After acing academics, player with PhD hitting aces in Paris

PARIS (AP) — After acing her studies enough to earn a Ph.D., Mihaela Buzarnescu is back to acing opponents — all the way into the fourth round of the French Open.

The 30-year-old Romanian was a promising junior before a shoulder injury slowed her progress in tennis. Later, two operations on her left knee interrupted a professional career, so she went to school in Bucharest for a degree in sports science. Now she's healthy, traded back in her backpack for a racket bag, has climbed more than 300 ranking spots in the last year and, on Friday, produced the biggest upset of the women's draw at Roland Garros so far.