Serene wins Family Circle Cup match, Kournikova withdraws

(Charleston-AP) April 10, 2003 - Serena Williams is expected to make a hefty donation to state schools during the Family Circle Cup. Last year Williams donated $10,000 to Clarendon County School District One. Thursday she's expected to give another $10,000 check to Congressman Jim Clyburn for Clarendon One and Charleston County schools.

Williams picked up a trophy without even winning the Family Circle Cup. After defeating Dally Randriantefy of Madagascar 6-3, 6-0 Wednesday to move into the third round, the WTA Tour presented Williams with a trophy in honor of the "Serena Slam."

Williams has won the last four Grand Slam tournaments, but she has been denied the official Grand Slam because the wins were not in the same calendar year.

If Williams reaches her goal to go undefeated in 2003, she will be the first tennis player to win the Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.

Anna Kournikova withdrew from her first-round match against Conchita Martinez with an injured thigh muscle at the Family Circle Cup yesterday. Martinez led 6-4, 1-1 in a match that was suspended by rain Tuesday when Kournikova led 2-0. The 15th-seeded Martinez will face Thatiana Garbin of Italy in the next round.

Number Two seed Justine Henin-Hardenne rallied to beat Tina Pisnik of Slovenia 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Number Ten seed Amanda Coetzer of South Africa beat Laura Granville of Chicago. Play was suspended about 7:00pm, leaving about a half-dozen second-round matches undone.

Third-seeded Lindsay Davenport needed just 54 minutes to defeat Daja Bedanova in the second round of the tournament 6-0, 6-1 in her first clay-court match in nearly three years on Tuesday. It was the fifth-ranked Davenport's first appearance in the tournament since 1998, when she lost for the third time in the quarterfinals.

updated 9:29am by Chris Rees