Top-seeded Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan defeated Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2 Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Tashkent Open. The 55th-ranked Shvedova saved three match points at 5-4 on the Romanian's serve in the 11th game of the second set and made a decisive break in the 12th game.

French prosecutors have dismissed a lawsuit filed by tennis player Richard Gasquet in an attempt to further clear himself from a positive test for cocaine. Gasquet took legal action to try to prove he was not at fault when he tested positive in March at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Kim Clijsters will center her 2010 schedule as much around young daughter Jada as around the four Grand Slams, planning a limited program that will put family first. The U.S. Open champion will limit the rest of her 2009 program to just one tournament in Luxembourg next month before heading into two months of intense training for the Australian Open in January.

Just 16 months away from tennis was enough for Justine Henin. She'll return in January ahead of the Australian Open, complete with a new serve in her quest for a Wimbledon title. It's the only Grand Slam she didn't win in a 10-year career that produced nearly $20 million in earnings. Henin's goal is to achieve 70-percent success on her first serves.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could face each other in the first round of next year's Davis Cup after Spain drew Switzerland on Wednesday. Federer and Nadal, the top two players, have never met in the Davis Cup. "We have to accept how the draw is. We'll try to beat them in Spain," Switzerland captain Severin Luthi said.

Following in the steps of compatriot Kim Clijsters, former world number one and seven-time Grand Slam winner Justine Henin (photo) on Tuesday ...

Despite seven Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal and more than two years as the world No. 1, Justine Henin wasn't satisfied enough after calling it quits on a stellar tennis career. Her retirement lasted 16 months. On Tuesday, Henin said her desire to play and win again at the highest level was back, and she will return to the tour next year and compete in the Australian Open in January.

Tennis champion Jack Kramer will be honored by Hall of fame players Tracy Austin, Pam Shriver and Donald Dell at a memorial service. The service is Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on the UCLA campus, where since the 1950s Kramer was heavily involved in the men's professional tournament played there.

Former top-ranked player Justine Henin will announce her return to competitive tennis Tuesday, according to two top Belgian newspapers. La Derniere Heure and Le Soir reported the comeback Monday Her spokeswoman did not return phone calls and Henin's Web site had no comment on the rumors. Last year, Henin shocked the tennis world by announcing her retirement while still ranked No.

The Procter & Gamble Co. is featuring tennis star Serena Williams in a lighthearted ad campaign for its Tampax brand that begins just weeks after her U.S. Open outburst. The Cincinnati-based consumer-products maker announced Monday that Williams will take on Tampax's "Mother Nature" character in new print advertising in October magazines.

Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Thailand Open due to an injury sustained at the U.S. Open earlier this month. Nadal was advised by his doctor to withdraw from the Sept. 26-Oct. 4 tournament to recover from a stomach muscle problem, Suwat Liptapanlop, president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand, said Monday.

Melinda Czink won her first career singles title on the WTA Tour, beating Lucie Safarova 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 Sunday at the Bell Challenge. After the fourth-seeded Safarova won the first set, No. 5 Czink asked to see her coach. That seemed to work as Czink came back strong. In the doubles final, Vania King and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova defeated Sofia Arvidsson and Severine Bremond-Beltrame 6-1, 6-3.

Harel Levy of Israel beat Feliciano Lopez in the final reverse singles to avoid a 5-0 whitewash by defending champion Spain in the Davis Cup semifinals. Spain gained its seventh final and will host the Czech Republic. Levy won 7-5, 6-2 on Sunday to make it a 4-1 defeat after David Ferrer had beaten Israel's Andy Ram, 6-3, 6-1 in earlier in the day.