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Tuesday, December 01, 2009 NEW YORK: Serena Williams has been hit with a suspended sentence and the largest fine in tennis history but is free to play in January's Australian Open. Williams has been put on a good behaviour bond until the end of the 2011 season after being found guilty of aggravated behaviour at the US Open in September. She has been fined about $191,100, almost twice the previous record penalty levelled at Lleyton Hewitt in 2002. If Williams misbehaves again in a grand slam in the next two years, she will be barred from the US Open. Williams will have to pay about $80,000 immediately, having already paid a about $11,000 at Flushing Meadow. The balance is payable only if she commits another grand slam major offence before the end of 2011. World No.1 Williams was found guilty of threatening a lineswoman during a tense semi-final against Kim Clijsters in New York.
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