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On Sunday at Indian Wells, in the final of the BNP Paribas Open,
the 2006 Indian Wells champion (and 2012 finalist—and champ at Roland Garros, Rome & Stuttgart), 25 year old 3rd seeded #3 Maria Sharapova of Russia (residences: Manhattan Beach, California and Bradenton, Florida),
handily defeated
the 2011 Indian Wells champion (and 2012 champ at Moscow & Seoul), 22 year old 8th seeded #10 (and former #1) Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco),
6-2, 6-2 (Caroline is shown during the match; Maria is shown leaning on the too large to lift glassware afterward).
Maria's prize is $1,000,000; Caroline's prize is $500,000.
Maria struck 33 winners (including 4 aces) with 25 unforced errors (including 1 double fault), while losing only 9 points on serve during the match. (Caroline hit only 2 winners (no aces), with 19 unforced errors (2 DFs). Maria scored 65 points in the match, and converted 4 of the 9 break points she reached against Caroline; Caro totaled 39 points, and failed to score on the two break points she held against Maria.
Moments after match point, Maria tweeted: "Waiting to hold that special trophy!! Yayyy!!" Maria Sharapova at Twitter
Maria said: "The scoreline makes the match look a lot easier than it was. It was a tough match, a tough battle, and there were a lot of games that went to deuce and long games. Those games could have easily swung the other way, especially some opportunities she had in the second set. I felt like I was always a foot ahead though, especially with the breaks. I served well today, and that helped me.
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"[Caroline] makes you hit so many balls if she has time, and that's not the way I want to be and not how to control points. It was really important to take away that time she likes to have."
WTA story
Caroline said: "[Maria] was putting pressure on me from the start. I felt like everything she wanted to do today was going in. She was making very few errors, and when she did, it was at times where it didn't really matter. Her first and second serves were pretty much the same speed, she stepped into the returns, and even when she was running, she still came down with some shots that were going very close to the lines. I have to say she just played too well."
Maria now leads Caroline 5-2 in
career matches. Their previous meeting was last year on a Laykold hardcourt in the semifinals at Miami, when Maria defeated Caro 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
4-time Grand Slam tourney champion
Maria is now 28-19 in WTA singles finals, and has a 14-2 singles match record this season.
Caroline is now 20-13 in WTA singles finals, and has a 16-7 singles match record for the year.
Maria will move back up to #2 in Monday's WTA rankings;
Victoria Azarenka, who withdrew from the tourney on Thursday due to an ankle injury, will drop to #3.
WTA SCOREBOARD: The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells
BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California
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.
2013: On Wednesday, March 6, players grinning at the Indian Wells press All Access Hour included
2012 finalist Maria Sharapova, 2012 tourney champion Victoria Azarenka, and 2011 IW champ Caroline Wozniacki...
row 2: Young ladies looking good at Thursday night's player party included Elena Vesnina & Vika Azarenka, Sloane Stephens, Domi Cibulkova & Petra Kvitova, row 3: Urszula & Agnieszka Radwanska, Klara Zakapalova, Lucie Safarova & Andrea Hlavackova, and 2008 IW champ Ana Ivanovic...
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Indian Wells, 1st Rd, Wed-Thu 11am
loser's prize: $11,000; points: 5
n36 Alize Cornet FRA d n101 q Monica Puig PUR 6(3)-7, 6-2, 6-2 Thu
Monica driving a forehand, and Alize reaching for one
n38 Urszula Radwanska POL d n70 Arantxa Rus NED 6-3, 6-3 Thu
*n44 Irina-Camelia Begu ROU d n39 Heather Watson GBR 6-2, 6-4 Thu
Irina fielding a backhand
*n96 q Garbine Muguruza ESP d n40 Bojana Jovanovski SRB 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 Thu
*n90 Ksenia Pervak KAZ d n42 Jie Zheng CHN 6-1, 6-2 Wed
Jie ready to slice a backhand, and Ksenia lofting one
*n49 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d n43 Laura Robson GBR 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-1 Thu
n46 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d n67 Andrea Hlavackova CZE 6-3, 6-1 Wed
Svetlana serving, and Andrea driving a forehand
Svetlana said: "At the start of the match I was able to get the break quite early as [Andrea] made a few mistakes, but then I was a bit slow, and I gave her the chance to get back into the match. But then I started to play my game again and move better, and I managed to control the match after that." WTA story
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n47 Kiki Bertens NED d n66 Annika Beck GER 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 Thu
n48 Christina McHale USA v n50 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 6-4 Wed
n51 Francesca Schiavone ITA d n65 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-5, 6-1 Wed
Francesca spinning a forehand, and Flavia's backhand drive
Francesca said: "Flavia has just come back from an injury so I had a few more matches behind me going into today. This time, the match was for me. The first set was really tough, and then in the second set I had a little bit more confidence...
"I'm happy to play against Maria [Sharapova] in the next round, and have a chance to play at a high level."
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n52 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d n59 Romina Oprandi SUI 7-6(4), 6-0 Thu
n53 Simona Halep ROU d n72 Lauren Davis USA 6-2, 6-0 Wed
*n472 wc Taylor Townsend USA d n54 Lucie Hradecka CZE 3-6 7-6(1), 6-3 Thu
16 year old Taylor said: "[Lucie] came out playing really well. I just tried to stay composed and tried to keep fighting, and that's what got me through. I just had to take it one point at a time, one point at a time. Especially during the tie-breaker I was just trying to breathe and stay as calm as I could out there." WTA story
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*n74 q Lesia Tsurenko UKR d n55 Ayumi Morita JPN 6-1, 6-2 Wed
Ayumi and Lesia driving 2-handed forehand and backhand
n56 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d n190 q Grace Min USA 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 Wed
*n60 Chanelle Scheepers RSA d n58 wc Kristina Mladenovic FRA 6-4, 6-1 Wed
n61 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d n121 q Casey Dellacqua AUS 6-1, 6-3 Wed
*n126 wc Shahar Peer ISR d n62 Marina Erakovic NZL 6-3, 6-4 Wed
n63 Jamie Hampton USA d n197 wc Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 Thu
*n71 LL Stefanie Voegele SUI d n64 Petra Martic CRO 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 Thu
n68 Olga Govortsova BLR d n92 Mandy Minella LUX 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 Wed
n69 Johanna Larsson SWE d n133 Timea Babos HUN 6(5)-7, 6-2, 6-0 Wed
n73 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d n114 q Stephanie Foretz Gacon FRA 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Thu
Daniela serving, and Stephanie driving a backhand
2002 and 2007 Indian Wells champ Daniela said: "Stephanie was playing really well today. The second set wasn't easy. The windy conditions were tough, and I was getting a little bit tight. But first rounds are always tough, and I just tried not to worry too much about it. The tennis will never be pretty in windy conditions like this... This tournament means a lot to me so I'm happy I won today and made it through." WTA story
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n75 Monica Niculescu ROU d n87 q Elina Svitolina CZE 6-0, 6-0 Thu
Monica said: "I played amazing. I wasn't making any mistakes, I was focusing on every point, and I was even hitting some shots and then thinking, 'Whoah, what's happening here?' So I really don't have any complaints today. I'm playing really well. I feel fantastic. I feel really confident right now."
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n76 wc Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN d n103 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Thu
Kimiko driving a backhand
n78 wc Madison Keys USA d n84 wc Melanie Oudin USA 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 Thu
Madison driving a forehand
Melanie said: "Honestly I didn't think it was a very good match from either of us, particularly the first set. I just thought we both made so many errors. It got better as the match went on, but the first set was terrible, just the amount of mistakes we were both making.
"Our matches are usually good. It's hard playing a friend, another American. She knows what I'll do and I know what she'll do...
"After I won the second set I thought I could definitely take the third set, but the game at 2-all was really unlucky on my end. But all credit to [Madison] and I wish her luck in the next round."
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*n107 q Mirjana Lucic-Baroni CRO d n79 Pauline Parmentier FRA 7-5, 6-3 Thu
n85 Silvia Soler-Espinosa ESP d n113 Vania King USA 6(7)-7, 6-2, 6-1 Wed
Silvia and Vania driving forehand and backhand
n86 Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP d n119 q Sesil Karatantcheva KAZ 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 Wed
*n111 wc Maria Sanchez USA d n109 q Olga Puchkova RUS 6-3, 6-3 Wed
n123 q Mallory Burdette USA d n201 wc Jill Craybas USA 6-3, 6-1 Wed
n487 sr Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d n134 q Michelle Larcher de Brito POR 6-4, 6-4 Thu
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Indian Wells, 2nd Rd, Fri-Sat 11am
loser's prize: $16,000; points: 50
n2 s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d n73 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-4, 6-1 Sat
Vika driving a forehand, and Dani reaching for a backhand
Victoria said: "I have to give [Daniela] credit. I think she started really well. It was my first match after a while, so it's always a little bit tricky, and she already had a match under her belt, plus she feels very good here, obviously winning two times before. So she caught me a little bit off guard...
"I started trying to make her hit out of her comfort zone, because in the beginning she was going for her shots and making incredible winners. But I changed the momentum and started to do that myself... She's a great player. We kind of have similar hitting zones, so when we hit to each other it's a little bit of a battle. But I can bring different things and made the right changes in today's match." WTA story
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n3 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n51 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-2, 6-1 Fri
Maria following a backhand
Maria said: "We broke each other back and forth in the beginning of the first set, and [Francesca] had a few opportunities in the beginning. But once I started being a little bit more aggressive I felt like I had an edge on her. Her game is never an easy one. She makes you hit so many balls, and she has such a great slice. But that's when she has time to do all that. I tried to take that away from her today." WTA story
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n4 s3 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d n111 wc Maria Sanchez USA 6-2, 6-1 Fri
Agnieszka said: "[Maria] wasn't playing just one shot. She can change up her game, hitting the ball very hard and then some spin, throwing in a kick serve. She can play really good tennis.
"The first match at any tournament is always tough, but I think I played consistently from the beginning to the end and stuck to my game tonight. I'm happy to win through in two sets."
About her 3rd round opponent, Sorana Cirstea, Agnieszka said: "It's always a tough match against [Sorana], she can really hit the ball hard and she is a very powerful player, so I need to be focused from the beginning and try not to play too easy to the middle."
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n6 s4 Angelique Kerber GER d n44 Irina-Camelia Begu ROU 6-3, 6-2 Sat
n7 s5 Petra Kvitova CZE d n68 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Fri
n8 s6 Sara Errani ITA d n56 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 Fri
n9 s7 Samantha Stosur AUS d n78 wc Madison Keys USA 6-3, 6-4 Sat
Madison and Samantha driving backhands
Madison struck 6 aces with only one double fault (Samantha: 1 ace, 1 DF), but reached only one break point against Sam in the match and failed to convert it (Samantha: 2/5 BP conversions).
Samantha said: "Madison's got a big game. Obviously her forehand is massive and she's got a very big serve. She's got a pretty decent kick serve for a second serve, too, and handled a lot of my slice quite well sometimes. She's just got to put all the pieces together. She's only 18 years old, and I had lots of pieces like that when I was 18 and wasn't as together as probably what she is now. I think she's got a lot of potential. She has those big weapons that win those big matches." WTA story
Madison said: "I think if I was returning better today, maybe I could have made the match a little bit tighter, but it's such a great learning experience. There are some things I need to work on now, especially my returns. So I'll go back, work on those, and, you know, move onto the next tournament."
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n10 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d n36 Alize Cornet FRA 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Sat
Alize and Caro driving backhands
n11 s9 Marion Bartoli FRA d n60 Chanelle Scheepers RSA 6-3, 6-3 Fri
Marion said: "I think I played solid and consistent tonight. Obviously Chanelle can play very well from the baseline and she likes my pace of ball, and it was chilly today, so I did pretty well to win, and getting it done in two sets was even better, as well. You never know what's going to happen in a third set, so I'm happy with my performance today."
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n12 s10 Nadia Petrova RUS d n71 LL Stefanie Voegele SUI 6-2, 6-3 Sat
n13 s11 Ana Ivanovic SRB d n472 wc Taylor Townsend USA 6-1, 6-2 Sat
About her next opponent, Mona Barthel, Ana said: "I remember she hit a lot of aces on me [11, at Stuttgart last year]! She's having a great year. She has a big serve, but these courts are slow, so hopefully they'll absorb that a little bit."
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n14 s12 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d n53 Simona Halep ROU 7-5, 7-6(3) Fri
n15 s13 Maria Kirilenko RUS d n48 Christina McHale USA 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 Fri
Maria and Christina driving backhands
Maria has just returned from an injury, and cold weather affected play. Maria said: "I was out for four weeks. I got injured in Doha, withdrew from Dubai and didn't practice for 10 days. It's always difficult to start again after such a long time off. The injury is good now, though. And before this I was in Washington where it was freezing, and I practiced outside there, so I was used to these cold conditions. So it wasn't too much of an adjustment for me, really!" WTA story
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n16 s14 Roberta Vinci ITA d n90 Ksenia Pervak KAZ 6-3, 6-4 Fri
*n38 Urszula Radwanska POL d n17 s15 Sloane Stephens USA 6-3, 6-4 Sat
Urszula and Sloane driving forehand and backhand
*n52 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK d n18 s16 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 Sat
*n96 q Garbine Muguruza ESP d n19 s17 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 Sat
*n46 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d n21 s17 Jelena Jankovic SRB 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 Fri
Svetlana serving, and Jelena driving a backhand
Svetlana said: "Jelena and I always have long rallies. I know I can win them, but it's hard, and she's always going to be there putting balls back. I had no pressure though. She's seeded; I'm not seeded. I have no pressure this year at all. Actually, overall I was thinking I don't want to have any pressure in my life, that I feel much better without pressure. I'll try to keep things this way."
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n22 s19 Klara Zakopalova CZE d n126 wc Shahar Peer ISR 6(2)-7, 6-2, 6-3 Fri
*n63 Jamie Hampton USA d n23 s20 Su-Wei Hsieh TPE 6-3, 6-3 Sat
Jamie said: "[Su-Wei is] pretty tricky, talented, has good hands. With any two-hander, probably stretch them a little bit to their cross hand, try to play up the middle, jam them a bit and not give them the angles, because you could see when I did give her the angle it was some good tennis."
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n24 s21 Julia Goerges GER d n49 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-3, 6-3 Sat
*n86 Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP d n25 s22 Varvara Lepchenko USA 6-1, 6-4 Fri
*n123 q Mallory Burdette USA d n26 s23 Tamira Paszek AUT 7-6(0), 6-1 Fri
n27 s24 Mona Barthel GER d n47 Kiki Bertens NED 6-1, 6-4 Sat
About her next opponent, Ana Ivanovic, Mona said: "We played one time in Stuttgart last year and I won it 7-6 and 7-5 or something, two close sets. But of course she's an amazing player. She can play so well, and especially here. I think she won this tournament before. I'll have to play one of my best matches. It will be a tough one."
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n28 s25 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP d n85 Silvia Soler-Espinosa ESP 6-1, 6-1 Fri
*n69 Johanna Larsson SWE d n29 s26 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 7-5, 6-1 Fri
n30 s27 Sorana Cirstea ROU d n61 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 Fri
After trailing 1-3 in the 2nd set, Sorana won 11 of the last 12 games in the match. Sorana said: "I had never beaten Anabel before, so it was a big win for me and I'm really happy. It was my first match here. The conditions were tough and I was down a set and 3-1, but I still won in the end. Overall I'm really happy."
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n31 s28 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d n75 Monica Niculescu ROU 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 Sat
n32 s29 Elena Vesnina RUS d n76 wc Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 Sat
n33 s30 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d n107 q Mirjana Lucic-Baroni CRO 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 Sat
*n74 q Lesia Tsurenko UKR d n34 s31 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 Fri
n35 s32 Shuai Peng CHN d n487 sr Alexandra Dulgheru ROU 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 Sat
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Indian Wells, 3rd Rd, Sun-Mon 11am
loser's prize: $26,000; points: 80
n2 s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d n31 n31 s28 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 Mon
Victoria said: "[Kirsten] really played well. She came out firing, playing so freely and going for every possible shot there was. I didn't really adjust well. I didn't take my chances, and I was too blurry in what I had to do. But whatever happened in the first set is not going to happen tomorrow." WTA story
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n3 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n28 s25 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 7-5, 6-3 Sun
Maria following a forehand
Maria said: "I thought it was a tough one. [Carla is] a quality player, capable of playing some really good tennis. She's dangerous. She's beaten top players in Grand Slams before and has a really solid game with a lot of variety, and she can hit the ball as well. She's really tough.
"There are a few things I want to improve on, but I was happy I got through on not a great day." WTA story
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n4 s3 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d n30 s27 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6(3)-7, 6-3, 6-4 Sun
Sori & Aga driving backhands
Agnieszka took a 5-1 lead in the 3rd set, but Sorana broke back twice to make it 5-4, on serve. Agnieszka said: "[Sorana] was playing very good tennis from the beginning to the end. Every set was very tight, and I was getting a bit nervous at 5-1 in the third set when she started to play unbelievable tennis. She was hitting the ball so well. But the most important thing is I won the match in the end." WTA story
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n6 s4 Angelique Kerber GER d n33 s30 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 6-1, 7-6(4) Mon
Angelique driving a forehand
After winning the 1st set, Angelique trailed 1-4 in the 2nd. Angelique said: "My coach came to me and just told me to remember my game plan, which we had before the match. I just had to keep focusing on my game, playing point by point and believing in my game. It really helped me. I'm happy I could make it." WTA story
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n7 s5 Petra Kvitova CZE d n74 q Lesia Tsurenko UKR 6-2, 7-6(5) Sun
Petra said: "I started pretty well today. I knew what I had to do, and I didn't make a lot of mistakes. It was a nice first set for me, but then [Lesia] came back and started playing more aggressively, and she started making me make some more mistakes. She came back very strong in that second set. I just had to stick with my game, focus on holding my serve and try my best on every point."
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n8 s6 Sara Errani ITA d n69 Johanna Larsson SWE 6-3, 6-1 Sun
Sara said: "The score was 6-3, 6-1 in the end, but for sure it wasn't that easy a match. Many of the points were very long and [Johanna is] a very strong player. It was a much tougher match than the score." WTA story
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n9 s7 Samantha Stosur AUS d n35 s32 Shuai Peng CHN 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 Mon
Samantha driving a forehand, and Shuai serving
Samantha is now 5-0 against Shuai. Samantha said: "I'd had success against her in the past, so I knew if I could stay focused on the task at hand I'd have a shot. When I got down an early break in the third I knew I had to step it up. I got back on serve and thankfully closed it out afterwards."
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n10 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d n32 s29 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-2, 6-1 Mon
Elena & Caroline driving backhands
Elena was slowed by recent illness from which she had not yet fully recovered.
Caroline said: "Once I got into it I felt like I played some good tennis. I felt really comfortable out there. I was moving very well today, and in general it was a very good match for me, I think." WTA story
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n11 s9 Marion Bartoli FRA d n46 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-4, 6-3 Sun
n12 s10 Nadia Petrova RUS d n24 s21 Julia Goerges GER 6-1, 6-2 Mon
Julia and Nadia driving backhands
*n27 s24 Mona Barthel GER d n13 s11 Ana Ivanovic SRB 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 Mon
*n22 s19 Klara Zakopalova CZE d n14 s12 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-4, 7-5 Sun
n15 s13 Maria Kirilenko RUS d n123 q Mallory Burdette USA 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 Sun
Maria ready to swat a forehand
*n86 Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP d n16 s14 Roberta Vinci ITA 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Sun
n38 Urszula Radwanska POL d n63 Jamie Hampton USA 6-0, 7-6(4) Mon
*n96 q Garbine Muguruza ESP d n52 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-4, 6-0 Mon
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Indian Wells, 4th Rd, Tue 11am
loser's prize: $52,000; points: 140
n2 s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d n38 Urszula Radwanska POL 6-3, 6-1
Victoria was visibly suffering from an ankle injury. Vika said: "It was pretty obvious I wasn't feeling that well. My ankle was bothering me, it's been bothering me for a while, and it hasn't really been getting better. But on the bright side, I won the match today. I overcame those things and—I don't know how—managed to just take my opportunities and really go for my shots and make it happen, and not just wait for [Urszula's] mistakes. She's a very, very consistent player and doesn't miss, so I had to take everything in my own hands." WTA story
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n3 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n86 Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino ESP 7-5, 6-0
Maria driving a forehand, and Lara & Maria driving backhands
Maria had 6 double faults in the 1st set. But she had only one in the 2nd set, and hit four aces in the last seven points of the match.
Maria said: "The first set was so up and down. I knew I had to buckle down and start being more aggressive, stepping in on the returns and getting more first serves in.
"[Lara] was a tough opponent today, but once I started playing more aggressively in the second set things went much better for me." WTA story
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*n15 s13 Maria Kirilenko RUS d n4 s3 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
Maria after winning a point
Maria said: "Every time we play it's so difficult; every time it seems like déjà vu, the score is the same, everything is the same. Just today I was a little bit more lucky. I lost to her the last four or five times I think, and it was kind of a similar match to previous ones, but this time it worked out for me." WTA story
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n6 s4 Angelique Kerber GER d n96 q Garbine Muguruza ESP 6-4, 7-5
n7 s5 Petra Kvitova CZE d n22 s19 Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-2, 6-3
n8 s6 Sara Errani ITA d n11 s9 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-3, 6-2
Sara said: "It wasn't easy. It was very hot out there and I didn't start well. But from 3-1 down in the first set I started to serve better, hit my forehand much better, moved her around more and was more aggressive when I needed to be, which is what I had to do. So I'm very happy about this match."
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n9 s7 Samantha Stosur AUS d n27 s24 Mona Barthel GER 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
n10 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d n12 s10 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-6(3), 6-3
Caroline driving a backhand
Caroline said: "Last time I lost to [Nadia, in Sofia last year] I think it was 1 and 2 or 2 and 1, but the score doesn't really justify the match, because I thought it was a really close match. Today I was returning way better and I got a lot of returns in. We had a lot of rallies, but I felt like I was on top of most of them."
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Indian Wells, QFs, Wed-Thu 11am
loser's prize: $104,000; points: 250
*n10 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d n2 s1 Victoria Azarenka BLR walkover—right ankle injury
n3 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n8 s6 Sara Errani ITA 7-6(6), 6-2 Wed
Maria serving, Sara fielding a backhand, Maria driving one, and after match point
Maria trailed 3-5 in the 1st set, which lasted 82 minutes. Maria said: "This definitely wasn't my best match of the tournament. I started quite slowly today. But I'm happy I've given myself another opportunity to be in the semifinals here, one of the toughest stages of one of the toughest tournaments for us. I hope to go further again this year." WTA story
About her semifinal opponent, Maria Kirilenko, Sharapova said: "Last time we played was at the Olympics, which I won in two sets, but she always plays really well in this tournament. We had a really tough quarterfinal match at this tournament last year, so I'm expecting another tough one. I'll prepare and just go out on the court and do my best."
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n6 s4 Angelique Kerber GER d n9 s7 Samantha Stosur AUS walkover—right calf injury
Sam said: "I hurt my right calf muscle in the last game of my match against Mona Barthel when I was serving for the match... I think this is only the second time I've ever pulled out of a match in my career, and unfortunately there isn't anything I can do about it." tourney story
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*n15 s13 Maria Kirilenko RUS d n7 s5 Petra Kvitova CZE 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 Wed
Maria serving, Petra driving a forehand, Maria about to slice one, and after match point
Maria said: "In the first set I was leading 4-2 and then suddenly she started to play unbelievable, a lot of winners. It seems when she's losing she's more relaxed. She can be very dangerous... I'm really happy I won this match. I had some problems with my knee during the first set, but was able to keep fighting and win." WTA story
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Indian Wells, SFs, Fri 11am
loser's prize: $225,000; points: 450
n3 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n15 s13 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-4, 6-3
Maria S driving a forehand, Maria K & Maria S driving backhands, and Maria S after winning a point
Sharapova struck 29 winners with 17 unforced errors (Kirilenko: 15 winners, 22 UEs).
Maria said: "[Maria Kirilenko is] someone who has had a few comebacks in this tournament so I had to step it up in the second set... She's always a tough opponent. She's a grinder. She makes you work really hard on the court and gets a lot of balls back, and has a lot of variety too. I certainly don't want to give her time or any of those opportunities, because she's a really good player. And I think this was her best tournament yet." WTA story
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*n10 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d n6 s4 Angelique Kerber GER 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
Caroline serving, Angelique and Caroline driving forehands, and Caro after winning a point
Caroline said: "I knew I had to keep staying close to the baseline, mix it up a little bit, also play it high to her backhand sometimes and just wait for the right time to go and attack... It's a game of chess. It's a game of finding out where is the toughest for the opponent to get to the ball." WTA story
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Indian Wells, Final, Sun, noon
loser's prize: $500,000; points: 700
winner's prize: $1,000,000; points: 1000
n3 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n10 s8 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 6-2, 6-2
Maria serving, Caroline and Maria driving backhands, and Maria after match point
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Indian Wells, Doubles Final, Sat 3pm
losers' prize: $122,997
winners' prize: $245,000
*s4 Elena Vesnina & Ekaterina Makarova d s3 Nadia Petrova & Katarina Srebotnik 6-0, 5-7, (10-6)
Indian Wells, Qualifying Finals, Tue Mar 5 10am
losers' prizes: q1 $1,285 1pt; q2 $2,515 20pts; qualifier 30 points
*n107 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni CRO d n71 Stefanie Voegele SUI 6(2)-7, 6-3, 6-3
n74 Lesia Tsurenko UKR d n110 Nina Bratchikova RUS 6-3, 6-3
n87 Elina Svitolina CZE d Ajla n251 Tomljanovic SRB 6-3, 6(3)-7, 6-4
*n114 Stephanie Foretz Gacon FRA d n88 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor ESP 6-2, 6-2
n96 Garbine Muguruza ESP d n102 Maria Joao Koehler POR 6-3, 6-2
*n119 Sesil Karatantcheva KAZ d n97 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-4, 7-6
*n123 Mallory Burdette USA d n100 Melinda Czink HUN 6-2, 6-1
n101 Monica Puig PUR d n172 Andrea Petkovic GER 7-6, 6-3
*n134 Michelle Larcher de Brito POR d n106 Anastasia Rodionova AUS 6-2, 6-3
*n190 Grace Min USA d n108 Estrella Cabeza Candela ESP 6-4, 6-0
n109 Olga Puchkova RUS d n245 Renata Voracova CZE 7-6, 6-2
n121 Casey Dellacqua AUS d n154 Natassja Burnett ITA 6-3, 6-1
Indian Wells, Withdrawals/Non-entries
n1 Serena Williams USA refuses to play at Indian Wells since 2001 incident
n5 Na Li CHN left ankle injury
n20 Venus Williams USA refuses to play at Indian Wells since 2001 incident
n37 Sabine Lisicki GER illness
n41 Kaia Kanepi EST right achilles injury
n57 Anna Tatishvili GEO left ankle injury
n45 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN right shoulder injury
n77 Petra Cetkovska CZE left foot injury
n80 Camila Giorgi ITA right shoulder injury
n81 Polona Hercog SLO left wrist injury
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. The previous owners were a group which included Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore (whose company, PM Sports Management, will continue to manage the tourney), George Mackin and Bob Miller of
magazine, the United States Tennis Association, and former players Pete Sampras, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King. As of this writing, the tourney's principal sponsor will remain European financial giant BNP Paribas.
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."
: the current top 20 Women's Tennis rankings with player photos, links, and bio info.
