WTA Mar 11-22: Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells, California + ATP PREMIER M $4,500,000 96m/48q/32d outdoor: hard Plexipave Live Scores - in popup window WTA pdf.: draws & OOP - notes .html: results - OOP - schedule Free Live TV: ATDHE - Chan Surf TV mostly (only?) ATP | TV: TC - FSN pics: Y!: sports - news | tourney - WTA audio: Rad.Ten. - mp3 clips | interviews Indian Wells: radar - forecast - map PS Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open # 2 Dinara Safina # 3 Jelena Jankovic # 4 Elena Dementieva # 6 Vera Zvonareva # 7 Ana Ivanovic # 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova # 10 Agnieszka Radwanska # 11 Victoria Azarenka

Tourney pages: Indian Wells: 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Indian Wells: #7 Ana Ivanovic 6' 1" 152lb RH 2H-BH Indian Wells: #6 Vera Zvonareva 5'7¾" 130½lb RH 2H-BH Indian Wells: 9th WTA Singles Title 1st Premier M/Tier I Title

    On Sunday at Indian Wells, California, in the final of the BNP Paribas Open, this year's champion in Pattaya City, 24-year-old 4th-seeded # 6 Vera Zvonareva from Moscow, Russia, defeated the 2008 Indian Wells champion, 21-year-old 5th-seeded # 7 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia (residence: Basel, Switzerland), 7-6(5), 6-2 (photos shown).

    Vera's prize is $700,000, Ana's is $350,000.

    Swirling winds reaching as high as 40 mph appeared to affect Ana's play more than Vera's; Ana hit 29 winners in the match, but also struck 46 unforced errors (including 5 double faults), while Vera, while hitting only 5 winners, finished with 23 errors (1 DF), half as many as Ana. AP story

    Vera said: "It's a great feeling to win such a big event. I'm still a little bit in the match. I think I did a great job. Even though I made some mistakes and had some frustrating points with the wind, I was still trying to concentrate. I was fighting for every point, no matter what." WTA story

    Ana said: "It was the toughest conditions I've ever played in. Today it was about who could handle it better and stay mentally tougher through it, and [Vera] did. She played really well."

    Vera and Ana are now tied at 4-4 in career matches. Vera also won their previous meeting, on a hardcourt in Doha in the round-robin of the 2008 WTA Championships, 6-3, 6(5)-7, 6-4.

    On Saturday, Vera, partnered with Victoria Azarenka, also won BNP Paribas Open doubles final, defeating Gisela Dulko and Shahar Peer, 6-4, 3-6, (10-5), and pocketing $135,000 each in prize money.

    Vera is now 9-11 in WTA singles finals; she won the Prague and Guangzhou titles last year. Vera has an 18-2 match record in 2009, losing only to Dinara Safina in the Australian Open semifinals, 6-3, 7-6(4), and to Virginie Razzano in the Dubai quarters, 7-6(7), 7-5.

    2008 French Open champion Ana is now 8-4 in WTA singles finals, and has an 12-4 match record in 2009, losing only to Vera, Amelie Mauresmo, Alisa Kleybanova, and to Serena Williams in the Dubai quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-4.

Indian Wells player's blog by Na Li

  mp3 Audio Clips

QFs Thu, March 19: Ana Ivanovic - Wed, March 18: Vera Zvonareva
3rd rd Mon, March 16: Victoria Azarenka    2nd rd Sat, March 14: Elena Dementieva - Fri, March 13: Dinara Safina

WTA SCOREBOARD: The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Pacific Life Open,  Indian Wells, California   NWS weather radar tourney time:        = GMT -7 hours        = US EDT -3 hours        = US PDT San Diego news - California news Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar   click for broader view   Indian Wells Tennis Garden  venue map Lat.: 33.723599 Long.: -116.304295 goto link for World Wind     Indian Wells: The main draw for this 96-player, two week, seven round tourney has 32 seeds, with 32 1st-round byes. There are 12 qualifiers and 8 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying (2 rounds) starts on Monday, qualifying finals are on Tuesday.     Main draw play begins on Wednesday. 2009: On Tuesday & Wednesday, March 10 & 11, players practicing at Indian Wells included top seed Dinara Safina, 2nd seed Jelena Jankovic, Caroline Wozniacki (listening attentively to coach Sven Groenefeld), 2002 & 2007 tourney champ Daniela Hantuchova (listening attentively to coach Thomas Hogstedt), and 2008 Indian Wells champ Ana Ivanovic... 2009: Ana also played Meet the Press on Wednesday, as did Elena Dementieva, row 2: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka, and Dinara Safina...

Indian Wells, 1st Rd, Wed-Thu 11am Thu WTA story loser's prize: $7,050; points: 5 *#66 Edina Gallovits ROU d #38 Maria Kirilenko RUS 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 Thu Edina about to swat a backhand, Maria after driving one, and Edina after winning a point #39 Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA d #57 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-4, 6-4 Thu Bethanie after breaking Tathiana's serve in the 2nd set     It was Bethanie's first match of the season due to a hip injury.     Bethanie said: "It was really great playing on stadium, and I like playing night matches. It was my first match since November, and I was still getting the rust out of some of my shots. Also, Tathiana hits a heavy shot so I had to get used to that. But I thought I improved as the match went on." #40 Virginie Razzano FRA d #136 q Evgenia Rodina RUS 6-3, 6-4 Wed #41 Samantha Stosur AUS d #44 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-1, 6-4 Thu #42 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #100 Marta Domachowska POL 6-1, 6-3 Thu *#53 Na Li CHN d #43 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-4, 6-4 Wed     Na said: "I just finished my first round match with Tamarine Tanasugarn. First rounds are always tough, but this one was more difficult because we're friends. It was hard for me to fight on the court. She plays so fast too. But I was able to use her pace and move her around the court. I'm happy to make it to the second round.     "The beginning of the year was tough for me. I didn't play in Australia because I had an operation on my knee. I was watching some tennis on TV and I knew I had to work hard to come back. It's hard to be positive when the last few years I've missed many months each year because of an injury, but I am hoping this year I'll have no injuries. I hope I can play the whole season!     "I had a good week in Monterrey last week. I love new tournaments. Every day I was thinking about how nice it was there, the hotel and courts were so nice and the people were all so friendly. If I have a chance I'll go back next year. I tried to do some shopping but I didn't buy much, but I looked around a lot." Indian Wells player's blog by Na Li #45 Petra Kvitova CZE d #76 Pauline Parmentier FRA 6-3, 6-2 Wed *#72 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #46 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-3, 6-2 Thu #47 Shahar Peer ISR d #59 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 6-2, 6-1 Wed Kateryna and Shahar driving forehand and backhand, and Shahar after winning a point #48 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #70 Marina Erakovic NZL 6-4, 6-1 Wed *#58 Olga Govortsova BLR d #49 Anne Keothavong GBR 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 Wed *#65 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #50 Monica Niculescu ROU 6-3, 6-0 Wed #51 Lucie Safarova CZE d #153 wc Melanie Oudin USA 6-3, 6-1 Thu #54 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #60 Nathalie Dechy FRA 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 Wed Ekaterina about to fire a forehand, and Nathalie's backhand drive *#56 Elena Vesnina RUS d #55 Sabine Lisicki GER 7-6(4), 7-5 Wed #61 Vera Dushevina RUS d #203 q Petra Martic CRO 6-4, 6-3 Thu *#123 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #62 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 7-6(5), 7-6(9) Thu #63 Yung-Jan Chan TPE d #114 q Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-4, 6-1 Wed #67 Tamira Paszek AUT d #126 sr 35 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-3, 6-2 Thu #69 Roberta Vinci ITA d #85 Ayumi Morita JPN 6-3, 6-4 Thu *#132 q Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #71 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-4, 6-2 Wed #74 q Petra Cetkovska CZE d #103 q Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-2, 7-5 Thu #80 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #167 wc Michaella Krajicek NED 6-3, 6-4 Wed Michaella and Nicole following backhand and forehand *#101 Jill Craybas USA d #81 wc Jelena Dokic AUS 6-4, 6-2 Wed Jill serving to Jelena, and Jelena running down a forehand #84 q Kristina Barrois GER d #91 Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-1, 6-2 Thu #88 wc Sania Mirza IND d #96 Mariya Koryttseva UKR 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 Thu Sania driving a forehand, and Mariya running one down #95 q Anastasiya Yakimova BLR d #122 q Varvara Lepchenko USA 6-4, 6-1 Thu *#99 Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #98 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-2, 6-3 Wed #107 wc Urszula Radwanska POL v #124 q M Larcher de Brito POR 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 Wed *#133 Karin Knapp ITA d #108 wc Vania King USA 6-2, 6-1 Thu Vania and Karin driving forehand and backhand *#139 wc Alexa Glatch USA d #118 q Stephanie Dubois CAN 6-3, 6-2 Wed Stephanie driving a forehand, and Alexa about to swat one #154 q Angela Haynes USA d #821 wc Ajla Tomljanovic CRO 7-5, 6-2 Thu Maria serving, Maria and Elena at ready, and Maria answering the nice questions from the friendly reporters after the match     In the 1st round of doubles at Indian Wells on Thursday, Ekaterina Makarova & Tatiana Poutchek defeated Maria Sharapova & Elena Vesnina, 6-1, 4-6, (10-7). It was Maria's first match since August of last year, due to a torn right shoulder rotator cuff tendon she incurred last April (the tear appeared in an April scan, but was not detected until August). It was also the first time Maria had played doubles in four years, so it is not surprising that it took her a few games to get into the swing of things.     Maria is not playing singles at Indian Wells, but if her shoulder fares well, she may return to singles action two weeks from now in Miami. Elena is still alive in singles; she will play 32nd-seeded # 37 Sorana Cirstea in the 2nd round on Friday.     Maria said: "It's really good to be back. It seems like forever ago I last played. There are so many things I've missed about playing—the preparation for the match, going on the court and playing... It has been difficult. Right now I'm still working up to being 100% again."

Indian Wells, 2nd Rd, Fri-Sat 11am Sat WTA story loser's prize: $11,500; points: 50 #2 s1 Dinara Safina RUS d #48 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 7-6(8), 6-2 Fri Dinara and Tsvetana driving forehands, and Dinara after winning a point *#42 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #3 s2 Jelena Jankovic SRB 6-4, 6-4 Sat Jelena and Anastasia driving backhands     Jelena said: "[Anastasia] played well... Obviously she was the better player. But I'm not at my level...     "My whole concept of the game, it's kind of off, especially during the points. I don't feel some of my shots that were my weapons before. Overall I think the whole game needs some adjustments and some kind of finding the rhythm and finding the way to construct the points and just find the timing back...     "Last year I finished No.1 in the world and I was playing great tennis, especially at the end of the year. This year I'm not the same player. So I'm trying to get that. postmatch interview" *#74 q Petra Cetkovska CZE d #4 s3 Elena Dementieva RUS 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-1 Sat Elena following a forehand, Petra driving a backhand, and after match point     It was the biggest victory of Petra's career (by rank). Her previous best win was over then # 10 Marion Bartoli in the 2nd round at Birmingham last June.     Petra said: "I've been playing better and better, but this was my best match so far. When you're losing your matches all the time, which happened to me in the last six or seven months, it's very difficult—I just tried to believe it would turn around one day...     "A special game plan? I think that there was something that I should try to not do, to let [Elena] be aggressive on me. So every single opportunity I had, even if I could make a mistake it was to try to be aggressive before her. That was the way that I had in my head all the time, to try to be aggressive always when I can." postmatch interview     Elena said: "My mind wasn't there today, and I wasn't excited about playing this match. I just want to take a few days off and then get ready for Miami." postmatch interview #6 s4 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #63 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-2, 6-2 Fri Yung-Jan driving a forehand, and Vera about to launch one on the run #7 s5 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #95 q Anastasiya Yakimova BLR 6-4, 6-3 Sat Ana following a forehand, Anastasiya serving, and Ana following another forehand     Ana said: "[Anastasiya] had a couple of matches behind her, and I was just trying to get into my rhythm at the beginning. I had a couple of mis-hits, but I don't think I played too badly. I was happy with my game, and happy I was able to step it up a little bit more later on in the match. Obviously there are some things I still want to work on, though." *#107 wc Urszula Radwanska POL d #8 s6 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Fri #10 s7 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #41 Samantha Stosur AUS 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 Sat #11 s8 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #132 q Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 4-6, 7-5 6-3 Fri Vika driving a forehand #12 s9 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #99 Timea Bacsinszky SUI 6-1, 6-1 Fri Caroline flying for a forehand *#47 Shahar Peer ISR d #13 s10 Marion Bartoli FRA 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 Fri Shahar driving a forehand, Marion following one, and Shahar after winning a point *#84 q Kristina Barrois GER d #14 s11 Alize Cornet FRA 6-2, 6-2 Sat #15 s12 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #88 wc Sania Mirza IND 6-3, 6-4 Sat Flavia's forehand drive *#53 Na Li CHN d #16 s13 Patty Schnyder SUI 7-5, 6-2 Fri Patty and Na driving backhands     Na said: "I just came from winning my second round match with Patty Schnyder. It was very tough. She plays so smart and made me work so hard to win every point. I was just focusing on myself and my tennis today, and I'm so happy to win. It's a little late now, about 8 o'clock, so my husband and I will go to dinner at this really good French restaurant and then I'll probably go to sleep!." Indian Wells players blog by Na Li *#123 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #17 s14 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 7-6(6), 6-0 Sat Dominika and Nuria driving backhands *#61 Vera Dushevina RUS d #18 s15 Jie Zheng CHN 6-2, 6-2 Sat *#101 Jill Craybas USA d #19 s16 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 Fri #20 s17 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #65 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 Fri Amelie driving a forehand, and Anna-Lena about to connect with a backhand #21 s18 Kaia Kanepi EST d #40 Virginie Razzano FRA 7-6(2), 1-0 retired—mid-back injury Fri #24 s19 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #54 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 6-3, 7-5 Fri *#154 q Angela Haynes USA d #25 s20 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-4, 7-5 Sat #26 s21 Alisa Kleybanova RUS d #67 Tamira Paszek AUT 6-3, 6-2 Sat #27 s22 Agnes Szavay HUN d #66 Edina Gallovits ROU 6-2, 6-2 Sat #28 s23 Sybille Bammer AUT d #69 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-2, 6-3 Sat *#80 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #29 s24 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-3, 6-1 Fri #30 s25 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN d #51 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-3, 6-3 Sat *#45 Petra Kvitova CZE d #31 s26 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-3, 6-1 Fri *#133 Karin Knapp ITA d #32 s27 Sara Errani ITA 6-2, 3-2 retired—left thigh strain Sat Karin and Sara driving forehand and backhand #33 s28 Shuai Peng CHN d #58 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Fri *#139 wc Alexa Glatch USA d #34 s29 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 6-3, 6-1 Fri #35 s30 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #72 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(4) Sat Yanina and Daniela driving forehands     2002 & 2005 Indian Wells champion Daniela said: "First match is never easy, especially it was kind of a little bit windy and I felt I didn't have much control on my shots to start with. I just kept fighting, kept fighting.     "This is a special place for me, so you just don't want to lose. I always try to fight it a little bit extra here...     "[Yanina is] a good player. She hits the ball pretty hard. But I always felt I had my chances. I just had to be a little bit more patient." postmatch interview #36 s31 Gisela Dulko ARG d #39 Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA 6-1, 6-3 Sat *#56 Elena Vesnina RUS d #37 s32 Sorana Cirstea ROU 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 Fri

Indian Wells, 3rd Rd, Sun-Mon 11am Sun WTA story - Mon WTA story loser's prize: $18,740; points: 80 #2 s1 Dinara Safina RUS d #33 s28 Shuai Peng CHN 7-5, 6-4 Sun Shuai serving to Dinara, Dinara driving a forehand, Dinara serving to Shuai, and after match point     Dinara said: "It was very far from my best, but I'm still happy I won the match in two sets. When you win matches in two sets and you know you're far from your best, it just gives you confidence that even if you're not playing your best you still win the matches. I'm really looking forward for my next round." postmatch interview #6 s4 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #45 Petra Kvitova CZE 6-3, 6-1 Sun Vera Geranimoing a serve Petraward, Petra and Vera driving backhand and forehand, and Vera after match point #7 s5 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #36 s31 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-3, 6-3 Mon Ana and Gisela driving forehands, and Ana following a backhand     Ana said: "[Gisela] was a tough opponent so I knew I had to be aggressive. I didn't feel as good as I did in my first match. But I stepped it up when it got close in each set. I followed my instincts and went for my shots. I played really well when I needed to, so I was happy about that. I'm looking forward to my next match." #10 s7 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #30 s25 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-1, 6-4 Mon Agnieszka and Aleksandra driving backhands #11 s8 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #56 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-3, 7-5 Sun #12 s9 Caroline Wozniacki NED d #21 s18 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Sun Kaia lofting a backhand, and Caroline's forehand drive #15 s12 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #154 q Angela Haynes USA 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 Mon Angela driving a backhand, and Flavia lining up a forehand *#53 Na Li CHN d #20 s17 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 7-5, 6-2 Sun Amelie and Na driving forehand and backhand     Na said: "My match with Amélie Mauresmo was scheduled for not before 8:30pm, and it's about 11pm right now! Most of my day, until about 5pm, was for sleep :) Well rest, I wasn't sleeping the whole time. I practiced from 6-7 then ate right before the match, and now I'll probably just have a shower and go straight to bed!     "Playing Amélie is not easy. She plays so smart and has so many different shots. She made me run all over the court and even served and volleyed, so I really had to focus. She has a lot of experience. But I won, 75 62. I'm very happy with my game and I hope to play like this in my next match, against Vera Zvonareva. I haven't thought about that match yet but of course it will be very tough." Indian Wells players blog by Na Li *#47 Shahar Peer ISR d #24 s19 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-2, 6-4 Sun *#123 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP d #26 s21 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 7-6(2), 6-3 Mon #27 s22 Agnes Szavay HUN d #84 q Kristina Barrois GER 6-3, 6-4 Mon #28 s23 Sybille Bammer AUT d #61 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-1, 6-3 Mon #35 s30 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #74 q Petra Cetkovska CZE 7-5, 7-5 Mon Daniela and Petra driving forehands #42 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #133 Karin Knapp ITA 6-2, 6-4 Mon Anastasia driving a forehand *#101 Jill Craybas USA d #80 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 6-4, 6-3 Sun #107 wc Urszula Radwanska POL d #139 wc Alexa Glatch USA 6-3, 7-6(3) Sun     Urszula injured her ankle at the end of her 2nd round win over Svetlana Kuznetsova.     Urszula said: "Oh, it's better. Much better today... It's a little bit strained, but it's much better. Yesterday it was painful. I couldn't run. Today was much better. I was playing with the tape so it was okay...     "It was during my match point, so it was pretty bad luck. I twisted my ankle and I took a medical time. After that, I won the two points and the match...     "It was bad. It was hurting a lot. At night, I couldn't sleep actually. But I took some pills and then I went to the physio and with some treatment it's better." postmatch interview

Indian Wells, 4th Rd, Tue 11am loser's prize: $32,000; points: 140 #2 s1 Dinara Safina RUS d #101 Jill Craybas USA 7-5, 6-4 Jill fielding a forehand on the run, and Dinara driving a backhand     Dinara said: "It's not easy to play here. There's mountains and the ball flies a little bit more. So I guess this is the reason. The air is much drier than usually in some other countries, so for some people it suits, some people not... I keep winning, so it does [suit me]." postmatch interview #6 s4 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #53 Na Li CHN 6-4, 6-4 Na reaching for a backhand, Vera driving a forehand, and after winning a point     Vera said: "I think it was very tight match from the very beginning, and I wouldn't say I was controlling everything. I think [Na] was playing really good, and I was playing some games better. But I'm very happy about the way I was able to finish up the first set and the second set, because it was very tough and close. I had to serve out for the first set and serve out to close the match, and I did that well." postmatch interview     Na said: "I lost to Vera Zvonareva today, 6-4, 6-4. I had chances to go up in both sets but just didn't take them. I have had lots of close matches with Vera and this was another one. Not only was every game very close, every point was very close. I think she was playing very well, and she put a lot of pressure on me today.     "I am staying positive though. I was excited to play in Indian Wells and I had good wins before this match. I'm looking forward to going to Miami now." Indian Wells players blog by Na Li - postmatch interview #7 s5 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #15 s12 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Flavia serving, Ana following a forehand, and after winning a point #10 s7 Agnieszka Radwanska POL v #27 s22 Agnes Szavay HUN 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 #11 s8 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #47 Shahar Peer ISR 7-5, 6-4 #12 s9 Caroline Wozniacki NED d #107 wc Urszula Radwanska POL 7-5, 6-3 Urszula and Caroline driving backhands     Caroline's parents are both Polish; she was born and raised in Denmark because her father was a professional soccer player for a Danish team. Thus Caroline speaks Polish (as well as Danish and English) and knows the Radwanska sisters well.     Caroline said: "I was playing a really good friend. It's always difficult to play a friend. I was a little bit nervous, especially in the beginning and the end. But I'm happy to pull it through for the first time being in the quarterfinals here...     [Urszula and I have] known each other since we were like 10, 11 years old. We've known each other for a long time. We went for dinner last night, as well. You know, we're really close friends." postmatch interview #28 s23 Sybille Bammer AUT d #35 s30 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-3, 6-2 #42 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #123 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-3 3-0 retired—left hip strain     Anastasia said: "I tried to really focus on the next next matches after Jankovic, because it was a little bit difficult. I was a bit excited about my big win, and I played very good that day. And also it's always tough to keep focused and keep doing exactly the same things.     "So it was a little bit tough moment, but still I just tried to be focused. I was concentrate, and I was just thinking of the next matches, so I wasn't really somewhere. I was still focused on every practice, everything I'm doing, and just was looking forward for the next matches, which I did, and I'm glad." postmatch interview

Indian Wells, QFs, Wed-Thu 11am Wed WTA story loser's prize: $64,700; points: 250 *#11 s8 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #2 s1 Dinara Safina RUS 6(4)-7, 6-1, 6-3 Wed Dinara driving a forehand, Vika volleying a backhand, and after match point     Victoria said: "It's my first semifinal of such a big tournament, and I was just really happy, because it was a tough match. I was almost losing it and I pulled it off. I was fighting from the first to the last moment."     Dinara is now 13-4 this year, with losses to Elena Dementieva, Serena Williams, Virginie Razzano, and Victoria Azarenka.     Dinara said: "I played pretty well in the first set. I was aggressive. From the second set, I just gave it all into [Victoria's] hands. She's an aggressive player and was just better than me today. And in the third set I was ahead 3-1, 30-15, and I gave everything to her again. I went away from my game every time I was up." #6 s4 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #12 s9 Caroline Wozniacki NED 6-4, 6-2 Wed Caroline and Vera driving backhands, and The Woz congratulating Vera after match point     Vera said: "I had my ups and downs throughout the match. It wasn't easy out there. I'm happy with the way I played though. [Caroline is] young and talented, so I had to stay more focused on what I had to do today. I'm pretty happy to get through this one and move into the semifinals of Indian Wells." #7 s5 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #28 s23 Sybille Bammer AUT walkover—left shoulder injury *#42 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #10 s7 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 7-6(8), 6-4 Thu Agnieszka and Anastasia driving forehand and backhand, and Anastasia after match point

Indian Wells, SFs, Fri WTA story loser's prize: $150,000; points: 450 #6 s4 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #11 s8 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-3, 6-3 Vika driving a forehand Vera driving a backhand, and after match point     Vera now leads Victoria 4-0 in career matches. But Victoria still has an impressive 17-2 record for the season, winning the Brisbane and Memphis titles, and losing only to Vera today, and to Serena Williams in the 4th round of the Australian Open 3-6, 4-2 retired, when Victoria could not continue due to stomach illness.     Vera said: "[Victoria is] a good server. I was concentrating on keeping my returns in as much as possible. I had a few double faults and a few mistakes here and there, but I was going for my shots so I was happy to win this one." #7 s5 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #42 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-2, 6-3 Ana serving, Anastasia and Ana driving forehands, and Ana after match point     It was Anastasia's first WTA singles semifinal.     Ana said: "[Anastasia has] had a great run here. She can be very dangerous... She's very young and still has lots she can improve, so she'll be even tougher in the future, for sure."     About playing Vera Zvonareva in the final, Ana said: "[Vera is] very confident at the moment. She has been playing really well last year and at the beginning of this year. I just have to be aggressive and move forward from the first point on, like I've been doing so far. It's going to be a tough match, but I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Indian Wells, Final, Sun, noon loser's prize: $350,000; points: 700 winner's prize: $700,000; points: 1000 #6 s4 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #7 s5 Ana Ivanovic SRB 7-6(5), 6-2 Vera's service toss, Ana driving a forehand, Vera driving a backhand, and after winning the 1st set tiebreaker... Vera driving a forehand, Ana and Vera volleying backhands, and Vera after match point

Indian Wells, Doubles Final, Sat 11am WTA story losers' prize: $118,500 winners' prize: $237,000 cdr75 Vera Zvonareva & Victoria Azarenka d cdr114 Gisela Dulko & Shahar Peer 6-4, 3-6, (10-5) Vera (5th WTA doubles title) and Vika (3rd WTA doubles title); their 1st title as a team     Vera said: "We had our ups and downs throughout the match. They're very tough opponents to play. You have to be very consistent against them: as soon as we made couple of mistakes, they started winning. In the first set we were a little bit better. Then less consistent in the second set, but we came out for the tie-break very strong, and we're very happy about winning this title."     Victoria said: "We're going to keep going [as partners] for the big ones and the Grand Slams. We'll play in Miami." Indian Wells, Qualifying Finals, Tue Mar 11 10am losers' prizes: q1 $1,050 1pt; q2 $2,100 20pts; qualifier 30 points *#132 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #64 Mathilde Johansson FRA 6-4, 6-2 *#114 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #68 Julie Coin FRA 6-4, 4-5 retired *#95 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR d #73 Severine Bremond FRA 6-0, 6-3 #74 Petra Cetkovska CZE d #92 Lucie Hradecka CZE 6-2, 7-6(1) *#203 Petra Martic CRO d #75 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-3, 6-4 *#154 Angela Haynes USA d #78 Jarmila Groth SVK/AUS 6-3, 7-6(2) #84 Kristina Barrois GER d #97 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 *#103 Stephanie Foretz FRA d #89 Camille Pin FRA 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 #118 Stephanie Dubois CAN d #229 Andrea Petkovic GER 7-6(2), 6-3 #122 Varvara Lepchenko USA d #127 Masa Zec Peskiric SLO 6-3, 6-4 #124 Michelle Larcher de Brito POR d #128 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 #136 Evgenia Rodina RUS d #169 Tatjana Malek GER 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 Indian Wells, Withdrawals #9 Nadia Petrova RUS right foot injury #22 Katarina Srebotnik SLO left achilles injury #23 Maria Sharapova RUS recovering from 2008 torn right shoulder tendon #83 Casey Dellacqua AUS left shoulder surgery, out until midyear

    (Mar 9, 2009) Former # 1 Maria Sharapova will play doubles at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, which begins March 11. Maria, who has not played doubles in four years, will be partnered with fellow Russian Elena Vesnina, a good doubles player. Maria is not yet ready to play singles, as she is still recovering from a torn right shoulder rotator cuff tendon she incurred in the Spring of 2008.
    Maria said: "I am excited to be playing competitive tennis again. The healing process takes time, and requires things to move more slowly than I would like, but I am taking things one step at a time." mariasharapova.com

    (Mar 6, 2009) Former # 1 Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, which begins March 11. Maria is not yet ready to play as she recovers from a torn right shoulder rotator cuff tendon she incurred in the Spring of 2008.
    Although videos from the Bollettiieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida, have shown that Maria is working very hard to get ready to play, the videos also show that Maria is still doing some of her practicing left handed, to avoid overtaxing her right shoulder.

    (Mar 10, 2008) Schedule change: This year's Indian Wells women's singles final will be held on (Easter) Sunday (same as the men's) with the doubles final on Saturday. Previously the women's singles final was held on Saturday and the women's doubles final on Sunday, "Grand Slam style."

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Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2009 WTA Schedule with links & photos

Link to many postmatch interview & match highlight videos of WTA players at the 2008 WTA Player Videos page.

WTA PhotoRankings: the current top 20 Women's Tennis rankings with player photos, links, and bio info.