WTA Mar 23-Apr 4: Miami Sony Ericsson Open Key Biscayne, Miami, FL + ATP PREMIER M $4,500,000 96m/48q/32d outdoor: hard Laykold Free Live Video 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 Live Scores - in popup window draws: WTA: Q - main - D - OOP tourney: draws - OOP results - tourney schedule pics: DL: SE - KB - Y!: sports - KB - SE     WTA pics | videos | TV schedule interviews: tourney - ASAP Miami Herald: Tennis Miami: weather radar - forecast #3 Svetlana Kuznetsova #4 Caroline Wozniacki #5 Venus Williams #6 Victoria Azarenka #7 Elena Dementieva #8 Agnieszka Radwanska #9 Jelena Jankovic #10 Na Li #11 Samantha Stosur

Tourney pages: Miami: 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 previous other tourney pages next Key Biscayne: #5 Venus Williams 6'1" 160lb RH 2H-BH Key Biscayne: #17 Kim Clijsters 5' 8½" 150lb RH 2H-BH

On Saturday at Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open, the 2009 US Open champion, 26-year-old 14th-seeded #17 (and former #1) Kim Clijsters from Bree, Belgium, crushed, killed and destroyed the 1998, '99 and 2001 Miami champ (and this year's champ in Dubai and Acapulco), 29-year-old 3rd-seeded #5 (and former #1) Venus Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, 6-2, 6-1 (Venus is shown during the match; Kim is shown with the glassware afterward).     Kim's prize is $700,000; Venus's is $350,000.     Kim put 67% of her 1st serves in the box, and won 83% of her 1st serve points and 67% of her 2nd serve points.     Venus put only 48% of her 1st serves in, and won 57% of her 1st serve points and only 32% of her 2nd serve points).     Venus never reached break point against Kim (who lost only 8 points on her serve during the match), while Kim scored on 5 of the 6 break points she held against Venus (who won only 9 points in the entire 2nd set).     Kim said: "I felt like from the beginning I was ready to go and really seeing the ball well...     "Venus is a great competitor, a great athlete, and one of the best women's tennis has ever had.I knew I had to come out here and play well." AP story     Venus hit 30 unforced errors in the match, while Kim had only 12. Venus said: "It wasn't my best day. [Kim] played extremely solid, but it's not like I was blown off the court. Unfortunately I was my own worst enemy... She played smart to just get the ball in play."

    Kim now leads Venus 6-5 in career matches, and Kim has won the last four times they have played. Their previous match was on a Deco-Turf II hardcourt in the 4th round of last year's US Open, when Kim won, 6-0, 0-6, 6-4.

    2005 & 2009 US Open champ Kim, who retired in May, 2007, and returned to play last August, is now 37-16 in WTA singles finals; she also won the Brisbane title this year. Kim has a 14-2 match record in 2010.

    7-time Grand Slam tourney champion Venus is now 43-26 in WTA singles finals; she won the Dubai and Acapulco titles this year. Venus, who had won 15 matches in a row prior to this one, has a 19-2 singles match record this season.

Miami player's blog by Samantha Stosur

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 tourney time:        = GMT -4 hours        = US EDT        = US PDT +3 hours Miami news Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar   click for broader view   Tennis Center at Crandon Park - Park map Lat.: 25.708962 Long.: -116.304295 goto link for World Wind     Miami: 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) is on Monday & Tuesday. Main draw play begins on Wednesday, at 10am on the outer courts, 11am on the Stadium and Grandstand courts. 2010: Young ladies playing Meet the Press on Tuesday, March 23, included Na Li, '98, '99 & 2001 Miami champ Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, 2010 Indian Wells champ & '08 Miami finalist Jelena Jankovic, and Elena Dementieva... row 2: At the WTA Player's Council meeting on Tuesday, Liezel Huber, Patty Schnyder, Venus Williams, Lucie Safarova, and Francesca Schiavone, discussed issues raised by players like Nuria Llagostera Vives... 2010: Darned good looking healthy young ladies at the tourney "kick off" party on Tuesday night included Caroline Wozniacki, Venus Williams, Radwanska sisters Urszula and Agnieszka, Jelena Jankovic, and 2002, '03, '04, '07 & '08 Miami champ Serena Williams, who has been unable to play since January due to a left knee injury... row 2: At the annual WTA Player Awards on Wednesday, Elena Dementieva was named Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year as voted by fans online, Venus & Serena Williams were named Doubles Team of the Year and Serena Player of the Year, Yanina Wickmayer was named Most Improved Player, Kim Clijsters won both the Comeback Player of the Year award and the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award, and Melanie Oudin was named Newcomer of the Year.

Miami, 1st Rd, Tue-Wed 10am & 11am loser's prize: $7,050; points: 5 #37 Gisela Dulko ARG d #50 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-4, 6-1 Tue #38 Virginie Razzano FRA d #106 q Varvara Lepchenko USA 6-3, 5-0 retired—abdominal pain Wed #39 Lucie Safarova CZE d #92 Kaia Kanepi EST 6(1)-7, 6-4, 6-3 Tue #40 Sorana Cirstea ROU d #116 wc Michelle Larcher de Brito POR 7-5, 7-6(9) Tue #41 Melanie Oudin USA d #131 q Michaella Krajicek NED 6-2, 6-4 Wed Melanie and Michaella driving forehand and backhand #42 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d #175 wc Anastasia Pivovarova RUS 6-1, 7-6(3) Wed *#82 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS d #43 Vera Dushevina RUS 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Tue #44 Andrea Petkovic GER d #93 q Anastasia Rodionova AUS 6-4, 6-2 Wed #45 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #224 wc Ajla Tomljanovic SRB 6(1)-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 Tue Ajla and Yaroslava driving forehands #46 Melinda Czink HUN d #115 wc Arantxa Rus NED 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(6) Wed *#108 q Pauline Parmentier FRA d #47 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Wed #48 Patty Schnyder SUI d #411 sr20 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-2, 6(3)-7, 6-1 Wed #49 Sara Errani ITA d #78 Tatjana Malek GER 6-1, 6-0 Wed #51 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #81 Ioana Raluca Olaru ROU 6-1, 6-3 Tue #52 Polona Hercog SLO d #72 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 6-3, 6-0 Tue Barbora and Polona driving backhands #53 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d #67 Lucie Hradecka CZE 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 Tue #54 Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #133 q Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA 6-4, 6-4 Wed *#61 Petra Kvitova CZE d #55 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-4, 6-4 Tue Petra and Tathiana driving backhand and forehand #56 Shuai Peng CHN d #76 Vania King USA 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 Tue Shuai and Vania driving backhands #57 Roberta Vinci ITA d #68 q Regina Kulikova RUS 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Wed *#65 q Elena Baltacha GBR d #58 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-2, 6-4 Wed Elena and Iveta driving backhand and forehand #59 Ekaterina Makarova RUS d #236 q Casey Dellacqua AUS 6-3, 7-5 Wed Lefty backhands by Ekaterina and Casey #62 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN d #70 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 Wed Kimiko driving a backhand *#80 Alizé Cornet FRA d #64 Stefanie Voegele SUI 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 Wed Stefanie and Alizé driving backhands #69 Julia Goerges GER d #90 q Ayumi Morita JPN 7-6(3), 6-4 Wed *#79 q Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #71 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-2, 6-4 Wed *#107 q Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #73 Kristina Barrois GER 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 Wed #75 wc Petra Martic CRO d #85 Julie Coin FRA 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-3 Tue Petra about to connect with a backhand, and Julie driving one *#NR wc Justine Henin BEL d #83 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 6-2 Wed Justine and Jill driving forehands *#179 sr59 Tamira Paszek AUT d #123 sr55 Anne Keothavong GBR 6-4, 6-2 Wed Tamira and Anne driving backhands #138 wc Alicia Molik AUS d #NR sr72 Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-1, 6-1 Tue Alicia and Ashley driving forehand and backhand #127 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #487 wc Heather Watson GBR 6-4, 6-2 Wed Heather about to connect with a backhand, and Tsvetana driving one

Miami, 2nd Rd, Thu-Fri 10am & 11am loser's prize: $11,500; points: 50 Friday: rain stopped play; play has resumed #3 s1 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #56 Shuai Peng CHN 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 Thu Shuai and Svetlana driving backhands     Svetlana said: "I felt the ball very well and I felt my game, but I was up and down. Like if I play it I win; if I don't, it's a mistake. So it was kind of on and off. But I think it's a little bit normal as I didn't play many matches [yet this season]... Actually first set was very easy, and I just get frustrated a little bit. I stop moving my feet in the second set and just lost one game, and everything's went wrong. In tennis, you don't need much... [At the end] I think I started talk to myself better, you know, not being so negative, so I didn't make my errors get me down as it did in the second set." postmatch interview #4 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #127 q Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Fri Tsvetana driving a backhand, and Caro following a forehand #5 s3 Venus Williams USA d #40 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-4, 6-3 Thu Sorana about to swat a backhand, and Venus driving one     Venus said: "[Sorana] played extremely aggressive. When her shots were landing in, it was really good stuff... Toward the end my game got better and better, and I was happy with it." postmatch interview #6 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #51 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU 6-3, 6-2 Fri Alexandra and Vika driving backhands *#NR wc Justine Henin BEL d #7 s5 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-3, 6-2 Fri Elena and Justine driving forehand and backhand     Justine said: "I was ready for a really tough fight, and I was a bit scared of this match, of course, because I knew it was tough draw to play Dementieva in the second round. But I like this kind of challenge, and I really took it as something I would push myself to be better on the court than I've been the last few weeks. So I think it was a good opportunity for myself.     "You have to be at your best if you want to win. Even if she didn't serve very well tonight she's still fighting a lot. Even at 5 1 in the second set she keeps fighting and you have to be aggressive on every point. So, happy tactically the way I played.." postmatch interview #8 s6 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #59 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 7-5, 6-0 Thu Ekaterina and Agnieszka driving backhands #9 s7 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #107 q Mariya Koryttseva UKR 6-4, 6-0 Fri Jelena stalking the elusive backhand, Mariya following a forehand, and Jelena's backhand drive *#54 Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #10 s8 Na Li CHN 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3) Thu Na driving a backhand, and Timea about to lightly tap one #11 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS d #42 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 Fri Carla about to swat a backhand, and Samantha following a forehand *#44 Andrea Petkovic GER d #12 s10 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 Thu #14 s11 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #41 Melanie Oudin USA 6-1, 6-2 Fri #15 s12 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #65 q Elena Baltacha GBR 6-1, 6-3 Thu Elena and Yanina driving forehands #16 s13 Marion Bartoli FRA d #53 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-2, 6-4 Thu Magda and Marion driving backhands #17 s14 Kim Clijsters BEL d #61 Petra Kvitova CZE 6-1, 6-1 Fri Kim's backhand drive     Kim said: "It was nice to have a match like this, I think, especially after my tough loss in Indian Wells, It was just nice to come out here and be really focused and try to raise my level. I think I've been practicing really well. It was just nice to take whatever I was doing really good in practice and really show that in my matches now." postmatch interview #18 s15 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #80 Alizé Cornet FRA 6-3, 6-2 Fri Francesca following a forehand, and Alizé after losing a point #19 s16 Nadia Petrova RUS d #62 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN 6-3, 7-6(7) Thu Kimiko and Nadia driving forehand and backhand #20 s17 Shahar Peer ISR d #82 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-1, 6-0 Fri *#75 wc Petra Martic CRO d #21 s18 Aravane Rezai FRA 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 Thu #22 s19 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #48 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-1, 6-4 Thu Patty driving a backhand, and Daniela following a forehand *#38 Virginie Razzano FRA d #23 s20 Jie Zheng CHN 6-4, 6-2 Fri Jie congratulating Virginie after match point *#37 Gisela Dulko ARG d #24 s21 Alona Bondarenko UKR 7-5, 6-2 Thu Alona and Gisela spinning forehands #25 s22 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #179 sr59 Tamira Paszek AUT 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3 Fri *#45 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #26 s23 Sabine Lisicki GER 6-3, 0-1 retired—left ankle injury Thu *#49 Sara Errani ITA d #27 s24 Alisa Kleybanova RUS 6-4, 7-5 Fri #28 s25 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #108 q Pauline Parmentier FRA 6-4, 6-3 Thu Pauline serving, Ana driving a backhand, and after match point     Ana said: "I thought I played really well. I thought it was good to have a win... I feel I improved a lot over last month. Obviously working with a new coach, with Heinz [Gunthardt], I can see the improvements actually almost on daily basis. It's very encouraging. I felt like I've been playing really well for a while now, so it's been disappointing to lose so early at Indian Wells. But I just keep working hard and try to do my best out there." postmatch interview #29 s26 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #79 q Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-0, 6-2 Fri #30 s27 Agnes Szavay HUN d #138 wc Alicia Molik AUS 6-0, 6-0 Thu Alicia and Agnes driving forehands #31 s28 Elena Vesnina RUS d #69 Julia Goerges GER 6-3, 6-4 Fri *#39 Lucie Safarova CZE d #33 s29 MJ Martinez Sanchez ESP 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 Fri Maria Jose and Lucie leftying backhands *#57 Roberta Vinci ITA d #34 s30 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-4, 7-6(5) Thu Roberta driving a forehand on the run *#52 Polona Hercog SLO d #35 s31 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 7-6(5), 6-3 Thu Polona and Aleksandra driving forehands #36 s32 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #46 Melinda Czink HUN 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) Fri Melinda about to slice a backhand, Maria driving one, and Maria, who had trailed 2-5 in the 3rd, after match point

Miami, 3rd Rd, Sat-Sun 10am & 11am loser's prize: $18,740; points: 80 #3 s1 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #30 s27 Agnes Szavay HUN 6-2, 6-3 Sat Svetlana and Agnes driving forehand and backhand #4 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #36 s32 Maria Kirilenko RUS 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 Sun Maria and Caroline driving forehand and backhand     Caroline won despite feeling ill. Caroline said: "I obviously didn't feel 100% today. Yesterday I had to retire from my doubles because I didn't feel healthy enough to play. Today I felt much better this morning, but still had some problems with my head and the throat. But I wanted to go out there and try to win. That's what I did.     "Maria was playing a really good first set. I really didn't have too much of a chance. I just thought, 'Okay I don't have anything to lose.' I just tried to go out there and fight for every point. Even though I didn't feel 100%, I still went out there and fought.     "The third set I started to feel better already. I think everything started to get to normal almost, and I felt much better... I felt dizzy from the middle of the first set already. I took Tylenol and Advil, and I think, that's it [laughter]." postmatch interview #5 s3 Venus Williams USA d #57 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-1, 6-4 Sat Venus reaching for a backhand, Roberta fielding a difficult volley, and Venus running down a drop shot     Venus made 16 trips to the net. Venus said: "I was enjoying it. It just seemed natural. I was just running in. My legs took me there, so I've gotta keep doing that... Just being an all around better player I think I come to the net more. Especially this year I've just been to the net a lot." postmatch interview #6 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #39 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-4, 6-2 Sun Lucie volleying a backhand, and Victoria driving one #8 s6 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #28 s25 Ana Ivanovic SRB 7-5, 7-5 Sat Ana and Agnieszka driving forehands #9 s7 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #31 s28 Elena Vesnina RUS 7-6(3), 6-3 Sun Elena and Jelena driving backhands, and Jelena after match point #11 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS d #38 Virginie Razzano FRA 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 Sun Samantha and Virginie driving forehand and backhand #14 s11 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #49 Sara Errani ITA 6-2, 6-3 Sun #15 s12 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #75 wc Petra Martic CRO 6-3, 6-3 Sat Yanina volleying a backhand, and Petra driving one #16 s13 Marion Bartoli FRA d #37 Gisela Dulko ARG 7-6(2), 6-4 Sat Gisela serving, and Marion's 2-handed forehand with backhand grip #17 s14 Kim Clijsters BEL d #20 s17 Shahar Peer ISR 6-0, 6-1 Sun Shahar serving, and Kim's backhand drive     Kim has lost only 3 games in her first two matches in Miami. Kim said: "I have a feeling out there where your brain and your arm is kind of connecting. I think in Indian Wells it was a completely different story. Gradually, throughout the two weeks that I've been preparing myself, after I lost to Kleybanova, I've been really trying to focus on getting my swing back and the feeling where you can play freely, have a loose arm.     "That's the feeling when I'm out there playing. It's a nice feeling to have. But I know from the past and I've learned from the past that it can change very quickly as well. I just want to try to maintain this feeling and keep focusing, practice on just moving well and taking small steps." postmatch interview *#25 s22 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #18 s15 Francesca Schiavone ITA 7-5, 6-3 Sun *#22 s19 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #19 s16 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-2, 6-4 Sat Nadia and Daniela driving backhands, and Daniela after match point *#NR wc Justine Henin BEL d #29 s26 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-4, 6-4 Sun Justine about to connect with a forehand, Dominika driving a backhand, and Justine after winning a game     Justine said: "I [was in] trouble... at the beginning of the sets. After that, I just had what I had to do. [Elena] played a good rhythm, played a good match. There were ups and downs. I've been able to come into the court, but probably not enough. But when I had to do a good job, that's what I did. That's okay... [Elena] plays well, she runs a lot, and she has pretty good backhand. She's a real fighter." postmatch interview *#45 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ d #44 Andrea Petkovic GER 6-0, 5-7, 7-5 Sat *#54 Timea Bacsinszky SUI d #52 Polona Hercog SLO 6-2, 6-2 Sat

Miami, 4th Rd, Mon 11am loser's prize: $32,000; points: 140 Monday: rain delayed start of play until 3pm *#16 s13 Marion Bartoli FRA d #3 s1 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-3, 6-0 Svetlana's service toss, and Marion's backhand drive     Svetlana had to call for the trainer three times to treat a right shoulder injury. Svetlana said: "Today the weather condition was very tough to play. I felt from the first point when I start to return that it was not my day, but still it was pretty hard.     "She broke me, and then at 5-3 I started to serve and I felt like a pull. But I still kept serving. It was so painful I almost had stars in my eyes it was so painful.     "I called physio and tried to continue to play. I think I should have pulled out earlier. I mean, it's impossible. I cannot return. Then I cannot serve... [It is a] muscle pull... [Marion] was playing tough." postmatch interview     Marion said: "I think [Svetlana] was hurt definitely. It's tough, because she's a great girl and she's nice. We used to practice together, so it was tough to be focused and play. Sometimes you just have to get through those matches and think about the next one." postmatch interview     Svetlana's next schedule tourney is Stuttgart (April 26), so she will have some time to heal. She will not be playing in the Fed Cup semifinals. #4 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #25 s22 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-2, 6-2 Caroline and Anastasia driving forehands, and Caro following a serve #5 s3 Venus Williams USA d #22 s19 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 Daniela about to slice a backhand, and Venus driving one     After winning the 1st set, Daniela broke Venus's serve to take the lead in the 2nd—but she could not sustain it. The win raised Venus's won-loss record against Daniela to 10-0.     Daniela lost despite putting 71% of her 1st serves in the box, and converting 6 of the 7 break points she held against Venus. Venus put 59% of her 1st serves in (winning 73% of those points) and won 5 of the 10 break points she held against Daniela.     Venus said: "I was a little bit off and struggling to find the court. Of course I'd like to win more straightforward, but when it counts and times get tough, I always feel confident that I'm going to find a way to win." AP story - postmatch interview *#17 s14 Kim Clijsters BEL d #6 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-4, 6-0 Kim about to slice a backhand, and Vika driving one #8 s6 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #45 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 6-1, 6-4 Agnieszka's service toss *#11 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS d #9 s7 Jelena Jankovic SRB 6-1, 7-6(9) Jelena and Samantha about to swat backhands *#NR wc Justine Henin BEL d #14 s11 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-1, 6-4 Vera driving a backhand, and Justine about to swat one #15 s12 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #54 Timea Bacsinszky SUI 6-0, 6-1

Miami, QFs, Tue-Wed 11am loser's prize: $64,700; points: 250 *#NR wc Justine Henin BEL d #4 s2 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6(5)-7, 6-3, 6-4 Wed Justine driving a forehand, Caro about to swat one, and Justine's backhand drive     The first set took an hour and an quarter to play; the match lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes. Justine said: "[Caroline is] really smart. She never hits two balls in the row with the same rhythm. She pushed me to play and work a lot." AP story - postmatch interview     Caroline said: "I think [Justine] just didn't feel the pressure. She just went out there and enjoyed it, and that's why the results are coming." postmatch interview #5 s3 Venus Williams USA d #8 s6 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-3, 6-1 Tue Agnieszka and Venus driving backhands     Venus put only 55% of her 1st serves in the box, but won 77% of those points (Agnieszka: 71% of 1st serves in, won 51% of 1st serve points). Venus converted 5 of the 10 break points she held against Agnieszka; Agnieszka, who had only 3 opportunites, broke Venus's serve once.     Venus said: "When I'm executing and playing my best, it's great. It feels good, and I feel like I'm definitely dictating the points and that I don't give my opponent as many chances to have a say."     Venus scored on 15 of 19 trips to the net. Venus said: "I play my best game when I'm more aggressive, because that's my style. Others don't play as well as aggressive, because that's not their style. It just seems to be better when I move forward, and I try to do that." AP story - postmatch interview #17 s14 Kim Clijsters BEL d #11 s9 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-3, 7-5 Wed Samantha and Kim driving forehand and backhand, and Kim after match point     Kim said: "[Samantha is] really aggressive with that forehand. She puts a lot spin on there, so it's tough to get out of it once she's putting pressure on you. Once you're into that rally, you can't really get out of her forehand. So I was really trying to make sure that from the return I was trying to go into that backhand." postmatch interview     About playing her compatriot Justine Henin in the semis, Kim said: "The last match we played against each other was in Brisbane. That was one of the funnest matches, most exciting matches I think that I've played my career. So hopefully we can both play the same kind of match level and intensity. I love playing matches like this. I think Justine and myself, we had a great time out there in that Brisbane final. We'll see tomorrow who's better on the day." *#16 s13 Marion Bartoli FRA d #15 s12 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 6-4, 7-5 Yanina and Marion driving forehands

Miami, SFs, Thu 1pm & 9pm loser's prize: $150,000; points: 450 #5 s3 Venus Williams USA d #16 s13 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 6-4 Marion and Venus driving backhands, and Venus after match point     Marion fired 7 aces with only 1 double fault, but won only 28% of her 2nd serve points (Venus: 4 aces, 4 DFs, won 54% of her 2nd serve points).     Marion said: "[Venus's] serve was huge.. even in the second serve the ball is really bouncing really high... I was not able to attack any of the second serve because the ball was jumping over my head." postmatch interview     Venus and Marion had met twice before, both times in finals. On a chlorophyll court in the Wimbledon final in 2007, Venus defeated Marion (who had defeated Justine Henin in the semis), 6-4, 6-1. But last year, on a hardcourt in the final at Stanford, Marion defeated Venus, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.     Venus will play Kim Clijsters in the Miami final on Saturday. Venus and Kim are tied at 5-5 in career matches, but Kim has won the last three times they have played, most recently on a Deco-Turf II hardcourt in the 4th round of last year's US Open, 6-0, 0-6, 6-4.     About the final, Venus said: "My main goal is to obviously execute my game. That's pretty much it. So I don't necessarily get so focused on who's a cross the net. I'm really focused on, you know, the task at hand with me when I get a chance to hit the ball." postmatch interview #17 s14 Kim Clijsters BEL d #NR wc Justine Henin BEL 6-2, 6(3)-7, 7-6(6) Kim driving a forehand, and Justine and Kim driving backhands     Kim said: "What I did so well was really be dominant in the first set and a half... I think my first serve percentage went down [after that], and that [gave Justine] that a little bit of extra push to be a little bit more dominant during the rallies. And I felt that. Instead of being right on top of my baseline and dominating the rallies from there, I felt like I was being pushed back a little bit. It's a big difference for your opponent if you stand a meter behind your baseline. For me, it takes twice the effort to try to create the same kind of pressure for her. But that gives her a lot more time to be dominant as well." postmatch interview     Justine said: "I've played better, but [Kim was] the one who really went for the opportunities... She played better on the important points. She's been more aggressive and took the opportunities. I think that really made the difference today." postmatch interview

Miami, Final, Sat, 12:30pm loser's prize: $350,000; points: 700 winner's prize: $700,000; points: 1000 *#17 s14 Kim Clijsters BEL d #5 s3 Venus Williams USA 6-2, 6-1 Kim serving, Venus fielding a forehand on the run, Kim driving a backhand, and after match point

Miami, Doubles Final, Sun after ATP singles final, 1pm losers' prize: $118,500 winners' prize: $237,000 Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta d s3 Samantha Stosur & Nadia Petrova 6-3, 4-6 (10-7) Gisela (10th WTA doubles title) and Flavia (7th) after match point, and with the glassware (their 4th title as a team) Miami, Qualifying Finals, Tue Mar 23 10am losers' prizes: q1 $1,050 1pt; q2 $2,100 20pts; qualifier 30 points *#106 Varvara Lepchenko USA d #63 Anastasija Sevastova LAT 6-1, 3-0 retired—right foot laceration #65 Elena Baltacha GBR d #97 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-4, 7-6(6) *#133 Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA d #66 Angelique Kerber GER 6-4, 6-0 #68 Regina Kulikova RUS d #121 Kathrin Woerle GER 6-1, 6-1 *#108 Pauline Parmentier FRA d #74 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-3, 6-2 *#107 Mariya Koryttseva UKR d #77 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-3, 6-1 #79 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #301 Coco Vandeweghe USA 6-2, 7-5 *#127 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #86 Karolina Sprem CRO 7-6(3), 6-1 #90 Ayumi Morita JPN d #96 Mariana Duque Marino COL 6-2, 7-5 #93 Anastasia Rodionova AUS d #102 Rossana de Los Rios PAR 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 *#131 Michaella Krajicek NED d #100 Katie O'Brien GBR 6-4, 6-2 *#236 Casey Dellacqua AUS d #125 Darya Kustova BLR 6-2, 6-2 Miami, Withdrawals #1 Serena Williams USA left knee injury #2 Dinara Safina RUS low back injury #13 Maria Sharapova RUS right elbow bone bruise #32 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR knee injury #60 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER left foot injury #84 Sania Mirza IND right wrist injury #89 Urszula Radwanska POL back injury

    (March 20, 2010) WTA #1 Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week's tourney at Key Biscayne due to a knee injury.
    Former #1 Maria Sharapova had withdrawn earlier due to a right elbow bone bruise which is expected to keep her sidelined for three to six weeks. An MRI after her loss to Jie Zheng at Indian Wells revealed the injury.
    Former #1 Dinara Safina also withdrew earlier due to a low back injury that has troubled her since last year.

    (Apr 2, 2009) Second Fiddle: In the first four rounds of the Sony Ericsson Open, about two-thirds to three quarters of the matches played on the show courts each day were ATP (in the later rounds things even up, because there are not enough ATP matches to fill the show courts). As of Wednesday, of the 47 interview transcripts posted at the SEO website, 19 have been WTA (including Larry Scott), and 28 have been ATP. Considering that the principal sponsor of this tourney is the WTA's title sponsor, it makes a joke of the concept of equal treatment for the ladies.

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

Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2010 WTA Schedule with links & photos

Link to many postmatch interview & match highlight videos of WTA players at the 2009 WTA Player Videos page.

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