Serena Williams retained the No. 1 world ranking by being the best player in her family Thursday night. Williams defeated older sister Venus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.It was their 20th showdown, and each has won 10. Serena needed to reach the final to retain the top ranking she has held since Feb. 2.
"I was thinking I'd love to remain No. 1," Serena said. "I think I was more happy about that than winning the match."
If Venus had won, Serena would have been supplanted by No. 2 Dinara Safina.
No. 1 Rafael Nadal lost in the men's quarterfinals to Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3). The upset delighted a partisan crowd that included many transplants from Argentina.
"Wonderful for the crowd," Nadal said. "Terrible for me."
-- The Swedish tennis federation was fined $25,000 and the city of Malmo banned from hosting Davis Cup matches for five years because of the decision to play Israel behind closed doors.
Sweden hosted Israel last month in the Davis Cup, losing 3-2. The series was played behind closed doors because city officials said they couldn't guarantee security at the venue. Critics said Malmo was caving in to threats of violence from anti-Israel groups.
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