10 Copyright (c) 2008 Yahoo!, Inc. All rights reserved. en-us 126 15 http://sports.yahoo.com Yahoo! Sports http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/b/ysp_logo_rss.gif Yahoo! Sports - Tennis News http://sports.yahoo.com/ten Latest news and information about the Tennis. AP Serena pulls out, Venus loses in Rome (AP) Patty Schnyder of Switzerland returns the ball to Maria Sharapova of Russia, during their quarter finals match at the Italian open women's tennis tournament, in Rome, Friday, May 16, 2008.

Serena Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match at the Italian Open on Friday due to a back problem, and older sister Venus Williams was beaten by defending champion Jelena Jankovic. Jankovic will next play second-seeded Maria Sharapova, who rallied past 2005 runner-up Patty Schnyder 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2 to gain the semifinal with her 300th career win.


]]> Fri, 16 May 2008 15:06:45 PDT urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:ten,article,ap-italianopen:1 AP Nadal, Djokovic to play for world No. 2 (AP) Spain's Rafael Nadal returns a ball during his quarterfinal match againsthis compatriot Carlos Moya at the ATP Masters Series tennis tournament in Hamburg, Germany on Friday, May 16, 2008.

Defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the semifinals of the Hamburg Masters by defeating Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3 on Friday. Novak Djokovic also made the final four, downing Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic will face Rafael Nadal, who defeated Carlos Moya, 6-1, 6-3. "I played a very good match against a very good player tonight and I will have to play best to win tomorrow," Nadal said.


]]> Fri, 16 May 2008 13:10:50 PDT urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:ten,article,ap-hamburgmasters:1 Henin retirement to make Sharapova No. 1 (AP) Maria Sharapova will assume the No. 1 ranking in tennis because of Justine Henin's retirement. The 25-year-old Henin, who retired Wednesday, asked to be removed from the rankings, the WTA Tour said Thursday. Sharapova will automatically become No. 1 when the next rankings are released Monday. It will mark the fourth time the Russian has held the top ranking. Thu, 15 May 2008 07:25:15 PDT urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:ten,article,ap-sharapova-no1:1 Kuerten among wild cards at French Open (AP) Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten was given a wild-card entry into this year's tournament by the French tennis federation on Thursday. The 31-year-old Brazilian will be playing his final tournament at Roland Garros, where he won his only majors in 1997, 2000 and 2001. The clay-court tournament begins May 25, with the main draw two days before. Thu, 15 May 2008 10:18:04 PDT urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:ten,article,ap-frenchopen-wildcards:1 AP Henin announces immediate retirement (AP) Belgium's Justine Henin addresses the media at a tennis club in Limelette, Belgium, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. Justine Henin retired from tennis Wednesday, an abrupt ending to a short and successful career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and leaves while ranked No. 1. The 25-year-old Belgian made the surprising announcement at a news conference, less than two weeks before the start of the French Open. She has won that clay-court major championship four times, including each of the past three years.

The determination that helped Justine Henin beat bigger, stronger opponents time and again was fading. "I decided," the 25-year-old Belgian said, "to stop fooling myself and accept it." Henin retired from tennis Wednesday, an abrupt ending to a career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and spent more than 100 weeks ranked No.


]]> Wed, 14 May 2008 12:29:26 PDT urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:ten,article,ap-heninretires:1 Sharapova, WTA compromise on photo shoot (AP) Maria Sharapova reached a compromise with the WTA Tour and completed a promotional photo shoot before the Italian Open began Monday. The second-ranked Russian was opposed to the shoot because she does not like distractions before tournaments, and claimed the WTA threatened to fine her more than $300,000 if she refused. Mon, 12 May 2008 09:03:38 PDT urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:ten,article,ap-sharapova-photoshoot:1 Doubles team of twins heroic in fire (AP) Twin brothers who play professional tennis as a doubles team helped the wife and son of another doubles player escape from a hotel fire. Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana of Thailand were making their way through thick, black smoke to exit their hotel when they heard someone calling for them. It was the wife of Lucas Arnold Ker, who like the twins is in town for a Challenger Series tournament. Tue, 13 May 2008 13:46:08 PDT urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:ten,article,ap-hotelfirerescue:1 Fri, 16 May 2008 15:06:45 PDT