Of course, it was Serena who Sharapova defied in the final when she clinched her sole Wimbledon title back in 2004. Masha really confirmed her status as an elite player that day, cruising to a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over the American. She looked like the WTA’s dominant force when she won the Tour Championships later in the year.

However, things didn’t pan out as expected from that point. In fact, Serena is yet to lose against Sharapova since, and is currently a solid thousand points ahead of her in the rankings. With no points to defend at Roland Garros, Serena’s lead looks set to increase. As for Vika, injury has blighted the Belarusian’s season so far, but she remains unbeaten.

That said, recent form is certainly encouraging for Sharapova. She’s already notched up an Indian Wells title this year and she reached the final in Miami. She also looked red-hot in Melbourne before losing in the semi-finals.

So is Sharapova a genuine contender for the Wimbledon title? At this stage it looks like she is, though she certainly appears to be No. 3 in the pecking order. She reached the final in 2011, and from that we can deduce that the changes that she’s had to make to her serving technique over the years haven’t put her out of contention on the lawns of the All-England Club.

Written by Ian Horne from Wimbledon-Live.com.

The year was 1876, and lawn tennis, a game that had been invented by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield just a year earlier, was added to the list of sports at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Wimbledon gurus may be interested to know that Wimbledon initially wasn’t about tennis. In the late 19th century, lawn tennis was thought of as an exciting game that was ideal for croquet players.

Soared in popularity

As the game could easily be played on a croquet court, it grew massively in popularity amongst croquet players looking for a new sport.

Just one year after lawn tennis was first introduced at the club, the first Wimbledon Tournament was held. Spencer Gore, a well-known English cricketer, traded his bat for a tennis racket and won the tournament.

But did you know that in stark contrast to today’s packed stands, the first Wimbledon Tournament attracted a grand total of 200 enthusiastic spectators?

Croquet title dropped

Within five years, tennis had overtaken croquet at the club. Management dropped ‘croquet’ from the title and focused on developing the Wimbledon Tournament. In 1884, ladies’ tennis was added to the schedule, and the modern Wimbledon that we know and love was born.

New rules, games and televised

Over the years, Wimbledon grew in popularity and developed as a tournament. New games, such as mixed doubles, were introduced; along with rule changes and tweaks to the tournament’s formula.

In 1937, the tournament was broadcast on television for the first time, attracting a whole new audience to the budding sport of tennis.

And present day?

Today, Wimbledon is the tennis world’s biggest event: a star-studded event that’s known around the world for its fierce competition and regal atmosphere. Due to its steadfast refusal to update its customs, the club hosts the world’s only major tennis tournament played on grass lawns.

For the people of Wimbledon – the players, the spectators, and of course, the club itself – old-fashioned and traditional manners is just the way they like it. From strawberries and cream to Royal appearances, the history and traditions of Wimbledon are a big part of what makes the event so special.

This article was written by Wimbledon Debenture Holders; a leading supplier of corporate Wimbledon tickets. Visit their website now to learn more about tennis- the world’s biggest event.

She added: “I finally have some record. It’s really cool. I can’t seem to catch up with Margaret Court or Steffi, so I’m really happy to have something going right now.” Williams also commented, “Yeah, today wasn’t my day, I don’t think. Maria played really the best I have seen her play, and I think she was moving unbelievable and she was hitting winners from everywhere. I think after the first set, I had over 20 unforced errors. I just thought, Why am I playing like this? It definitely is a way to be like, how did I end up winning when I actually wasn’t on top of my game?”

Guess that proves that she is number 1!

Look for Nadal and many other tennis superstars (excluding Federer) to play in the 2013 Sony Open starting March 18th at Tennis Center At Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, FL.

Rafael Nadal also won the BNP Paribas Open Title against Juan Martin del Potro with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win also earning $1 million.

In the doubles finals, the Bryan brothers defeated Treat Huey of the Philippines and Jerzy Janowicz of Poland making it their first BNP Paribas Open title with a 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 win on Saturday, March 16, 2013.

Gulbis also won the event back in 2010, and is the first qualifier to win since Jarkko Nieminen did it in Sydney back in January 2012. To win, Gulbis beat the tournament’s second overall seed Tommy Haas in the semifinals, and also defeated the third seed Sam Querrey in the second round. It was Roger-Vasellin’s first finals appearance in his tennis career, and the first time he has played past the quarterfinals at any ATP event.

In the women’s tennis showdown, top ranked Serena Williams defeated No. 2 tennis player Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3. Both Williams and Azarenka will also be competing in Indian Wells, Ca. for the BNP Paribas Open title.

Milos Raonic is the first player in more that 50 years to win the SAP Open Tournament three straight times for the final year of the Bay Area tournament. He has won 12 matches in this event, never losing one, which he became the first player in the Open Era that started in 1968 to win this championship three straight times since Tony Trabert did in 1953-55. The tournament will be moving to Memphis next year after the owners sold the higher-profile Memphis tournament to a group from Brazil.

Raonic is currently ranked No. 13 with his only other win coming from last year in Chennai and has never made it past the third round of a major tennis tournament.

So it may initially seem strange to be talking about a ‘crunch time’ for Radwanska who’s already achieved more than many people thought possible but last month’s Australian Open highlighted a question that had been bumbling around in my mind for the past six months. Has Radwanska already reached her peak?

The clever but ultimately lightweight Pole has done extraordinarily well in this era of power hitters to reach the top of the game despite possessing no real weapons. Radwanska relies on speed, almost spookily good powers of anticipation and a guile which has not been seen in women’s tennis since Martina Hingis called it a day.

However as Caroline Wozniacki has found, superb defensive skills may be good enough to enable you to reach one slam final and even win a host of smaller titles, but in the slams you’re ultimately going to come up against a more aggressively minded player who’s having an exceptionally good day who blasts you off the court. Radwanska went into last month’s Australian Open as one of the favourites after winning back to back titles in Auckland and Sydney. However Li Na hit a purple patch in their quarter-final and Radwanska simply had no answer against the Chinese star’s barrage of winners.

Unable to force the pace herself, she became trapped behind the baseline and looked short of ideas. Radwanska’s problem is that her second serve is essentially powder puff and the rest of the top five are all extremely aggressive off the return and capable of latching on to that weakness at crucial times in big matches.

Radwanska also has to work extremely hard to win every single match and during the second half of 2012 she looked burnt out, losing first round in the Olympics and fourth round at the US Open. After several years at the top of the women’s game, Wozniacki found it impossible to maintain the frenetic intensity that had got her there and she’s slipped down the rankings. Will Radwanska suffer the same fate? Possibly not as she has far more to her game than Wozniacki – better volleying and more variety for a start but it’s still hard to see her reaching another Grand Slam final unless she manages to beef up her serve or her groundstrokes.

Written by Davic Cox from Live-Tennis.com.