Fast Break

TENNIS

Venus vows to shine again

Venus Williams has a message for anyone who thought she might use her latest injury as an excuse to finally leave tennis. She’s back, and she plans on working her way back up to an elite level.

“I love a challenge,” Williams said.

She hadn’t played competitive tennis since last October because of an injured left wrist. She returned to action at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tenn., a Tier III event, hoping to work herself back into shape.

“I feel like I understand what I have to do, myself, as far as my talent. I understand how hard I’ve worked,” Williams said. “And I think, time and again, Serena and I have, when we’ve come back from injury, we’ve come back just as good – if not better.”

TENNIS

Federer to break record today

Roger Federer is excited that he’ll finally break the record for most weeks as the top-ranked player in men’s tennis on Monday.

“This is something that will stay with me for quite some time,” the 25-year-old Swiss star said Sunday. “I think I will definitely keep it for the next three years, at least.”

Today, the 10-time Grand Slam champion will be the No. 1-ranked player for the 161st straight week. That will eclipse the record set by Jimmy Connors from July 1974 to August 1977.

RACING

Can baseball and gambling coexist?

The leading contender to run New York thoroughbred racing for the next 20 years may face a tough call when Major League Baseball decides whether the family that controls the Yankees can also run video slot machines at tracks.

Now, a state racing committee has recommended Excelsior Racing Associates take over the state’s race tracks and possibly add video slot machines. Excelsior is headed by New York Yankees partner Steve Swindal, son-in-law of George Steinbrenner, and casino developer Richard Fields.

The issue is a sticky situation for baseball commissioner Bud Selig: “I will study all the ramifications, but until I get the details – and I haven’t gotten them yet – I have nothing to say,” he told the New York Post.

wrestling

Olympian Gardner survives crash

Olympic wrestling champion Rulon Gardner and two Utah men were rescued by a Lake Powell fisherman after surviving a small plane crash near Good Hope Bay, Utah.

Gardner was a passenger in the Cirrus SR 22 along with pilot Randy Brooks and his brother, Leslie Brooks, according to a news release. The plane was flying low when it struck the water and all three men were able to get out of the plane before it sank.