Tennis: Serena Williams was racially abused by a spectator during her victory at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami which set up a fourth-round showdown against top seed Maria Sharapova.
The former Wimbledon champion beat Czech opponent Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-4 before revealing she had been forced to complain to the umpire about the abuse. Fans pointed the culprit out to stadium security and he was turned over to police.
"The guy said, 'hit the net like any negro would', " Williams said. "I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. I had to do a double take. I think I hit a double fault on that point."
She added: "I really should have said something earlier. At some points he said something that was very derogatory, everything you could think of. It was outrageous. I couldn't believe what he said. It threw me off."
World number two Maria Sharapova will look to avenge her Australian Open final defeat by Williams, who was making her first tournament appearance since shocking the Russian in Melbourne.
Sharapova will be hoping for a much-improved performance from their last meeting after Williams, who was unseeded in the tournament following a lengthy injury problem, landed her third Australian Open crown with a shock 6-1 6-2 victory in 63 minutes.