Russians banking on Safin fear factor The enigma that is Marat Safin is dominating the thoughts of France ahead of the Davis Cup quarter-finals, due to begin on Friday. The former world number one has arrived in Pau, France, with his Russian team, but how much of a part he will play has yet to be confirmed. Croatia's top pair face fitness battle for Davis Cup Davis Cup holders Croatia are holding their breath over the fitness of Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancis ahead of Friday's opening singles rubbers in the World Group quarter-final against Argentina. Man sentenced in the killing of tennis star' half-sister A gang member accused of shooting to death the half-sister of tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison. Sampras misses game, not pressures that come with it He still pictures himself on the court, he says, serving well enough to beat Roger Federer. He still feels a shiver of longing on the last Sunday afternoon of Wimbledon. Roddick, Hewitt, Safin in Davis Cup quarterfinals Three former top-ranked players highlight the Davis Cup quarterfinals starting Friday. Andy Roddick of the United States, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Marat Safin of Russia will play singles. Australia hosts Belarus, Russia travels to France and the United States plays Chile in California. Defending champion Croatia hosts Argentina. Moya Wins Battle Of Friends and Foes Mentor Carlos Moya gave protege Rafael Nadal another lesson Friday. Overcoming a slow start, Moya won the matchup of close friends from Mallorca, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the second round of the Nasdaq-100 Open. Nadal, Henin-Hardenne Go Tumbling Out In Miami Spain's Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium were sent packing from the Nasdaq-100 Open on Friday. Carlos Moya won the 'battle of Mallorca', defeating world number two Nadal 2-6 6-1 6-1 in the second round of the men's event. Aching Back Again Sidelines Agassi With his back aching and his 36th birthday looming, Andre Agassi can only wonder whether he'll ever play another match. Agassi pulled out of the Nasdaq-100 Open on Friday when his chronic back ailment flared up, forcing him to miss the tournament for the first time since his Key Biscayne debut in 1987. The U.S. Open has finally started on August 29th and will continue throughout September 11th. More information can be found at USOpen.org. SI.com - Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup on Friday, needing just 72 minutes to oust Mariano Puerta of Argentina 6-3, 6-1 in a rematch of the French Open final. Full Story Yahoo! Sports - World number one Roger Federer says winning the season-ending Masters Cup is his 2005 priority after claiming the Wimbledon title for the third year running. Full Story Yahoo! Sports - After a dominant 2004 when they captured three grand slam titles, Russia's women tennis players are looking to turn their country's fortunes around at the Acura Classic in San Diego this week. Full Story SI.com - Venus Williams has taken 11 flights since her thrilling Wimbledon title 3 1/2 weeks ago, making media appearances all over the country and launching a new reality show with sister Serena. Full Story Yahoo! Sports - Back on the court for six days and heading into his first tournament in two months, Andre Agassi is beginning a comeback he hopes will carry him into next month's U.S. Open. ``I've got a long road ahead of me, but I'm certainly in a position to look forward,'' said Agassi, playing this week for the first time since losing in the first round of the French Open in May. Full Story Davis Cup - World Group 2005 Quarterfinal (Slovak Republic vs Netherlands : 4 - 1) (Australia vs Argentina : 1 - 4) (Russia vs France : 3 - 2) (Croatia vs Romania : 4 - 1) Yahoo! Sports - Jennifer Capriati will miss the U.S. Open with a shoulder injury, making her the only woman who's won a Grand Slam title in the past five years not on the tournament entry list released Wednesday. Full Story SI.com - David Nalbandian helped Argentina earn two points and a 2-1 lead over Australia on Saturday in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, and France won its doubles match to lead Russia 2-1. Full Story SI.com - David Nalbandian completed a four-set win over Wayne Arthurs on Saturday, then teamed with Mariano Puerta for a doubles victory that gave Argentina a 2-1 lead over Australia in their Davis Cup quarterfinal. Full Story Yahoo! Sports - Australia are pinning their hopes on Lleyton Hewitt and Wayne Arthurs forming an instant winning combination to give them an edge over Argentina in their Davis Cup quarter-final starting on Friday. Full Story Yahoo! Sports - Steffi Graf is returning to the tennis court for the first time in six years, but don't call it a comeback. The 22-time Grand Slam singles champion is interrupting her retirement on Tuesday to play with the Houston Wranglers of the World Team Tennis Pro League. Full Story Davis Cup - Team nominations for the quarterfinals of the 2005 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group, to be played on 15-17 July, can be found here. Wimbledon - In Roger Federer and Venus Williams, the 119th Championships embraced two familiar figures as Singles champions. Federer triumphed in the Men's Singles for the third successive year, while Williams, whose form and ranking sank to a depressing low after injury, pulled off a spectacular comeback as the 14th seed to collect her third Ladies' title in six years. Read More SI.com - Accustomed to hitting improbable winners at Wimbledon, Roger Federer came up with a shot on the run that amazed even him. Read More French Open - Spanish teen Rafael Nadal capped an amazing fortnight by overcoming a game Mariano Puerta 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 to win the his first Roland Garros men's title. "Its' always been my dream to win this tournament," said Nadal, who became the first man to win in his debut since Mats Wilander in 1982. "It was such a tough match and a great final." Full Story French Open - Henin is Queen of France. Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne claimed her second Suzanne Lenglen trophy and fourth Grand Slam title Saturday with an immaculate 6-1 6-1 victory over Frenchwoman Mary Pierce in just over an hour. French Open - The 2005 French Open is packed with new features. Giant screens and new scoreboards so you won't miss a single point. Hot, new televised promotions. An original, new look for tickets. A special evening visitors promotion. Beefed-up security. The on-site Tenniseum. Fabulous Roland Garros sportswear from LaGriffe. Read on for more on the sporting innovations. Full Story Davis Cup - Davis Cup 2005 World Group First Round will begin Marcg 4th. While 134 nations have entered the Davis Cup for 2005, only 16 countries qualify for the elite World Group each year. Australian Open - Starting the 17th of January the tournament will offically begin. The Australian Open will go on thoughout the 30th with its 100 years in the making. Yahoo! Sports - Tennis Agassi battles into Madrid semifinals after facing a first-set tiebreaker, second-seeded Andre Agassi fought off six break points early in the second set before rolling to a quarterfinal victory over Tommy Robredo in the Madrid Masters on Friday. Agassi will face No. 3 Marat Safin in one of Saturday's two semifinals. Ivan Ljubicic and David Nalbandian square off in the other semi. US Open The 2004 US Open welcomed the world to New York City with the rhythmic beats of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Arturo O'Farrill. The gold medal performance "Rhythms of the World," rich and diverse, both reflected and celebrated the cultural diversity of the international field of players competing in the US Open, and New Yorkers themselves. The powerful performance was an ideal salute to the six Olympic medalists present for the opening ceremony. Athens 2004 - Men Singles Finals Gold Medal Match goes to Nicolas Mssuc (CHI). Massuc defeated Mardy Fish (USA) in a 5 round match. 6-3 / 3-6 / 2-6 / 6-3 / 6-4 Athens 2004 - During the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games, Tennis competitions will be staged at the Olympic Tennis Center of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (OAKA). Competition will take place within the span of eight days (August 15-22). A total of ten courts will be used for the competition: the centre court (8,000 seats), court 1 (4,000 seats), court 2 (2,000 seats) and courts 3-9 (200 seats). The total of men and women athletes competing will be 172. Olympic Tennis consists of four events: Men’s singles, Women’s singles, Men’s doubles, & Women’s doubles. Canada Masters Series - Top seed Roger Federer confirmed his standing as the most dominant player on the planet with a 7-5, 6-3 win over defending champion Andy Roddick in the final of Tennis Masters Canada on Sunday. Federer won his eighth title of the year (and his third ATP Masters Series crown) and extended his winning streak to 23 matches. Canada Masters Series - 2004 Tournament Schedule; Saturday, July 24th - Sunday, August 1st Wimbledon - Despite the weather's best efforts to spoil the tournament, the 2004 Championships ended on a high note with stunning victories by Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova. Wimbledon - Former champion Lindsay Davenport started well against Maria Sharapova, but the young Russian held her nerve through two rain delays to advance to her first Grand Slam final. Defending champion Roger Federer faces France's Sebastien Grosjean first on Centre Court. The second semi-final is between Andy Roddick and Tim Henman's conqueror, the unseeded Croat Mario Ancic. French Open - Gaston Gaudio came back from two sets and two match points down to put down a heroic effort from his countryman Guillermo Coria 0-6 3-6 6-4 6-1 8-6 and win his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros. French Open - Men's Singles - Fourth Round, (Gustavo Kuerten vs. Feliciano Lopez) (Igor Andreev vs. Gaston Gaudio) (Carlos Moya vs. Tommy Robredo) (Nicolas Escude vs. Guillermo Coria) (Michael Llodra vs. Tim Henman) (Juan Ignacio Chela vs. Olivier Mutis) French Open - May 24 - June 6 ESPN.com - Coria won the Monte Carlo trophy with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 victory. Dubia Tennis Chamionships - 2004; In the Dubai Tennis Championship Roger Federer wins the final against Feliciano Lopez. Davis Cup - World Group 2004 Quarterfinal; USA vs. Sweden (USA), Belarus vs. Argentina (Belarus), Switzerland vs. France (Switzerland), Spain vs. Netherlands (Spain) Davis Cup - Roddick Breaks Speed Serve Record; For full story click here. Davis Cup - 2004 World Group First Round; (February 6-8); (USA 3/0 Austria) (Morocco 0/3 Argentina) (Netherlands 2/1 Canada) (Romania 1/2 Switzerland) (Australia 1/2 Sweden) (Belarus 1/2 Russia) (France 2/1 Croatia) (Czech Republic 2/1 Spain) Australian Open - Sunday, 1 February, 2004; Roger Federer defeats Marat Safin in the finals in three sets.