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Serena Williams appears at a news conference for the U.S. Fed Cup team in Worcester, Mass., on Tuesday.
Serena Williams appears at a news conference for the U.S. Fed Cup team in Worcester, Mass., on Tuesday.
WORCESTER, Mass. Serena Williams said her sister Venus has been training every day and will be ready for the Fed Cup matches against Belarus - her first competitive tennis since she pulled out of the U.S. Open because of an autoimmune disease.
"She's coming along awesome. She's doing really well," said Serena Williams, who played her older sister in an exhibition in Colombia in November. "She's not wanting to take it too fast, come back too soon. But she's been training every day since before Colombia, so I know she's going to be ready."
The Williams sisters will be teammates on the U.S. team that will face Belarus and new world No. 1 Victoria Azarenkain, the Australian Open champion.
Venus Williams has not played in a sanctioned competition since she withdrew from the U.S. Open in August and revealed she had Sjogren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain.
She did not participate in Tuesday's news conference because she was scheduled to arrive in Worcester later.
Andy Murray pulled out of Britain's Davis Cup matchup against Slovakia with an injury, joining Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and runner-up Rafael Nadal on the sidelines.
Murray, who pushed Djokovic to five sets in an Australian Open semifinal that lasted almost five hours, has been advised by doctors to take a few weeks off because of "a few injuries," the U.K.'s Lawn Tennis Association said on its website.
Britain will play Slovakia in Glasgow, Scotland, on Feb. 10-12 in the first round of Europe/Africa Group I, one tier below the elite World Group. Without Murray, fourth in the ATP Tour rankings, Britain's highest-rated player is James Ward at No. 155.
Soccer
Reyna, Meola on Hall ballot: Former national team captain Claudio Reyna and goalkeeper Tony Meola are among 12 first-time eligible players for the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame.
The U.S. Soccer Federation said other newly eligible players are: Jose Burciaga Jr., Ronald Cerritos, Lorrie Fair, Jen Lalor-Nielsen, Ronnie O'Brien, Ante Razov, David Regis, Thori Staples Bryan, Greg Vanney and Kerry Zavagnin.
Holdovers on the 31-player ballot include Mike Burns, Peter Nowak, Carlos Valderrama and Peter Vermes, all in their final year of regular eligibility.
In Liverpool, England, a fan interrupted Everton's home match against Manchester City for several minutes when he handcuffed himself to a goal post. He invaded the Goodison Park field about five minutes before halftime and handcuffed himself to City goalkeeper Joe Hart's left post. Police officers took about three minutes to free him.
Midfielder Joel Lindpere signed a multi-year contract with the New York Red Bulls of MLS.
He was the team's 2010 most valuable player. He started a franchise-record 34 regular-season games last season.