Serena William - The Real No. 1?

Dinara Safina is the top-ranked women's tennis player, but Serena Williams says otherwise.

Despite evidence to the contrary, new No. 1 Dinara Safina is not the best women's player in the world, according to the new No. 2.

"We all know who the real No. 1 is," Serena Williams told a news conference at the Italian Open at Rome on Monday. "Quite frankly, I'm the best in the world."

Asked which opponent she feared the most, Williams stuck to the same theme: "Probably myself. I always beat myself." Williams can point to her record of 10 Grand Slam titles, 10 more than Safina has won.

But Safina wasn't apologizing for her place atop the rankings. She said Williams is "older than me, so she has more experience. So let's see when I'm her age how many titles I have and then we can say.

"It's not luck. Nobody gave it to me. I played two Grand Slam finals and last year I won four titles. This didn't come out of [the] sky."

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Maria Sharapova Recovering From Shoulder Surgery

ROME -- Maria Sharapova will miss next week's Italian Open and the Madrid Open the following week as she recovers from right shoulder surgery, the WTA Tour announced Tuesday.Sharapova played her first match in seven months on March 12 when she lost in doubles in Indian Wells, Calif.

She was forced off the WTA Tour last August by a torn rotator cuff and underwent surgery on her right shoulder two months later.

The French Open starts May 25.

The former top-ranked Russian has slipped to 64th in the WTA rankings.

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Safina Makes Sibling History As No. 1

LONDON -- Dinara Safina officially took over the top ranking on the WTA Tour on Monday, making her and older sibling Marat Safin the only brother-sister duo to have been No. 1 in professional tennis.

Safina, who has yet to win a Grand Slam title but twice reached a major final, is the 19th woman to top the rankings since they were introduced in 1975. She is also only the second Russian woman after Maria Sharapova to reach No. 1.

Safina replaced Serena Williams at the top, even though the American beat her in the Australian Open final this year. Last year, Safina lost to Ana Ivanovic in the French Open final.

Marat Safin was ranked No. 1 on the men's tour in 2000, the same year he won the first of two Grand Slam singles titles.

"He has two Grand Slams," Safina said of her brother in a video posted on the WTA's Web site. "He's still much better than me, so I have to catch him."

Safina won four titles last year.

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Federer Marries Longtime Girlfriend

BASEL, Switzerland -- Roger Federer married longtime girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in a small ceremony in his hometown Saturday.

The second-ranked tennis player announced the wedding on his Web site, saying the couple got married "surrounded by a small group of close friends and family."

"It was a beautiful spring day and an incredibly joyous occasion," he said.

The couple announced last month they are expecting their first child.

Federer is set to play in next week's Monte Carlo Masters after accepting a last-minute wild-card invitation Thursday. Federer is a three-time finalist at the clay-court tournament but has never won.

After struggling with his form last year and losing his No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal, Federer is aiming for his sixth Wimbledon title this summer. He lost to Nadal in the Australian Open final, the year's first major.

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