·Henin announces immediate retirement (AP)
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.
·Sharapova moves closer to No. 1 ranking (AP)
Maria Sharapova moved a step closer to the No. 1 ranking, overcoming some erratic moments before beating Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Italian Open on Wednesday. With top-ranked Justine Henin announcing her retirement, Sharapova is poised to move to No. 1 next week -- depending on if and when Henin asks the WTA Tour to remove her from the rankings.
·Federer, Nadal, Djokovic win, Blake out (AP)
Top-ranked Roger Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round of the Hamburg Masters on Wednesday. Second-ranked Rafael Nadal had to work harder. Federer eased past Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3, and Djokovic downed Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 6-1. Djokvic, seeking consecutive titles after winning the Rome Masters, had 34 winners to Chela's 11.
·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.
·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.
·Recent winner Safina out of Italian Open (AP)
Dinara Safina pulled out of the Italian Open on Monday due to a back injury, one day after the biggest triumph of her career. The 14th-ranked Russian won the title of the German Open on Sunday, defeating Elena Dementieva in three sets. Two years ago, Safina reached the Italian Open final but lost to Martina Hingis.
·Mauresmo withdraws from Italian Open (AP)
Two-time champion Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from the Italian Open on Sunday due to a rib injury. The 19th-ranked Frenchwoman won the clay-court warmup for the French Open in 2004 and '05. She was also the runner-up twice. Last week, Mauresmo withdrew from the German Open. She joins top-ranked Justine Henin on the sideline.
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