Sports Plus - The Deming Headlight

Brussels, Belgium (Sports Network) - Fourth-seeded American Sloane Stephens was a mild quarterfinal upset victim on a rainy Thursday at the $690,000 Brussels Open, a final clay-court French Open tune-up.

Eighth-seeded Chinese Peng Shuai ousted the 20-year-old Stephens 6-2, 6-3 at Royal Primerose Tennis Club. Stephens has struggled since reaching her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open in January.

Another quarterfinal result saw Swiss Romina Oprandi outlast Zheng Jie of China 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. Oprandi will face the 2011 Brussels runner-up Peng in a semifinal on Friday. continue>>

The 'Big Three' assembles in Paris

By Scott Riley, Tennis Editor

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Russian superstar Maria Sharapova will attempt to defend her title against the likes of the great Serena Williams and fellow former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka when the 2013 French Open begins Sunday at Stade Roland Garros.

Sharapova completed the coveted career Grand Slam last year by capturing her first-ever French Open title, as the tall Russian capped off her Parisian fortnight by beating surprising Italian Sara Errani in the finale on Court Chatrier.

The 26-year-old Sharapova, however, will not head to Paris as the top seed, or even the favorite this year, as the incomparable Serena is playing some of the best tennis of her meritorious career, which includes a seemingly unstoppable career-best 24-match winning streak. continue>>