WTA: Mar 19-Apr 1 2007 Sony Ericsson Open Key Biscayne (Miami), FL Tier I (+ ATP) $3,450,000 - 96 players - outdoor: hard Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - match notes .html: main draw - q draw - OOP results - tourney schedule pics: Yahoo!: KB - SE - WTA - tourney TV schedule (TC-ESPN2-CBS) interviews - Miami Herald: Tennis Miami: weather radar - forecast     satellite pic - map # 1 Maria Sharapova # 2 Justine Henin # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova # 5 Kim Clijsters # 6 Martina Hingis # 7 Nadia Petrova # 9 Jelena Jankovic # 10 Nicole Vaidisova

Tourney pages: Miami: 2006 - 2005 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Key Biscayne: #2 Justine Henin 5' 5¾", 126 lbs, RH 1H-BH Key Biscayne: #15 Serena Williams 5' 9", 135 lbs, RH 2H-BH

    On Saturday at Key Biscayne, in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open, the 2002, 2003 & 2004 tourney champ, 25-year-old 15th-seeded # 17 Serena Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, defeated 24-year-old 2nd-seeded # 2 (# 1 this week) Justine Henin of Belgium (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 (photos shown).
    When Serena served for the match, leading 5-3 in the third, the score went to 0-40, Justine holding three break points. But Serena then won five straight points to finish the match.

    About the 0-6 1st set, Serena said: "[Justine] played really well in the first set, and I made a lot of errors in the first set. She was attacking, and I was way behind the baseline; I wasn't doing the right things that I needed to do. I think it boiled down to me making so many errors and not making my shots." interview

    Justine slipped and fell twice, bruising her knee, but she said it was nothing serious. Justine scored 103 points in the match; Serena scored 99 points. Justine broke Serena's serve seven times on 17 break points; Serena broke Justine six times on 13 break points. Justine also failed to convert two match points in the 2nd set.

    Justine said: "I felt I was better until the end of the second set. I felt I had the match under control, and then the match turned over. I was playing a good game. I was really aggressive. But when I had to close the match, I got maybe tense a little bit.
    "And Serena is a fighter; she never gives up. And she proved it on the matchpoints because she took her chances at the time, she played really aggressive. She played better than me on the important points.
    "It's been very close, but a little bit disappointed for sure. But also I take a lot of positive things from this tournament to go back home." interview

    Serena, who is now 28-10 in WTA singles finals, and won the Australian Open this year, leads Justine 6-3 in career matches. Surprisingly, they had not met since 2003. Their last match was in the 2003 semifinals at Wimbledon, where Serena won, 6-3, 6-2. In the 2003 French Open semis, Justine defeated Serena 6-2, 4-6, 7-5; and, in the final in Charleston in 2003, Justine also won, 6-3, 6-4.

    Justine is now 31-16 in WTA singles finals; she won the titles in Dubai and Doha earlier this year. Justine drops to 15-2 in 2007; Serena now has a 15-1 record for the year.

WTA SCOREBOARD: The Sony Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne (Miami) s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Sony Ericsson Open,  Miami, Florida       NWS weather radar     Miami current conditions     Miami: The main draw for this two week, seven round tourney has 32 seeds, with 32 1st-round byes. There are 12 qualifiers and 9 wild cards in the main draw.     Qualifying (2 rounds) is on Monday & Tuesday.     Main draw play begins on Wednesday, at 10am on the outer courts, 11am on the Stadium and Grandstand courts.   Tennis Center at Crandon Park - click for interactive sat pic Crandon Park map: 132KB .pdf Latitude: 25.708962 Longitude: -116.304295 goto link for World Wind     The time in Miami is UCT (GMT, Zulu...) -5 hours (=US Eastern Time, PT +3). Miami news   Among the good girls looking very pretty at the player party on Tuesday night, March 21, 2007, were Daniela Hantuchova (last week's champ at Indian Wells), top seed Maria Sharapova, and 6th-seeded Nadia Petrova... Former # 1s Jennifer Capriati (out with a long-term shoulder injury) and Serena Williams, and 7th & 8th seeds Nicole Vaidisova and Jelena Jankovic were also looking good on Tuesday night... Justine Henin signed autographs at a Sony Ericsson store on Tuesday; on Monday, Mara Santangelo took a dolphin ride at the Miami Seaquarium, while Kim Clijsters tried on an Indy car for size, and Patty Schnyder met a cockatoo at Parrot Jungle Island... The WTA announced its annual awards for 2006 on Friday, March 23: Kim Clijsters was awarded two Waterford crystal amethyst vase trophies, as best sportsman and  humanitarian, Martina Hingis was named comeback player of the year, Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur repeated as best doubles team winners, Agnieszka Radwanska was named newcomer of the year, and Jelena Jankovic won the award for most improved player in 2006. Player of the year was Aussie Open & Wimbledon champ Amelie Mauresmo, absent this week after an appendectomy.

Miami, 1st Rd, Wed-Thu 10am Wed WTA story loser's prize: $5,140 US (2006: $5,560); points: 30 #37 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #105 q Sofia Arvidsson SWE 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 Wed #38 Venus Williams USA d #84 Yuliana Fedak UKR 7-5, 6-2 Thu Venus driving a backhand, and Yuliana, who led 4-0 at the start, thinking about the one that got away     Venus said her injured left wrist was doing well. Venus also said: "It was definitely a really interesting day on the court. Started out with a few errors. It was really windy conditions, and [Yuliana is] definitely a particularly difficult player to play against in the wind because she doesn't put a lot of pace on the ball so the ball is constantly moving. So it was definitely challenging. Even though I got down, I didn't feel like I was going to lose the match at all, I just felt like I just needed to find my timing." interview *#72 q Julia Vakulenko UKR d #39 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-4, 6-3 Thu-ppd-Fri *#71 Virginie Razzano FRA d #40 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-4, 6-2 Wed *#NR wc Michelle Larcher de Brito POR d #41 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) Wed Michelle after match point     Michelle, whose last name is currently misspelled (run together) on the drawsheet and tourney website, turned 14 on January 29th, and played her first pro match in early February in the Midland Dow Corning Classic ITF tourney, losing to Kristina Brandi 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. This is her second pro tourney (three are requried to get a WTA ranking). She has hit a bit with Maria Sharapova, Nicole Vaidisova, and Monica Seles.     Michelle, currently ranked #64 in Juniors (18 and under), was born in Lisbon, Portugal and trains at IMG's Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida (as have Kournikova, Sharapova, Vaidisova, Jankovic, and many other fine players). She also likes soccer and swimming; her favorite WTA player is Martina Hingis.     On March 27, the World Team Tennis Sacramento Capitals chose Michelle in the WTT draft; her teammates will include Anna Kournikova and Elena Likhovtseva.     Michelle said: "I just went out there and just tried my best. It wasn't going to be a very easy match, but I played my best. I was really nervous... It's not easy, because [Meghann is] a lot stronger and taller and a lot more experienced than me. I just try not to worry about who's on the other side of the court. Just try to hit the ball and look for the ball...     "I came here when I was nine. Been training and living here [Bollettieri Academy] since I was nine... I was there for the exhibitions and [Nick Bollettieri] watched me play and he asked me if I wanted to come over to IMG, so we went there for ten days to see how it was, and we loved it there so we decided to move here... My whole family moved here with me... I've got sponsors here to be able to live here." #42 Shuai Peng CHN d #55 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-0, 6-0 Wed #43 Emilie Loit FRA d #46 Sybille Bammer AUT 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 Thu *#103 q Iveta Benesova CZE d #44 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-3, 6-3 Thu *#102 q Vera Dushevina RUS d #47 Nicole Pratt AUS 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Thu-ppd-Fri Vera's forehand drive, and Vera on Wednesday meeting an owl at Parrot Jungle Island *#63 Jill Craybas USA d #48 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 Wed     Jill said: "My focus was a lot better in the third set. I was focusing on what I need to do instead of worrying about how [Roberta] was playing, or what she was doing. The way I approached the third set will help me for the next round, because that made a big impact, and I'll go into the next round feeling that way...     "I always feel confident coming into this tournament. I always have a good feeling in Miami, because I've performed well here in the past. Also, I have a lot of friends that drive down from Gainesville to watch me play, so I have a lot of support and that helps as well." interview #49 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #73 Camille Pin FRA 6-1, 6-3 Wed *#81 q Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #50 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-1, 6-4 Wed #52 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #69 Shenay Perry USA 6-2, 6-1 Thu *#64 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR d #53 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 Wed *#87 q Anastassia Rodionova RUS d #54 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 7-5, 6-4 Thu #56 Meilen Tu USA d #59 Romina Oprandi ITA 6-3, 6-2 Wed #57 Akiko Morigami JPN d #107 wc Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-1, 7-5 Wed Akiko's 2-handed forehand drive #58 Michaella Krajicek NED d #269 wc Anna Tatishvili GEO 6-3, 7-6(2) Thu Anna driving a backhand, and Michaella after winning a point *#94 q Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #60 Aiko Nakamura JPN 6-2, 0-6, 6-1 Thu #61 Kaia Kanepi EST d #82 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-4, 6-4 Thu Kaia and Tsevetana firing forehands #62 Vasilisa Bardina RUS d #170 wc Sanja Ancic CRO 6-3, 6-2 Wed *#68 Laura Granville USA d #65 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-4, 7-6(0) Wed *#101 q Tamira Paszek AUT d #66 sr23 Alicia Molik AUS 6-3, 6-4 Wed *#76 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #74 LL Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-0, 6-4 Thu-ppd-Fri #77 Catalina Castano COL d #90 q Jarmila Gajdosova SVK 6-3, 7-5 Thu-ppd-Fri #78 Vania King USA d #85 Tiantian Sun CHN 7-6(4), 7-5 Wed #83 q Yaroslava Shvedova RUS d #151 wc Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-3, 6-1 Thu #92 Yung-Jan Chan KOR d #654 sr48 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-2, 6-3 Thu #95 Ashley Harkleroad USA d #274 wc Lauren Albanese USA 6-4, 6-2 Thu #97 Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO d #88 q Varvara Lepchenko UZB 6-3, 6-3 Thu #114 q Tatiana Poutchek BLR d #136 wc Iroda Tulyaganova UZB 0-6, 6-3 retired-- low back injury Wed #249 sr74 Alina Jidkova RUS d #1123 wc Petra Martic CRO 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) Wed

Miami, 2nd Rd, Fri-Sat 10am WTA Fri story - WTA Sat story loser's prize: $9,570 US (2006: $10,350); points: 30 14-year-old wild card Michelle Larcher de Brito, a standout at the Bollettieri Academy, did the customary umbrella photo op during one of Saturday's rain delays #1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #92 Yung-Jan Chan KOR 6-3, 6-2 Sat Maria firing a cannonball serve, Yung-Jan following a backhand, Yung-Jan serving a cannonball, Maria following a backhand, and after winning a point     Maria said: "I felt like I was in control. With the break points [Yung-Jan] had, I was able to come up with good defensive play. She had me on the run on some of those break points, and I was able to come up with good shots. But it's the first match. It's never completely there. I'm sure I'll get better." AP story - interview #2 s2 Justine Henin BEL d #78 Vania King USA 6-4, 6-1 Fri Vania and Justine driving forehands, and Justine after winning a point     Justine has never gotten past the quarterfinals at Key Biscayne. Justine said: "At the beginning I was nervous; it's not my favorite event. I wasn't at my best, far from that. Vania was taking her chances at the time, but at the end of the first set and in the second I started to be a little bit more aggressive, trying to play more with my forehand and come into the net...     "I've never played very well here in the past, but the past is the past. It's hard to explain. I've played Dubai four times and won four times and here I've never played well. I hope I can have a better tournament this year." interview #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #94 q Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 7-6(4), 6(5)-7, 6-3 Sat #5 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #57 Akiko Morigami JPN 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 Fri Kim's running forehand, and Akiko's backhand drive     Kim said: "The first set was definitely not going the way I wanted it to; I really felt like I was looking for my movement the whole time. When you sit down after that first set, you try to think and get things going again, just try to keep the unforced errors down and at the same time be aggressive. It was a good time to wake up after that first set." interview #6 s5 Martina Hingis SUI d #103 q Iveta Benesova CZE 6-3, 6-2 Sat Martina lining up a backhand (looks like she's going to slice it), and Iveta's forehand drive #7 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS d #49 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) Fri Nadia laughing after the cockatoo complemented her at Parrot Jungle Island on Wednesday #9 s7 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #42 Shuai Peng CHN 6-2, 6-4 Fri #10 s8 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #58 Michaella Krajicek NED 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 Sat #11 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #62 Vasilisa Bardina RUS 6-1, 6-0 Fri Anna with a kangaroo in a pass-around pack at Parrot Jungle Island on Wednesday #12 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #68 Laura Granville USA 6-1, 6-1 Fri *#61 Kaia Kanepi EST d #13 s11 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-1, 6-4 Sat *#83 q Yaroslava Shvedova RUS d #14 s12 Ana Ivanovic SRB 7-5, 6-4 Sat #15 s13 Serena Williams USA d #87 q Anastassia Rodionova RUS 6-3, 6-3 Sat     Serena said: "It was windy, then it wasn't windy, and then it was like side wind. It was weird. Then at some points there wasn't any wind at all. It was very strange conditions, as it always is here in Key Biscayne, and it was very humid. So it was very strange." interview #16 s14 Shahar Peer ISR d #77 Catalina Castano COL 6-2, 6-1 Sat #17 s15 Na Li CHN d #101 q Tamira Paszek AUT 6-2, 6-0 Fri #18 s16 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #NR wc Michelle Larcher de Brito POR 7-5, 6-0 Fri Daniela signing autographs on Thursday, Michelle's forehand drive, and Daniela driving a backhand     Daniela said: "I thought [Michelle's] attitude was very good, and from the baseline she's hitting the ball very well. I think she's got a good future ahead of her." interview     14-year-old Michelle said: "[Daniela] played a great match and she's also a great person. It wasn't very easy, and she definitely played really well." interview #19 s17 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #114 q Tatiana Poutchek BLR 6-1, 7-6(8) Fri #20 s18 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #56 Meilen Tu USA 6-4, 6-2 Fri *#72 q Julia Vakulenko UKR d #21 s19 F Schiavone ITA 3-6, 7-6(0), 6-4 Sat #22 s20 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #249 sr74 Alina Jidkova RUS 6-4, 6-3 Fri *#102 q Vera Dushevina RUS d #23 s21 Marion Bartoli FRA 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4 Sat #24 s22 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #64 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR 6-4, 6-0 Fri #26 s23 Lucie Safarova CZE d #43 Emilie Loit FRA 6-0, 7-5 Sat Lucie, known to be friendly with other critters of the Aussie persuasion (wombats), getting acquainted with the kangaroo at Parrot Jungle Island on Wednesday #27 s24 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #95 Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-3, 6-2 Sat #29 s25 Samantha Stosur AUS d #37 Olga Poutchkova RUS 6-2, 6-2 Fri *#76 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #30 s26 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-4, 7-5 Sat *#52 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #31 s27 Jie Zheng CHN 6-3, 6-4 Sat *#97 Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO d #32 s28 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-3, 7-5 Sat *#38 Venus Williams USA d #33 s29 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-3, 6-3 Sat     Venus Williams interview Venus fielding a drop shot *#81 q Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #34 s30 Severine Bremond FRA 6-4, 7-5 Fri *#71 Virginie Razzano FRA d #35 s31 Martina Muller GER 6-4, 7-6(2) Fri #36 s32 Mara Santangelo ITA d #63 Jill Craybas USA 6-3, 6-1 Fri

Miami, 3rd Rd, Sun 11am WTA story loser's prize: $18,240 US (2006: $19,730); points: 45 #1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #38 Venus Williams USA 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 Maria serving, Venus following a backhand, Maria driving one, and after match point     Both players had 12 break point opportunities in the match, but while Venus broke Maria's serve six times, Maria broke Venus that many times and one more: at 5-5 in the third set. Maria had 13 double faults, while Venus had 12, but Maria also struck 8 aces, against 3 for Venus. Combined, Venus and Maria had 91 unforced errors.     Maria trailed 1-3 at the start of the 3rd set. Maria said: "I was happy with the way I was able to hold on - I'm a fighter and a competitor. That's why I play the sport. I enjoy the battle of it; a lot of my matches depend on who fights more in the end."     Venus said: "I struggled with my consistency a little bit. The rhythm - there were a lot of points where I wasn't quite there." interview #2 s2 Justine Henin BEL d #71 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5) Virginie and Justine driving forehands, and Justine after match point     Each player broke the other's serve six times. Justine had 7 double faults, very unusual for her (Virginie: 4). Justine won 88 total points in the match; Virginie, 87.     Justine won despite falling behind 1-5 in the 3rd set. Justine said: "I came back from nowhere - it was when I was down 5-1 in the third set that I finally was calm for the first time. [Virginie] played really well in the second and in the third. She gave me some oxygen at the end; I felt she was a little bit nervous and started to do mistakes that she didn't do until that time. It's in this kind of situation where I play my best. I've proven it many times in the past, and I think I will never change because I am like that." interview #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #97 Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO 6-4, 6-2 #5 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #29 s25 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-4, 6-2 Kim and Samantha driving backhands *#52 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #6 s5 Martina Hingis SUI 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 Martina's forehand, Agnieszka's backhand, and after match point     Although she lost, with this match Martina become the 4th female player in history to total over $20 million in career prize money. The other three are Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Lindsay Davenport.     Martina said: "I just wasn't able to pull it off today. And it has been like that the last three, four weeks of tournaments. I'm getting a little bit tired of losing matches I'm supposed to win. I think I have to think some things over...     "I probably underestimated [Agnieszka] a little bit. She played well. I saw her in Dubai and she didn't have great wins. She's very up and down. Definitely she has potential in the future, but it's getting more and more difficult." WTA story - interview     Agnieszka said: "I had nothing to lose, so I tried to play my best and I did it. Martina is one of the best, and I'm very happy." interview #7 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS d #81 q Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 6-1, 6-1 *#36 s32 Mara Santangelo ITA d #9 s7 Jelena Jankovic SRB 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 Mara driving a backhand, and Jelena following one #10 s8 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #76 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-3, 6-3 #11 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #19 s17 Tatiana Golovin FRA 6-1, 6-3 #12 s10 Dinara Safina RUS d #24 s22 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 Dinara about to lightly tap a forehand, Ai lightly tapping a backhand, and Dinara after winning a point #15 s13 Serena Williams USA d #26 s23 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Mon Serena Williams interview Serena driving a backhand, Lucie driving a forehand, and Serena after winning a point #16 s14 Shahar Peer ISR d #72 q Julia Vakulenko UKR 7-6(5), 7-5 #17 s15 Na Li CHN d #22 s20 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-0, 6-1 *#20 s18 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #18 s16 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-2, 6-4     Daniela said: "It was tough. The conditions were very difficult. You could see, I think, in the other results that some of the top players were struggling a bit, too. It's never easy to play here, so I was expecting a tough match.     "I have to give credit to the way [Vera] played. She played very, very good. She didn't miss too many balls, and she was very solid." interview #27 s24 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #83 q Yaroslava Shvedova RUS 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 *#102 q Vera Dushevina RUS d #61 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-1, 6-1

Miami, 4th Rd, Mon 11am WTA story loser's prize: $34,550 US (2006: $37,400); points: 70 *#15 s13 Serena Williams USA d #1 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS 6-1, 6-1 ppd-Tue Maria driving a backhand, Serena following one, and after match point     Although Maria put 69% of her 1st serves in the box, she won only 52% of her 1st serve points, and just 20% of her 2nd serve points (Serena: 81% and 59%). Maria had zero break point opportunities against Serena, who converted five of her six break points against Maria.     After match point former # 1 Serena, winner of 8 Grand Slam titles, but ranked # 15 on the drawsheet and # 18 this week, raised her index finger and shouted "No. 1" to the crowd.     Serena said: "If I'm playing well then anything can happen. I know [Maria's] game pretty well. We've played each other a few times and I like her style." AFP story - interview     Maria said: "I think I pushed a little bit too much on it. I was trying to go for it a little bit more because [Serena] was attacking... I'm definitely going to be out on the practice court and working hard. I'm not going to look at it as a confidence thing. I have to look at what I'm doing and how I'm going to improve it so it gets better." interview #2 s2 Justine Henin BEL d #20 s18 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-3, 6-2 Justine's forehand, Vera driving a backhand, and Justine after winning a point     Justine said: "The conditions are pretty tough here, very windy; you never know where the wind is coming from, so you need to adjust your game all the time and it's not easy. But I felt better on the court. I had a chance to improve my level today, to raise my level and that's what I did. So I'm very happy with the way the match went. I'm very happy to win in two sets like that." interview #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS v #16 s14 Shahar Peer ISR 4-6, 6-4, 3-1 Shahar driving a forehand, and Svetlana twisting a serve *#17 s15 Na Li CHN d #5 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 Na Li interview Na following a backhand, and Kim reaching for a forehand     Kim said: "I do believe that [Na is] definitely a Top 10 player. It's just a matter for her to get through one of those big matches; then, the confidence will automatically rise and she'll be up there. She's definitely capable of doing that." interview #7 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS d #12 s10 Dinara Safina RUS 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 no photos found #10 s8 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #102 q Vera Dushevina RUS 6-2, 6-4 Nicole lining up a forehand, and Vera driving a backhand #11 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #36 s32 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-1, 7-5 no photos found #27 s24 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #52 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-4, 6-2 no photos found

Miami, QFs, Tue-Wed 11am Tue WTA story - Wed WTA story loser's prize: $65,540 US (2006: $70,930); points: 125 #2 s2 Justine Henin BEL d #7 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-6(4), 7-6(4) Tue Justine volleying a backhand, Nadia driving one, and Justine after match point     In six years of play at Key Biscayne, this is the first time 5-time Grand Slam tourney champion Justine has reached the semifinals.     Justine said: "It was a tough one. I was brave, I was a fighter, and even if it wasn't a very good first set, I played a good tie-break, and the level improved. It was a better fight for sure. I had a lot of trouble on my return but I served pretty good on the important points and could feel my game better in the second set. To win against a top player gives me a lot of confidence." AP story *#15 s13 Serena Williams USA d #10 s8 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 6-1, 6-4 Wed Nicole's forehand, Serena's backhand, and after match point     Serena said: "Nicole did play me tough. I was expecting her to play exactly how she played me in the second set. That's what I was expecting in the match, so I think when her coach came out, maybe he told her some things to try, and I just don't know what happened, really. I started making errors." interview #11 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #17 s15 Na Li CHN 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 Tue Anna slicing a backhand on the fly, and Na driving one #16 s14 Shahar Peer ISR d #27 s24 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-0, 6-3 Wed Shahar serving, Tathiana's backhand, Shahar driving one, and after match point     Shahar said: "It's my first time getting to the semifinals of a Tier I or big tournament - I have been waiting for this for a long time. I was expecting a much tougher match because Tathiana is a good player, and very tough. But every time I got to the quarterfinals I was losing, so maybe it was my turn to win." interview

Miami, SFs, Thu 11am WTA story loser's prize: $124,210 US (2006: $134,400); points: 225 #2 s2 Justine Henin BEL d #11 s9 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-2, 6-3 Justine and Anna's backhands, and Justine after winning a point     Justine said: "[Anna] did a lot of mistakes, but I've been smart. I've played the kind of game she doesn't like that much... I had the solution to every ball she was hitting today, and I used my slice a lot. I could change the rhythm. I was running a lot and I was moving well... after my defense, I can come in the court and play a little bit more offensive. It's good because I can change the zone in the court." interview     Anna said: "I think Justine played pretty solid today, but I don't know, I just felt very tired. I felt I couldn't run...     "I'm still pleased with the result because I had no confidence when I came here, after I played one of my worst matches this year... the goal for me was pass one round. And when I passed it I just felt a little bit better. Then second round, Golovin, also pretty easy, I was surprised. It's still a good result, but I'm just feeling that I'm not in a good shape right now...     "Of course I got lucky with the draw. It was very tough match for me against Na Li, she just didn't use her opportunities, that why I won. It was very lucky...     "But today in the match, Justine, she was controlling all games. She just start to miss a little bit in the end of the second set, so I won a few more games."     Anna, who was trained at Moscow's Spartak Academy (as were Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, and Anna Kournikova) travels with her dad and a hitting partner, but no regular coach. Before the Indian Wells tourney earlier this month, Anna trained for a while in California with premiere stroke coach Robert Lansdorp, who students have included Maria Sharapova, Anastasia Myskina, Lindsay Davenport, Tracy Austin, and Pete Sampras.     Anna said: "I liked it a lot. But he can't travel, so probably I'll go to see him later when I go play US Open series... He had great players; he was coaching Sharapova, Myskina, and Sampras... I liked it, you know, he's very nice guy, and we practice good together." interview #15 s13 Serena Williams USA d #16 s14 Shahar Peer ISR 7-6(4), 6-1 Shahar's forehand, Serena's backhand, and after match point     Serena said: "The first set was a real battle. I didn't play as well as I wanted to but what was cool was that I hit all these errors and was still able to rely on some aspects of my game. In the second set I was able to relax and be confident." interview     Shahar said: "I didn't feel very good timing the whole match. I don't know. I was not feeling very -- I was looking at my statistics in the big board, and I had seven winners the first set, which is obviously not really my game. I was very close; it could go either way.     "And unfortunately, second set [Serena] was running away. She was serving very good the whole match. Second set her unforced were much less than the beginning." interview

Miami, Final, Sat, noon loser's prize: $246,485 US (2006: $266,675); points: 350 winner's prize: $492,950 US (2006: $533,350); points: 500 *#15 s13 Serena Williams USA d #2 s2 Justine Henin BEL 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 Justine serving, Serena's backhand, and Serena & both players at net after match point

Miami, Doubles Final, Sun losers' prize: $66,550 US (2006: $72,000) winners' prize: $127,280 US (2006: $137,700) cdr2 s1 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur d cdr7 s2 Cara Black & Liezel Huber 6-1, 3-6, (10-2) Miami, Qualifying Finals, Tue Mar 20 10am losers' prizes: q1: $1,160; q2: $2,310 US (2006: $2,500) #72 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #132 Galina Voskoboeva RUS 6-2, 6(6)-7, 6-1 *#103 Iveta Benesova CZE d #74 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 #81 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS d #148 Olga Savchuk UKR 6-1, 6-3 #83 Yaroslava Shvedova RUS d #120 Bethanie Mattek USA 6-3, 6-3 #87 Anastassia Rodionova RUS d #112 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-2, 6-4 #88 Varvara Lepchenko UZB d #140 Stephanie Dubois CAN 6-3, 6-3 #90 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK d #99 Anne Kremer LUX 6-1, 6-2 *#102 Vera Dushevina RUS d #93 Sandra Kloesel GER 6-2, 6-1 #94 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #119 Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-3, 6-1 *#105 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #95 Martina Sucha SVK 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 #101 Tamira Paszek AUT d #218 Marie-Eve Pelletier 6-1, 6-2 *#114 Tatiana Poutchek BLR d #104 Edina Gallovits ROM 7-5, 7-5 Miami, Withdrawals #3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA appendectomy, out 1 month #8 Elena Dementieva RUS right rib stress fracture #25 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER injury #28 Anastasia Myskina RUS toe pain & inflammation #45 Sania Mirza IND right knee ligament injury #67 Eva Birnerova RUS neck injury #70 Jamea Jackson USA right hip bone spur, had surgery Dec '06, expected back at Estoril, Apr '07 #75 Anna Smashnova ISR hamstring strain #1007 sr Elena Bovina RUS right foot?, & elbow nerve entrapment

    (Mar 20, 2007 revised) Kim Clijsters is playing doubles at Key Biscayne, as a wild card entry, partnered with her friend Caroline Maes.
    Martina Hingis & Daniela Hantuchova are also a wild card pair. Daniela's frequent partner Ai Sugiyama (who has won a couple of Grand Slam titles--with Kim Clijsters) is teamed up with Katarina Srebotnik this time; in the 1st round on Saturday Martina & Daniela defeated Ai & Katarina, 6-4, 6-2.

    (Mar 18, 2007) Tough row for top seed: Though seeded # 1, Maria Sharapova does not have an easy draw (Maria is ranked # 2 this week, but seeds are based on the previous week's rankings, which are thus usually displayed on these pages).
    Maria may have to play # 38 (& former # 1) Venus Williams in the 3rd round, and # 15 (& former # 1) Serena Williams in the 4th round. If she gets past The Sisters, Maria will likely face either # 10 Nicole Vaidisova or # 13 Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals, and # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova or # 6 Martina Hingis in the semis. All this to reach a final against, most likely, one of the two Great Walls of Belgium, either # 2 (this week's # 1) Justine Henin, or her compatriot, # 5 Kim Clijsters.

    (March 19, 2007) # 3 Amelie Mauresmo has withdrawn from the Sony Ericsson Open for an unusual reason. While Amelie was preparing to leave for Miami, she had some abdominal pain. She went to have it checked out, and wound up in surgery, having her appendix removed.
    Amelie will be out for about a month. # 8 Elena Dementieva and # 45 Sania Mirza are also missing about a month due to injuries.
    The tourney at Key Biscayne is the only mandatory tourney on the WTA schedule, and players missing it have reportedly been fined even though they were injured--but hopefully Amelie's note from her doctor will be sufficient for them to let this one go.

See also: QuickShop: Sporting Goods - Martina Hingis - Anna Kournikova

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