Djokovic wins Laureus sportsman of year
(Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:42:25 PST)
Novak Djokovic won the top individual honor at the 2012 Laureus Sports Awards on Monday, and Barcelona captured the team prize. The top-ranked Djokovic won sportsman of the year at the ceremony in London, one week after the Serbian triumphed at the Australian Open to become the fifth man in the Open era to win three Grand Slam titles in a row.

Sharapova: Olympics among top priorities
(Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:04:29 PST)
Maria Sharapova is making the London Olympics one of her top priorities this year after missing the Beijing Games with an injury. The third-ranked Russian has won three Grand Slam titles but has never competed at the Olympics. "Representing my country there will be a huge honor for me," Sharapova said.

Hewitt gets double duty at Davis Cup
(Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:25:32 PST)
Former U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt has been selected to play Davis Cup singles and doubles against China this weekend, equaling an Australian record by making his 32nd appearance in the international competition. Australia captain Pat Rafter announced his combination Tuesday for the Asia-Oceania Group 1 match, with Hewitt and Bernard Tomic to play singles and Hewitt to combine...

Lisicki, Kanepi withdraw from Open GDF
(Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:31:30 PST)
Sabine Lisicki of Germany and Kaia Kanepi of Estonia withdrew Monday from the Open GDF Suez. Lisicki has a viral illness and Kanepi is recovering from a right shoulder injury. Kanepi won the Brisbane International last month before losing in the second round of the Australian Open. Lisicki was seeded fifth at the Parisian tournament.

US routs Belarus, on to Fed Cup playoff
(Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:23:23 PST)
After hitting her first competitive serve in five months just long, Venus Williams relaxed, recoiled and fired off another that was too much for Anastasiya Yakimova. Williams' comeback was off to a good start that just got better as she teamed with Liezel Huber for a 6-1, 6-2 doubles victory over Yakimova and Darya Kustova that capped a 5-0 Fed Cup shutout for the United States against Belarus...

Kvitova rallies, Czechs top Germany 4-1
(Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:32:28 PST)
Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova rallied to beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki on Sunday, sending defending champion Czech Republic into the semifinals of the Fed Cup. Angelique Kerber later beat Lucie Hradecka 6-4, 6-4 to salvage some pride for the hosts. It was the 24-year-old German's first Fed Cup win.

Kuznetsova helps Russia beat Spain 3-2
(Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:07:33 PST)
Russia advanced to the Fed Cup World Group semifinals with a 3-2 win over Spain on Sunday in their first-round series. Svetlana Kuznetsova clinched the victory with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win against Silvia Soler-Espinosa in the second reverse singles. Maria Sharapova and Kuznetsova easily won their opening singles matches on Saturday, but Carla Suarez Navarro narrowed the gap when she routed Nadia...