Serena Williams - Diary of a Grand Slam Champion

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Conflict: Lendl/Serena vs. Becker/Venus?
2007-12-31 01:02:00
The Tennis Channel (TTC) was scheduled to air the 2003 Australian Open Final (Serena vs. Venus ) but it is currently showing the 1991 Australian Open Men's Final between Lendl and Becker . Their website still states that the 7pm airing is that of the Williams Sisters and that the Lendl vs. Becker match is not supposed to air until 10pm EST. (Maybe the switch will cause the Sisters' match to air at 10pm). I really take issue with "this" channel and this scheduling conflict is not even the tip of the iceberg. Please let me not start ranting about their "Grand Slam" coverage (or "tennis" coverage in general) as it relates to that of ESPN/ESPN2/USA. I will most definitely keep you posted as to whether the match between Venus and Serena actually airs at 10pm. Who knows, (by reputation alone) they (TTC) may actually air the Lendl vs. Becker match again at 10pm. I would not be surprised. The Tennis Channel is a joke (and it has been that way long before today). The concept of the Tennis Ch...
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Serena Practicing
2007-12-31 00:34:00
After a morning snooze, Williams joined her usual Australian hitting partner, Mark Hlawaty, and a German import for an hour-long session of two-on-one.
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Yes! Serena arrives! Game On!
2007-12-30 10:44:00
Williams Ready To Defend Australian Open Tennis TitlePERTH, Australia (AFP) - American superstar Serena Williams finally arrived in Australia on Sunday, tired and several days late, but confident she was on track to defend her Australian Open title. The world No.7 arrived here early Sunday morning to compete in the mixed teams Hopman Cup, having taken a circuitous route from her US base in Miami via New York and Dubai.Williams cited a stomach flu as the reason for her late arrival, with Meghann Shaughnessy successfully substituting as Mardy Fish's partner in the USA's opening tie victory over India on Saturday. "I was so glad when I heard that she won and Mardy won yesterday. I was really excited. I owe her a big thank-you," Williams said.Having caught a few hours sleep after flying in at 3:00 am, Williams yawned her way through a practice session, but hit the ball crisply and looked in good shape.The 26-year-old said she believed the guaranteed match practice of the Hopman Cup wa...
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Re-Live Serena Completing the "Serena Slam" - Australian Open Classic: 2003
2007-12-29 04:15:00
On Sunday, December 30, 2007 @7pm EST, The TENNIS CHANNEL will air the 2003 Australian Open Final (Venus vs. Serena). As many may know, with winning the 2003 Australian Open, Serena completed the SERENA SLAM. This marked only the fifth time a woman has held all four of tennis' major championships at the same time, and the first since Steffi Graf in 1994. (Currently, no other female has completed this feat since Serena). And to do it, Serena had to beat her sister, best friend and practice partner each time. The Williams siblings are the first (and only) two women in Grand Slam history to square off in four consecutive finals.Amazing Statistic:Serena Williams has won 28 consecutive Grand Slam matches. (Also, the day before the final, Venus and Serena won the Doubles Title).(I pray that the programming lineup does not change. Being a fan, I have to admit that I NEVER saw this match and it is sure to be classic for me).
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Hopman Delay - Injury or illness?
2007-12-28 04:24:00
I have read several articles stating that Serena is being delayed due to a "mild illness." Now there are articles (that appear to be highly speculative) citing a lingering knee injury as the the reason for the delay. Since when does a "mild illness" translate into a "knee injury?" Hopefully Serena will soon make a statement. Either way, we are bound to know what happens (in reference to her participation) within the next few days. Also worthy of noting is that the Official Hopman Cup Website lists the following article on their main page: Serena Arrival Forces Temporary Switch It was announced today that due to a mild illness, Serena Williams will now be arriving in Perth on Sunday. As the USA?s opening match in the Hyundai Hopman Cup is on Saturday morning against India, a substitute in Meghann Shaughnessy will partner Mardy Fish for this match only. Serena?s first match will now be on Monday 31 December against the talented Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in a pivotal tie for...
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Sick Serena late for Hopman
2007-12-26 10:19:00
Oh no! Here we go again. I know that we all get sick but this is putting a very bad taste in my mouth. Serena will miss Saturday's match and that leaves three additional days of matches for Serena and Mardy: Monday, Thursday and Friday (Final). Get well SOON Serena! Make 2008 your best and most consistent season yet.American drawcard Serena Williams will make a late start to Perth's Hopman Cup mixed teams event due to illness.Williams will not arrive in Perth in time to partner Mardy Fish in the Americans' opening tie in the tournament against Indians Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna on Saturday.The world No.7 will be replaced by the 52nd-ranked Meghann Shaughnessy. There had been concern over Williams' attendance at the tournament because of recent injuries, but she has assured organisers she will arrive in Perth over the weekend. Under Hopman Cup rules, player substitutions are allowed between ties.
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Happy Holidays
2007-12-24 16:20:00
Wishing you and yours a safe and enjoyable Holiday Season. Merry Christmas.
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Serena's (Tentative) Schedule for 2008
2007-12-23 19:18:00
AWESOME looking schedule. If she remains fit and healthy, there is no doubt that she will soon return to where she belongs, #1!12/29/07 - Hopman Cup01/14/08 - Australian Open02/04/08 - Open Gaz de France02/11/08 - Proximus Diamond Games02/25/08 - Dubai Tennis Championships03/03/08 - Bangalore Open03/24/08 - Sony Ericsson Open04/14/08 - Family Circle Cup05/05/08 - Qatar Telecom German Open05/12/08 - Internazionali BNL d'Italia 05/26/08 - French Open06/23/08 - Wimbledon
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2007 Women's Tennis In Review
2007-12-19 02:07:00
Bonnie D. Ford (ESPN.com) wrote an article citing the high and low points as it relates to the 2007 Women's Tennis Season. Here is what she had to say about Serena:Match of the Year: A tie between the Henin-Venus Williams U.S. Open semifinal and Henin's marathon, last-woman-standing victory over Maria Sharapova in the year-end championships. Honorary mention to Serena Williams' cat burglar performance in the Miami final. She was bagled in the first set, then staved off two match points and clawed back to pilfer the title. Comeback Player of the Year: Jointly awarded to Venus and Serena Williams, who won a Slam apiece in the same season for only the second time in their careers (2005 was the first). A year ago, the sisters had been written off. Now they're cozied up at Nos. 7 and 8 on the WTA hit parade, and their penchant for defying convention shouldn't negate their accomplishment.Ill-advised shot of the year: A Sharapova overhead smash that hit Serena Williams in the first se...
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SERENA and Andy Rock!!!
2007-12-15 11:36:00
The exhibition, Rock -n-Racquets, came to Omaha for the first time. Roddick started it in 2002 with Andre Agassi. Agassi has since retired, so Roddick called on Williams, owner of eight Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal."The idea: develop tennis interest in places like Omaha that rarely see the sport up close," said Williams, who'd never been to Nebraska. "The idea worked, mostly because of Roddick."The singles portion of the event started with Serena Williams' win over Ashley Harkleroad 6-4, 6-2. Three hours into the event, Roddick and Williams paired for one set of mixed doubles against Querrey and Harkleroad - the stars won 6-3.In a week's time, Serena has participated in two exhibitions with two members of the (2007 Champion) U.S. Davis Cup Team, James Blake and Andy Roddick.

Serena Williams attends CELEBRATION for Venus!
2007-12-15 00:33:00
Serena Williams arrives at a party to celebrate Venus Williams's graduation from the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale and to promote the launch of Venus's EleVen clothing line at Hotel Victor on December 13, 2007 in Miami Beach, Florida.
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SERENA and family attend Venus' Graduation
2007-12-15 00:28:00
Tennis star Venus Williams graduated Thursday from the Art Institute in Fort Lauderdale, with an associate degree in fashion design. She received honors for the Best Sportswear Collection during the ceremonies.
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Serena Williams: Newsworthy Statistic
2007-12-13 22:13:00
Serena ended 2006 ranked 95 (mainly due to injury/inactivity). She finished 2007 ranked 7.
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Serena at An Achievable Dream Academy
2007-12-10 00:17:00
After she briefly spoke to the children, Williams, James Blake and An Achievable Dream staff lined up 10 promising tennis Dreamers to share the court with the stars. Blake and a child would be on one side of the net, with Williams and another child on the other side. An Achievable Dream is a non-profit organization but more importantly, it operates an actual accredited school within the public school system delivering a social, academic and moral curriculum to children who may not otherwise have hope to achieve their dreams. It works by setting expectations, guidelines and boundaries, refusing to use poverty as an excuse, and recognizing inner-city kids can meet and often exceed expectations.
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Serena's 2008 Australian Open Outfit
2007-12-09 19:20:00
Serena is reportedly wearing this one-piece, white tunic-style dress adorned with royal purple accents over a pair of purple lycra biker shorts (as the outfit of choice for the 2008 Australian Open ).
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Serena and James Blake: Anthem Live!
2007-12-09 18:29:00
Serena took time out of her busy schedule to help the cause and her friend (James ) as she participated in ANTHEM LIVE! (The Ticket To Fight Cancer). Blake faced his buddy Mardy Fish in a set, then Williams took on French standout Tatiana Golovin in a set. The four then returned for a set of mixed doubles. Serena won her singles match against Tatiana. Serena also won her mixed doubles match with Mardy Fish (who is also her partner for the Hopman Cup). Serena Williams and James Blake spoke to (and played tennis with) students at An Achievable Dream Academy before going to Norfolk to play the Anthem Live ! exhibition.
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Dreaming of Fed Cup
2007-12-02 14:12:00
Congratulations to the U.S. Team on winning Davis Cup this past Saturday. This is their first Davis Cup title since 1995 (and the most of any country, 32). After watching this match, I could not help but daydream about the U.S. Women and Fed Cup. The U.S. is the most successful nation with 17 Fed Cup Titles. Serena is undefeated in her Fed Cup career (7-0), going 4-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles.If I were responsible for picking the 2008 Team (praying that each of the ladies are healthy), it would look like this:Venus and Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Raymond! Simply Unstoppable!The U.S. last won Fed Cup in 2000. That stat will change in the very near future. The next tie is February 2-3, 2008 (World Group First Round: USA vs. Germany) TBD, U.S.
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Serena Williams "Tights Malfunction?"
2007-11-26 23:40:00
It appears that people will take a picture of just about anything, especially when the image in focus is a celebrity. This time the camera catches Serena having a "tights malfunction." I would say "who cares?" but obviously some people do. I'll just say, "so what!" No one's perfect and I'm just sharing news on my girl (and staying in her corner), "flaws and all." Here goes......"The 26-year-old reigning Australian Open champ was seen returning from a night out with rumoured new beau, rapper Common, to her swanky St. Martin's Lane hotel, in London's West End. But her normally slick look was ruined by the highly-visible ladders which, unfortunately, started at the knee of her black opaque tights. It appears that Serena and Grammy award nominee Common, 35, who has duetted with singer Lily Allen, and appears in new Denzel Washington film American Gangster, are an item."
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Serena Williams on TV
2007-11-23 16:44:00
Serena's TV Schedule:11/23/07 - Open Access: Fan Favorites - 6:30pm EST - The Tennis Channel11/24/07 - No Strings: The Williams Sisters - 4:00pm EST - The Tennis Channel11/26/07 - Higglytown Heroes - 7:30am EST - Disney Channel11/26/07 - Open Access: Fan Favorites - 1:30pm EST - The Tennis Channel11/26/07 - "Hairshow" - 7:30pm EST - BET11/27/07 - "ER" - 11:00am EST - TNT11/29/07 - No Strings: The Williams Sisters - 5:00pm EST - The Tennis Channel11/30/07 - Avatar: The Last Airbender - 8:00pm EST - Nickelodeon
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Serena Williams: "Open Access: Fan Favorites"
2007-11-23 04:13:00
FAN FAVORITE: The Tennis Channel(.com) recently conducted a survey wherein fans voted for their favorite Tennis Players. On the women's side, there were 10 nominees:Lindsay Davenport, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Justine Henin, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Maria Sharpova, Serena Williams and Venus Williams (of these 10, the group was reduced to five). Serena was voted as the #2 Fan Favorite but she will always be # 1 in this fan's opinion. Like her or not, there's no denying the HUGE impact that she has on tennis.Open Access Top Five Fan Favorites (Female):1. Monica Seles2. Serena Williams3. Venus Williams4. Steffi Graff5. Chris Evert The show aired earlier this evening (7:00pm EST) on The Tennis Channel. I will let you know when it re-airs. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Is Serena dating Common?
2007-11-20 12:33:00
Tennis superstar SERENA WILLIAMS is (reportedly) dating rapper COMMON. The pair - who appeared together in Common 's latest video I Want You - were spotted hand in hand at a New York party last week (the launch of Venus' clothing line, "EleVen"). A partygoer at Manhattan hotspot Tenjune tells the New York Post's PageSix, "They were very friendly, arm-in-arm. All night they were sitting together. "You could tell Common likes Serena . I asked a friend of his and was told they are dating." I am not sure about this one but if it is true, I wish them the very best.
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Serena at "EleVen" launch party
2007-11-16 08:06:00
Venus Williams and Serena Williams attend the launch party of Venus Williams' new clothing line "EleVen" on November 14, 2007 at Tenjune in New York.
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Venus and SERENA to play doubles at the Australian Open
2007-11-15 09:54:00
TENNIS fans can expect a double dose of action from the most high-profile siblings in world sport after Venus and Serena Williams today confirmed their intention to play doubles at next year's Australian Open .The Williams sisters have not played doubles at Melbourne Park since they won the coveted title for the second time in three years in 2003. The pair played their first doubles match together in four years at Wimbledon this year before withdrawing in the second round because of injury. They haven't returned to the court together since. Because injuries have kept them off the doubles court for so long they now only have a nominal ranking of 9999. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said he was thrilled to hear of their intention to play doubles. ?The Williams sisters in full flight on the same side of the net is one of the great sights in tennis,? Tiley said. ?They are also one of the most skilled pairings on the world circuit with an incredibly successful record in...
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Avatar Fan and Tennis Pro Serena Williams and WWE Wrestler Mick Foley Guest
2007-11-15 02:37:00
Nickelodeon's hit series Avatar : The Last Airbender invades television screens with a new one-hour TV movie "Day of Black Sun" on Friday, Nov. 30 from 8 to 9 p.m. (ET/PT). The epic third season of the series from creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko continues as Aang and his rag-tag crew launch their massive attack on the Fire Nation during the solar eclipse. This special television event features the guest voices of Avatar fan and tennis pro Serena Williams as Ming (Uncle Iroh's guard) and WWE wrestler Mick Foley as The Boulder.The epic story of Avatar: The Last Airbender follows the journey of Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen), a young boy torn between fulfilling his fate as the long- awaited Avatar and just wanting to be a regular kid. Aang is called upon to lead the fight against the vicious Fire Nation to restore balance in his war- torn world. Aided by a protective teenage Waterbender named Katara (Mae Whitman) and her bull-headed warrior brother Sokka (Jack DeSena), Aang proce...
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Serena Confirms Hopman Date
2007-11-13 06:24:00
November 12, 2007WORLD No.5 Serena Williams says she expects to be fit and ready to play in the Hopman Cup next month despite her withdrawal from the Sony Ericsson Championships last week.Williams had pulled out of the season ending championship in Madrid with a left knee complaint but is committed to coming to Perth for the December 29 start."Although I withdrew from Madrid last week, I can reassure my fans that I look forward to seeing you in Perth with Mardy Fish in December," Williams said in a statement.

My NEW Serena Williams Blog
2007-11-13 03:04:00
Hello world,This is my new Blog in honor of my FAVORITE Tennis Player, Serena Williams , the LAST person (male or female) to hold ALL Four Grand Slam Titles (French, Wimbledon, US Open and the Australian Open) at the same time. The victory saw Serena join such immortals of the game as the late Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova, the only other players who have won four in a row. Connolly, Court and Graf won calender year slams but Navratilova, like Serena, won four in a row over two years The Serena Slam is the term coined for American tennis player Serena Williams on her achievement of being the reigning champion of all four Grand Slam tournaments, although she did not win them all in the same calendar year. However, a 1984 ruling by the International Tennis Federation declared a Grand Slam to be when a player was holding all four major titles at the time. Williams won the 2002 French Open, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the 2003 Australian Open.
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