Saturday, May 19, 2007
Serena Williams hasn't played the French Open in three years and hardly seems ready for this month's clay-court major.
She made an array of mistakes yesterday in her final match before the French, losing to Patty Schnyder, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), in the Italian Open quarterfinals in Rome.
"I'm going to obviously want to work harder and just do some things differently," Williams said. "Where I am today, in Paris I'll probably be even better."
In the semifinals, Schnyder will face third-seeded Jelena Jankovic, who routed Elena Dementieva, 6-2, 6-1. Second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova beat sixth-seeded Dinara Safina, 6-1, 6-3, in an all-Russian match and will next play ninth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, who beat unseeded Anabel Medina Garrigues, 7-6 (10-8), 7-5.
This was only Williams's third loss this season. She began 2007 by winning the Australian Open for her first major title in two years. . . .
Rafael Nadal extended his record winning streak on clay to 80 matches by defeating Fernando Gonzalez, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the semifinals of the Hamburg Masters.
Roger Federer also reached the semis, but struggled to beat David Ferrer, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The world No. 1's next opponent is Carlos Moya, who upset fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 7-5.
In the semifinals, Nadal will play Lleyton Hewitt-- against whom he has 1-4 record -- after the Australian beat Nicolas Almagro, 6-3, 6-4.
· PRO FOOTBALL: Brett Favre slammed both hands on the podium, wanting to be clear: He never suggested he couldn't win with this current group of Packers.
The Green Bay quarterback was trying to defuse a week's worth of comments. And while he was frustrated the Packers did not trade for Randy Moss, Favre said during minicamp in Green Bay this was no knock on his teammates.
"Not once did I say anything about the guys I play with," Favre said at a news conference.
Favre's appearance came after a tumultuous week in which he publicly complained about the Packers' front office, deflected reports that his agent had asked the team for a trade and considered skipping this weekend's mandatory minicamp to help plan parties for his daughter's high school graduation next week.
The 37-year-old star is still recovering from offseason ankle surgery, and the team's medical staff most likely will limit his participation in the three-day camp, which ends tomorrow. . . .
Miami Dolphins Coach Cam Cameron, speaking publicly about Ricky Williams's latest drug relapse for the first time, said nothing has changed regarding the suspended running back's status. But several Dolphins said they're ready to play without Williams, and Cameron acknowledged it's difficult to salvage the careers of troubled players.
"The easiest predictor of future behavior is previous behavior," Cameron said.
Meanwhile, Daunte Culpepper practiced on a limited basis, the latest step in his recovery from two knee operations. Culpepper said he's certain he'll take part in the Dolphins' minicamp June 8-10. . . .
Disgruntled Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs was a no-show, as expected, when the Chicago Bears opened a three-day minicamp in Lake Forest, Ill.
In March, the Bears tagged Briggs as their franchise player, prompting him to threaten a holdout, at first for the entire season and then for 10 games so he could report for the final six to qualify as serving one year as a franchise player. . . .
Veteran wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson visited with the Tennessee Titans but said he has no timetable for when he hopes to have a deal. Johnson, 34, was released by Carolina earlier this month after the Panthers drafted Southern California wideout Dwayne Jarrett. . . .
Linebacker A.J. Nicholson was arrested on a domestic violence charge, the first arrest of a Cincinnati Bengals' player since Commissioner Roger Goodell cracked down on misconduct last month. Nicholson already was one of nine Bengals players arrested during a nine-month span, turning the team into a prime example of player misconduct. The team had gone four months without having a player arrested. . . .
The Minnesota Vikings signed rookie quarterback Tyler Thigpen.
· COLLEGES: The NCAA's committee on women in sports will review its guidelines amid reports of female athletes being threatened with the loss of scholarships if they became pregnant.
Janet Kittell, leader of the NCAA's committee on women's athletics, said her group will review the NCAA rules on pregnancy at a July meeting in Charlotte.
Last week, Cassandra Harding, a member of the Memphis track team, told the Associated Press that she lost her scholarship after becoming pregnant, and a Clemson athlete told ESPN she had an abortion to stay in school.
-- From News Services
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