It was a big call, coming so soon after Serena Williams had recovered from surgery. But the former world No 1 believes she can complete a seasonal sweep of Grand Slams for the first time in her career.

Wimbledon champion Serena Williams cemented her status as the favourite for Olympic singles gold with a crushing 6-1 6-0 victory over Russia's Vera Zvonareva to reach the quarter-finals.

Tickets for the Wimbledon men's final are set to top £45,000 as Murray mania swamps the nation, an online ticket seller has said.

Agnieszka Radwanska ended Poland's 75-year wait for a Wimbledon singles finalist as she crushed Angelique Kerber's title hopes.

My parents are... Carol and Bill. They are both retired. Carol is flourishing, Bill is on a sharp descent towards Meldrewdom. He recently had a letter published in the local paper where he vented his spleen about the wording on signs for cyclists. They continue to be supportive and are delighted when I do any comedy without swearing.

She nearly turned back the clock in a scarcely believable fashion. It might have happened if she had put away an inviting smash in the deciding set

'It is the eternal national spirit,' Chris McGrath at a wet SW19 is told by a couple sheltering under two enormous plastic ponchos

It's a sad state of affairs when you realise that never again will children be more precocious than their whizzy gadgets. I heard a radio documentary about Mozart's early years recently and was hugely impressed by how the kid had managed to outwit and tame a piano before he was five. Nowadays you get the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world, who start writing code that even C-3PO wouldn't understand before they hit puberty.

Four of the six books on the shortlist for this year's William Hill Sports Book of the Year award, to be announced on 30 November, have already been reviewed here – Blood Knots, Beware of the Dog, Trautmann's Journey and A Last English Summer.

As Sunday Rose Urban Kidman is born, John Walsh explains the new rules of celebrity monikers

Serena Williams once fancied herself an actress or fashion designer and often seemed to be more focused on those aspirations than on her tennis. But after winning her fifth Sony Ericsson Open title with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Jelena Jankovic on Saturday, the world No 8 said that for the moment she is focusing on her sport.

'I am very thick-skinned and able to turn my hand to anything - thanks to Monty'

It was Andre Agassi's third wedding anniversary yesterday. While his wife, Steffi Graf, was taking care of their two children, Jaden and Jaz, the indefatigable 34-year-old from Las Vegas was battling for ranking points at the Madrid Masters here.

HENRY COOPER