The London Underground Map has been redesigned for the Olympics, with each of the 361 stations named after an Olympic icon.

As part of London’s Olympic celebrations, the London Underground Map has been transformed, with stations renamed after legendary Olympic superstars.

The new map brings in famous Olympians from a variety of sports, including US swimmer Michael Phelps, gymnastics great Nadia Comaneci from Romania, Spaniard and five-time Tour de France champion Miguel Indurain and 1992 US Dream Team basketball players Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.

Tennis players included on the map are: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Fernando Gonzalez, Laurence Doherty, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Nicolas Massu, Mark Woodforde, Todd Woodbridge, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

The Underground Olympic Legends Map was designed by Alex Trickett, international editor for the BBC sport website, and sports historian David Brooks.

The map not only celebrates multiple gold medal winning athletes but also features other extraordinary athletes who may not have won an Olympic gold medal but are recognised for their abilities or in some cases, famous defeats

To view an enlarged version of the map, click here.

Via insidethegames

Venus Williams is back to business: after a six month hiatus, Venus Williams returned to the court on Wednesday for a 6-0 6-3 win over Kimiko Date Krumm at the Sony Ericsson Open Tournament in Miami, and she is also relaunching her EleVen by Venus Williams fashion range.

The EleVen line first launched in 2007 as an exclusive collection for Steve & Barry’s and in 2010, EleVen partnered with Ralph Lauren on a capsule collection that sold online and at the US Open. The ready-to-wear clothing line has now relaunched with a capsule collection for Spring 2012.

The new line is divided into “Classic” and “Essential” styles with pieces ranging from dresses and skirts to sports bras and tees. EleVen has now expanded to include menswear as well, with polos, crew necks and v-necks among the offerings.

More info: elevenbyvenus.com

Grand Slam Tennis 2 will include a host of gameplay features including:

• All-New Total Racquet Control: Control every shot with the right analog stick, smashing forehands, backhands, overheads and volleys with precision, accuracy and power. Utilize this innovative control system to take your game to the top! But if you prefer the old school button controls, those are still available!

• Become a Champion: Become a true Grand Slam tournament champion by capturing all four major championships in succession. The prestige of some of the most historic events in tennis come alive like never before, including the Australian Open, French Open, U.S. Open and exclusive to EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis franchise – Wimbledon.
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It is always exciting when top tennis players pair up with each-other for big doubles tournaments, and the 2012 Australian Open is no exception. Serena Williams, former World No. 1 has confirmed rumours that she will team up with fellow American tennis player Andy Roddick for this competition. Roddick is currently ranked as the World No. 14 and won the US Open in 2003. Since then he has finished as runner-up at Wimbledon in 2004, 2005 and 2009.

Serena suffered a toe injury during the recent US Open and has withdrawn from the rest of the tournaments in 2011. Having some time to recuperate and do things that non-tennis-stars do like play partypoker and relax should hopefully mean that she can then begin to get into fantastic shape for 2012. The year’s first Grand Slam tournament of the 2012 Australian Open will not be the last time that Williams and Roddick will play together. They are also set to team-up during the 2012 London Olympics.

Is this destined to be a beautiful match-up? They are certainly both very talented players and there is no telling what will happen when this talent is combined. The mixed doubles of the Olympics will be a tough test for the two, although this is after the Australian Open so they should be more comfortable working with each-other by then. At least we will know if they are the dream-team or not by this competition.

During the 2012 London Olympics, Serena’s sister Venus Williams is set to compete in the mixed doubles with Bob Bryan, the American doubles star. Bryan has already won a total of 61 career titles, making him a world-record holder. Serena is also planning to play in the 2012 Brisbane International tournament starting on January 2nd.

The Williams sisters drag women’s tennis into prime time, September 8 2001

Excerpts of The 100 greatest days in New York sports by Stuart Miller

“You gotta admit, Richard Williams was right. For all his loudmouth trash talk, his daughters were indeed the best in women’s tennis and the best thing for women’s tennis too.

They might not have made a lot of friends, but they were good and compelling. Everybody wanted to see what they’d wear, what they’d do and how they’d win.
Serena won the US Open at 17 in 1999, Venus won it at 20 in 2000. In 2001 they met in finals – the first time two sisters had met in a major final since the Watson gals (Maud and Lilian) at Wimbledon in 1884; and thanks to their riveting personalities and powerful playing, the first time women’s tennis was deemed to have players ready for prime time. After years squeezed between the men’s tennis, the women’s final got its own show under the stars.

The Harlem Gospel Choir performed, a Marine Guard unfurled a court-sized flag. Grucci provided fireworks, and Diana Ross sang ‘God Bless America’.
Then came the tennis, which, though historic, was mostly boring. The five prior intra-Williams matches had been pretty awful too. This match was better, but both sisters still played nervously, not because of the pomp and circumstance, which they both relished, but because facing each other meant one sister would go home ad the loser.
Venus was, if not more serene, less erratic, making 19 unforced errors to her younger sister’s 36 in a humdrum 6-2 6-4 win.

Before Hollywood, fashion, and injuries began distracting them, the Williams sisters staged an encore in 2002. That time Serena won. But both nights the big winner was women’s tennis.”

The real star of this first week was: the Centre Court roof. Only used for 3 matches the first two years, it has already been used 9 times in the first week this year. 3 of them featured Andy Murray, who qualified for the fourth round. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic also cruised through the second week.
The only surprise (semi-surprise) came from three-time runner-up Andy Roddick, defeated in straight sets by Feliciano Lopez, quarter-finalist at Wimbledon in 2005 and 2008.

Other seeds upset: Robin Soderling, Gael Monfils, Fernando Verdasco, Nikolay Davydenko

On the women’s side, seeds fall one after another: Vera Zvonareva, Na Li, Francesca Schiavone, Sam Stosur, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic are all out of The Championships.
Serena and Venus Williams struggle in the early rounds but qualify for the second week.

Matches to follow on Manic Monday:

Rafael Nadal vs Juan Martin del Potro

Del Potro has all the weapons to beat Nadal: serve, forehand, volley. A real first test for the defending champion.

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