's a wonderful, magnificent group of women," Franklin said later of her fellow honorees, who wore broad grins as they clapped along behind her during the performance.

After the ceremony, two more women embodied the doors Gibson opened. The ensuing matches on the main court featured Venus and Serena Williams. The sisters narrated the video that opened the tribute, describing the glamorous lives they've been able to enjoy and contrasting that with Gibson, who "toiled in isolation."

"It was amazing, just the energy of all the smiles, the well wishes," Venus Williams said of coming onto the court and seeing all the honorees. She beat ***a Nagy in straight sets.

"Just the power of the spirit in Althea, the things she went through," she said, "and knowing it's people like her that gave us an opportunity to be here today."

"The Cosby Show" star Phylicia Rashad hosted the ceremony, which included Gibson's induction into the U.S. Open Court of Champions. Rashad noted how appropriate it was that the event took place on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center -- facilities named after two other tennis pioneers.

King and Ashe's wife and daughter attended the event, as did Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson's widow. New York mayors past and present David Dinkins and Michael Bloomberg spoke. Dinkins, a good friend of Gibson's, described the social context of her accomplishments. Bloomberg called the Harlem native "one of the city's legendary athletes."

A video recapping Gibson's life included commentary from Dinkins, King, tennis analyst Bud Collins, Rashad's former co-star Bill Cosby, Serena Williams and fellow player James Blake.

One by one, the trailblazing women were introduced. The list included former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun; ex-WNBA star Cynthia Cooper; singer and songwriter Roberta Flack; Winter Olympians Vonetta Flowers and Debi Thomas; tennis player Zina Garrison; astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison; BET co-founder Sheila Johnson; and Olympic track and field champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

At the end, the crowd gave them a standing ovation.

Each woman received a Tiffany charm bracelet and a commemorative coin.

"It's a room full of greatness," Thomas said before the ceremony. "You walk in, you're just amazed that you're included in such an elite group. These are all people that they put their mind to do something special. They didn't let people discourage them."

The figure skater turned doctor, the first black woman to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, starts a new job Tuesday replacing knees and hips in Champaign, Ill. She always gets excited to see Jemison, the first black woman in space, whom she first met at Thomas' graduation from Stanford. Thomas has always dreamt of being an astronaut.

Franklin, a huge tennis fan who makes herself tea to drink while watching Wimbledon each year, was thrilled to meet Braun and Joyner-Kersee. She never had the chance to meet Gibson, but Flack did.

"She did it with passion, which is what I'd like to think I do with music," said Flack, the first person to win back-to-back Grammys for Record of the Year. "I think that's the reason I'm still performing and writing and recording, because there's a passion. Her game, she played it with all her heart."

Friends and admirers hoped Monday's ceremony would ensure Gibson's triumphs wouldn't be lost to history. Her lack of renown was starkly illustrated when three-time defending men's champ Roger Federer was caught off-guard when asked what he knew about Gibson after his first-round match Monday.

"Nothing, to be honest," he said. "It's before my time. Isn't much I can really say about it. I don't know, I'm sorry."

But others of his time know what she did and what she meant. Serena Williams grew up reading books about Gibson.

"A lot of people don't know who she is," she said after beating Angelique Kerber in straight sets. "They always say, 'Arthur Ashe, Arthur Ashe.' People forget that Althea Gibson was actually years ... before Arthur Ashe. It's important to have nights like this so you can teach young people so they know who they are."

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A white towel over his shoulders and a grim look on his face, Nikolay Davydenko autographed three balls and hit them into the stands Monday after winning his first-round match at the U.S. Open.

The man at the center of tennis' gambling probe, the No. 4-ranked Davydenko has plenty on his mind besides smacking fuzzy yellow spheres these days. The Russian has not been questioned by ATP or outside investigators yet, but he expects to talk to them sometime when his schedule winds down after the Sept. 10-16 China Open.

"I got tired mentally in this situation," Davydenko said after beating Jesse Levine of the United States 6-4, 6-0, 6-1, "and I don't know if I will be able to regain my strength to fight and play well here."

In early August, the ATP began an investigation after a British online gambling company, Betfair, voided all bets on a second-round match between Davydenko and 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina at Sopot, Poland.

Betfair received about $7 million in wagers on the match, 10 times the usual amount. Most of the money backed Arguello -- including bets placed after he lost the first set to Davydenko, a semifinalist at the French Open twice and at the U.S. Open last year. Davydenko wound up winning the second set, then retiring in the third with a left foot injury.

Nearly every question Davydenko was asked at his postmatch news conference Monday was about this one issue. As in recent weeks, he again denied any role.

"Never (bet) in my life," he said. "I don't know how you can (bet), and I don't know guys who (bet). ... I try to say every week, 'I don't do anything like this.' You know, I never did."

In the wake of the investigation, some men on the tour said word spread of past instances of players being approached about throwing matches.

"I have heard of stories of people getting sometimes money offered for losing a match and stuff. A lot of money," top-ranked Roger Federer said recently. "So this is why it's hard and this is where we have to have faith in the players saying they don't want to accept this type of money because it's bad money."

Davydenko was asked about whether the Russian mafia has any influence in the sport.

"First, I don't live in Moscow. I don't know really guys from mafia in Russia, because I live from 15 years old in Germany. I don't know German mafia," he said with a smile. "Maybe if you go now to Brooklyn, you find Russian mafia here in New York."

ATP rules say players and their "support personnel" can't bet on any amateur or professional tennis matches. They also are not allowed to, "directly or indirectly, solicit, induce, entice, persuade, encourage or facilitate any other person to wager on the outcome or any other aspect of any event."

Under the ATP's anti-corruption system set up in 2003, players can be fined $100,000 and be barred permanently from playing in tour events. No player has been sanctioned under that program, according to the ATP.

"I'm pretty confident it's an isolated event. Until we know something, until due process takes its course, you can't really say anything. It would worry me if they found there was something going on and nothing happened then," 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick said.

"But it's disappointing. You don't want to hear about it," he continued. "You don't want tennis' story lines to be that."

The Davydenko case, along with the recent NBA scandal involving a former referee who admitted betting on games he officiated, prompted the U.S. Tennis Association to hire a security firm to monitor illegal gambling activity during the U.S. Open.

The Grand Slam tournaments are talking with the men's and women's professional tours to design a joint antigambling program.

In the meantime, the ATP's investigation is being kept under wraps.

"This is going to be comprehensive, thorough but fair. We're not going to leave any stone unturned," ATP spokesman Kris Dent said. "This is not an overnight investigation. ... It's going to take a fair amount of time. We're not talking weeks here."

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Thanks to Donald Young and John Isner, the future of American men's tennis looked brighter, at least for a day.

The two wild-card recipients knocked off much higher-ranked opponents Monday at the U.S. Open, both earning their first Grand Slam victories.

"I love winning. ... Just want to taste it and just keep winning," said Young, who turned 18 last month. "I wanted to win at this level and I was determined to do it."

He lost his first 11 tour-level matches -- but ended that drought this month at New Haven.

"When you play out here, there's not that much pressure, because I'm (ranked) like 200 in the world, and everybody's top-100," the No. 223 Young said after eliminating No. 93 Chris Guccione of Australia 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

"I'm not supposed to win."

The 6-foot-9 Isner used 34 aces to upset 26th-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The 22-year-old played college tennis for four years at Georgia, which he led to the NCAA team title this spring.

Then, in only his second tour event, he reached the final at Washington with the help of 144 aces.

"I've waited and hoped a long time that I could walk out there in the U.S. Open and compete in a first-round match on any court, really, let alone Louis Armstrong court, which is awesome," Isner said.

"(It was) pretty cool to be there, but I knew I had some business to take care of. So I soaked it in a little bit at first and went out there ready to play."

Young was first touted as a serious prospect early in his junior tennis career. At 15, he became the youngest player to win a junior Grand Slam title at the 2005 Australian Open and the youngest to top the junior rankings.

But he had some trouble trying to jump into the pro game early.

Nowadays, things are coming easier for Young.

"He's turned the corner, which I'm happy about, because I was worried about him," seven-time major champion John McEnroe said. "He's really starting to make some progress these last few months, which is nice, because it had been a struggle for him the better part of the past few years."

Young is still entered in the U.S. Open junior event, just in case.

In the main event, he faces No. 13 Richard Gasquet of France in the second round, while Isner will face qualifier Rik De Voest of South Africa.

Isner hadn't heard of de Voest. Then again, the American concedes his limited time in tour means he doesn't know many players. He does know a thing or two about his possible third-round opponent, though: Roger Federer is bidding to become the first man since the 1920s to win this major four consecutive years.

"I wouldn't have believed it a month ago," Isner said with a smile. "But now I'm obviously not thinking about that at all. I've got, you know, one more match until then. I'm not in any position where I can look ahead. Maybe he can, but not me."

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Autograph requests come in all shapes and forms. U.S. Open contender Ana Ivanovic has had some dazzlers.

One man asked the 19-year-old rising star to sign his underwear. Another this week wanted her signature on his forehead.

"I was like, are you kidding?" she said with a laugh. "I didn't (sign his head). I felt bad for him walking with a sign."

Ivanovic's sympathy doesn't extend on court, where she has become the youngest player in the world's top 10, and one of the hottest players on the WTA Tour.

After becoming the first Serbian woman to reach a Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, she pushed eventual champion Venus Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals. She won her second title of the year in Los Angeles this month and matched her previous best U.S. Open performance by reaching the third round on Wednesday, defeating Aravane Rezai of France 6-3, 6-1.

"Coming into the tournament, my goal is to play better than I did last year, to reach the second week because I have never done that here," said the No. 5 seed. "There's a lot of tough opponents in my part of the draw so I want to play the best I can. But I feel very good physically and mentally, and I think I'm playing well at the moment."

If Ivanovic can get past her next opponent, Vera Dushevina of Russia, a likely fourth-round showdown with Williams awaits. Then she could meet compatriot and third-seeded Jelena Jankovic.

Ivanovic, Jankovic, and countryman Novak Djokovic were feted by thousands at Belgrade City Hall after the trio reached at least the semifinals of the French Open in June.

Ivanovic said they continue to spur each other.

"I see it as motivation to play better than them, maybe go one step further," she said. "I think they are in the same situation. It's great for all of us."

The memory of the reception in Belgrade still tickles Ivanovic. She can remember as a child going to the square to honor the country's victorious volleyball and basketball teams.

Now they come to see her. Serbian NBA star Nenad Krstic watched her play on Wednesday.

"Tennis is becoming one of the major sports back home," Ivanovic said. "Wherever we go we get recognized."

And receive strange autograph requests.