At the Sony Ericsson Open, for the second consecutive match, Caroline Wozniacki struggled. But, the world number two found a way to prevail 1-6,6-1,6-4 over Maria Kirilenko.

After holding serve, Kirilenko produced a volley winner to set up break point.  When Wozniacki’s backhand sailed long, Kirilenko broke for 2-0.  Subsequent to consolidating, Kirilenko’s aggressiveness by coming to net paid off again as she captured a second break.  Bothered by the humidity and a viral ailment, Wozniacki required a medical time out down 1-4. Kirilenko ran away with the first set the next two games.

As Wozniacki adjusted to the conditions, her play improved. Caroline took control of the second set forcing a decisive third.  At 3 all, Wozniacki obtained double break point.  Although Kirilenko got to deuce, down the road, with a couple of winners, Wozniacki broke for 4-3.  Yet, the next game, Kirilenko erased game point by her opponent and leveled the set at 4 a piece.  However, with a forehand error, Kirilenko donated double break point, Wozniacki accepted the gift with a forehand up the line winner.  Later, with a forehand crosscourt winner, Wozniacki secured the victory.

From MiamiTennisNews.com:
Q.  Do you think it was hard for Maria to play against you knowing she saw something might have been wrong?  Was [it] hard for her to change tactics or [did she think] you might not make it the whole match…?
WOZNIACKI:  I don’t know.  That’s difficult for me to say.  She played a great first set, and she gave me the chance to come back in the second, and then I got the belief and I started feeling better.  I just kept hanging in there, and my fighting spirit got to me and I was there.

Q.  You made it to the finals last week at Indian Wells.  Do you think maybe also part of it is fatigue that you’re experiencing with a lot of tennis the last few weeks?
WOZNIACKI:  I feel these are just  they’re really, really highranked tournaments just under the Grand Slams, and they are almost twoweek tournaments just like the Grand Slams. Everybody is playing.  It takes a lot of strength not only physically but mentally, as well.  You don’t really get to come down after such a big final, so I think maybe it just got to me. Then I had a huge match the first day where I almost went out, and I just think that just took everything out of me. Again, my fighting spirit didn’t give up, and I’m still here.

Short turnaround time for Caroline, she plays her fourth round match tomorrow.  Wozniacki battles Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who defeated Francesca Schiavone 7-5,6-3.  Therefore, the advice from MiamiTennisNews.com was “Get plenty of rest, plenty of fluids”:
WOZNIACKI:  Thank you.

Another easier than expected day at the office for Kim Clijsters; she crushed Shahar Peer 6-1, 6-0.  In two matches, Clijsters has dropped only one game.  Clijsters is unlikely to have a walk in the park her round of 16 match, she takes on defending champion Victoria Azarenka.  In great form, Azarenka beat Lucie Safarova 6-4,6-2.

Justine Henin’s third round match against Dominika Cibulkova was a see-saw ride with ten breaks of serve. In each set, Cibulkova got the early break, but failed to impose her will on Henin.  With a double break advantage, Henin was broken the first time serving for the match.  The second time around, after Cibulkova saved two match points, Henin closed the deal 6-4,6-4.  Therefore MiamiTennisNews.com asked Henin:

Q.  What was most troubling to you about her game?
HENIN:  Well, she plays well, you know, she runs a lot, and she has [a] pretty good backhand.  She’s a real fighter.  I mean, she has a strong personality, and it was the first time I’ve played against her.  That’s never easy to play someone you don’t know.  So that was something new for myself. But, I mean, I was glad about my reaction in both sets to come back.  And especially after a good win two days ago, it wasn’t that easy today, but I’m glad I’m in, you know, in the last 16.

Henin’s next round opponent is Vera Zvonareva.  The latter won in straight sets against Sara Errani.

In the night session, Jelena Jankovic vanquished Elena Vesnina 7-6,6-3.  Sam Stosur, Jankovic’s subsequent challenge, stormed back after dropping the first set to Virginie Razzano 4-6,7-5,6-1.

The Sony Ericsson Open’s fifth session offers a plethora of fascinating matches.  The ATP begins its third round action with the bottom half of the draw which includes Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick playing. Conversely, the women’s bottom half which comprises players such as Jelena Jankovic, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin finishes off its third round.

First up on stadium court are Kim Clijsters and Shahar Peer.  At their only meeting in Sydney in 2007, Clijsters had a straight sets victory.  A quarterfinalist at the 2007 U.S. and Australian Open, Peer’s game has evolved over the three years. Therefore, this has the promise of an intriguing match.  After the ladies, Rafael Nadal and David Nalbandian take center stage. Since coming back from hip surgery in 2009 and an abdominal tear this January, earlier this month, Nalbandian carried his country to a quarterfinal berth in Davis Cup. Although Nalbandian is now ranked 161st , with his having a winning record against Nadal, the Spaniard will be on his toes.

Later on stadium court, Maria Kirilenko collides with Caroline Wozniacki. The latter is 4-0 versus the former; they last met two weeks ago also in the third round at Indian Wells. The afternoon session terminates with Andy Roddick facing Sergiy Stakhovsky.  On his way to capturing the St Petersburg Open last year, Stakhovsky defeated former world number one, Marat Safin.  Although this is their initial showdown, Roddick could be tested.

On the grandstand, Henin battles Dominika Cibulkova.  A first encounter for both ladies, it will interesting to see which one stands tall after the match.  Victoria Azarenka meets Lucie Safarova.  The defending champion has a perfect 3-0 record against Safarova. Another first time meeting is John Isner versus Juan Carlos Ferrero.  On the outer courts, Sam Stosur and Vera Zvonareva both square off versus opponents against whom they have unblemished records.

At night, Jankovic clashes against Elena Vesnina.  Jankovic owns her rival 4-0 in their head to head series. That’s followed by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Phillip Kohlschreiber.  These players have split their prior two matches.

Here is Sunday’s full schedule :

SUNDAY, MARCH 28

STADIUM start 11:00 am
[14] K Clijsters (BEL) vs [17] S Peer (ISR) – WTA

Not Before 1:00 PM
[WC] D Nalbandian (ARG) vs [4] R Nadal (ESP) – ATP

Not Before 3:00 PM
[32] M Kirilenko (RUS) vs [2] C Wozniacki (DEN) – WTA
[6] A Roddick (USA) vs S Stakhovsky (UKR) – ATP

Not Before 7:00 PM
[7] J Jankovic (SRB) vs [28] E Vesnina (RUS) – WTA

Not Before 8:30 PM
[8] J Tsonga (FRA) vs [28] P Kohlschreiber (GER) – ATP

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
[33] N Almagro (ESP) vs J Chardy (FRA) – ATP
[27] T Bellucci (BRA) vs O Rochus (BEL) – ATP
[WC] J Henin (BEL) vs [26] D Cibulkova (SVK) – WTA
L Safarova (CZE) vs [4] V Azarenka (BLR) – WTA

Not Before 5:00 PM
[17] J Isner (USA) vs [12] J Ferrero (ESP) – ATP

COURT 1 start 10:00 am
N Grandin (RSA) / A Spears (USA) vs Y Chan (TPE) / J Zheng (CHN) – WTA
M Llodra (FRA) / A Ram (ISR) vs F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) – ATP
[15] F Schiavone (ITA) vs [22] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) – WTA
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) vs P Cuevas (URU) / F Gonzalez (CHI) – ATP
[6] B Mattek-Sands (USA) / Z Yan (CHN) or M Kirilenko (RUS) / A Radwanska (POL) vs [WC] K Clijsters (BEL) / K Flipkens (BEL) – WTA

COURT 2 start 11:00 am
V Razzano (FRA) vs [9] S Stosur (AUS) – WTA
S Errani (ITA) vs [11] V Zvonareva (RUS) – WTA
[15] D Ferrer (ESP) vs [24] I Karlovic (CRO) – ATP
[18] T Robredo (ESP) vs B Becker (GER) – ATP

Not Before 5:00 PM
[WC] R Harrison (USA) / N Lapentti (ECU) vs E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) – ATP

COURT 3 start 10:00 am
J Coin (FRA) / V King (USA) vs K Jans (POL) / V Uhlirova (CZE) – WTA
J Melzer (AUT) / P Petzschner (GER) vs [6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) – ATP
I Andreev (RUS) / M Youzhny (RUS) vs M Fish (USA) / M Knowles (BAH) – ATP
[3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) vs R Hutchins (GBR) / J Kerr (AUS) – ATP

COURT 6 start 10:00 am
[7] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) vs R Lindstedt (SWE) / H Tecau (ROU) – ATP
S Huss (AUS) / W Moodie (RSA) vs [4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Mirnyi (BLR) – ATP
G Dulko (ARG) / F Pennetta (ITA) vs [2] N Llagostera Vives (ESP) / M Martinez Sanchez (ESP) – WTA
[3] N Petrova (RUS) / S Stosur (AUS) vs O Govortsova (BLR) / A Kudryavtseva (RUS) – WTA

Whilst rain had been forecasted in Miami at the Sony Ericsson Open on Friday, what was unexpected was Novak Djokovic’s second round departure.  Olivier Rochus ousted the world number two 6-2,6-7,6-4.  Simultaneously on court 1, Caroline Wozniacki, the women’s number two, was on the verge of an early exit herself.  However, Wozniacki survived against Tsvetana Pironkova 3-6,6-3,6-4.

Rochus broke in the opening game.  After consolidating, Olivier placed a beautiful backhand down the line winner to set up triple break point.  Rochus converted a second break when Djokovic’s backhand sailed long.  After erasing a break point and extending his lead to 5-1, Rochus closed out the set his next time out.

In the second set, Rochus again obtained triple break point and with a backhand down the line winner took a 3-2 lead.  But, Djokovic got back on even terms promptly breaking the next game.  The set went to a tiebreaker where Rochus got ahead early on.  Yet, Djokovic weathered the storm and stole the set.

The decisive set, after holding serve, Rochus was gifted a double fault by Djokovic and broke for 2-1.  Then, by donating to his opponent a couple of errors, Rochus lost his edge. Soon though, Rochus worked his way to double break point and capitalized when Djokovic’s forehand traveled long. Later on, Rochus fought off a break point and stretched his advantage to 4-1.  After failing to secure the insurance break, serving at 5-3, Rochus committed a string of errors allowing Djokovic to stay in the match.  Still, with miscues by Djokovic, Rochus manufactured break point/match point.  Olivier pocketed the match when another Novak forehand went astray.

After the match, MiamiTennisNews inquired:
Q.  Were you having problems breathing on the court?  Looked like the conditions were a little bit heavy out there.
DJOKOVIC:  Yeah, it was a bit humid, but, you know, he was making me run a lot so points were really long.  That was exhausting.

Q.  You’ve been playing a lot of tennis.  Are you thinking of maybe rescheduling for the clay season?
DJOKOVIC:  I don’t know.  I will have more time now I guess to rest and prepare well for clay.

On to the ladies, after dropping the first set to Pironkova, Wozniacki was behind in the second set.  The world number two battled back and captured the break for 5-3.  Subsequently, Wozniacki held to push the match to a third set.

In the ultimate set, Pironkova got a break early on and consolidated for 3-0.  After finally getting on the board, Wozniacki earned triple break point and converted.  Later at 3 all, Wozniacki took a go ahead break for 4-3.  However, Pironkova fought back to 4 a piece.  But, a resilient Wozniacki manufactured another break point and put herself in front 5-4 when Pironkova’s forehand up the line sailed long.  Then, on her third match point, as a forehand from Pironkova landed wide, Wozniacki punched her ticket into the third round.

With the rain backlog, Kim Clijsters’ match originally scheduled on stadium court was bounced to an outer court.  Regardless, for Clijsters, it turned out to be a practice session with a 6-1,6-1 thumping of Petra Kvitova.  Like Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva put on a clinic against Melanie Oudin 6-1, 6-2. Maria Kirilenko crawled out of a 5-2 deficit in the third set against Melinda Czink to pilfer the match in the tiebreaker.  After losing the first set, Lucie Safarova seized the second set tiebreaker then rolled over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 4-6.7-6,6-2.  Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 22nd seed, continues to impress; the youngster beat Tamira Paszek  7-6,4-6,6-3 for a third round berth.   Before the rain came, Victoria Azarenka, the defending champion, had a 6-3,6-2 victory over Alexandra Dulgheru. Jelena Jankovic, Dominika Cibulkova, Elena Vesnina and Shahar Peer were straight sets winners.  Samatha Stosur was pushed to a third set by Carla Suarez Navarro and made it through.

Elena Dementieva, the 5th seed, suffered her 11th defeat to Justine Henin 6-3,6-2. Alisa Kleybanova, the 24th seed, fell to Sara Errani 6-4,7-5 while Jie Zheng, seeded 20th, was upset by Virginie Razzano in straight sets.  For Alize Cornet, it was another disappointing tournament with an early ousting, this time by Francesca Schiavone.  Schiavone prevailed 6-3,6-2.  After being on the road six weeks and some heartbreaking losses, Cornet’s 2010 record is now 6-9.

MiamiTennisNews wanted to know about Cornet’s state of mind:

Q. You look physically tired, are you also mentally tired?
CORNET:  Maybe a little, it’s already many weeks that I’m away from home.  I have not cut back in terms of training and I am someone who trains a lot usually. I rarely give myself time off, days of rest. I am becoming cognizant that I should take resting a little more seriously and from time to time award myself a day off. However, I think it’s difficult with long stretches of tournaments as such.

Djokovic was followed on stadium court by Rafael Nadal.  In no time, Nadal dispatched Taylor Dent 6-4,6-3.  Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had a no drama night with straight set wins over their opponents Igor Andreev and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez respectively.  Ivan Ljubicic, the champion at Indian Wells last week, was forced to retire against Benjamin Becker after carrying the first set and the first game in the second due to a back injury.  It was a tough day for the American males with Sam Querrey and James Blake going down after winning their first sets to Jeremy Chardy and Thomas Bellucci respectively. But, John Isner avoided the upset with a 7-6,2-6,7-6 victory over Michael Russell.  David Nalbandian, Ivo Karlovic, Juan Carlos Ferrero, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Nicolas Almagro and Phillip Kohlschreiber advanced.

After eight days, the Australian Open field has been narrowed.  Here’s a synopsis of the early round stumbles, near misses and a crack at determining a champion.

Maria Kirilenko rocked Rod Laver Arena with a first day, first round, first match upset of 14th seed Maria Sharapova.  With a suspect serve, will and grit could not pull Sharapova through her first competitive match of the season.  Not resting on her laurels, Kirilenko progressed to the round of 16 where she received an early Easter gift from Dinara Safina.  Nine games into the first set, Safina threw in the towel because of a back injury.  As a result, Kirilenko reaches her initial major quarterfinal and will play Jie Zheng, the 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist.  Zheng ousted 11th seed Marion Bartoli in the third round, then took care of Alona Bondarenko. Now, one of these women has the opportunity to advance to her first Aussie Open semifinal.

Waiting in the wing for Kirilenko and Zheng is perhaps Justine Henin.  The 2004 Australian champion had to work tirelessly to book a quarterfinal spot.  Henin’s second round meeting with Elena Dementieva lived up to the hype with top-notch groundstrokes by both players.  Upon surviving that encounter, Henin came close to saying cheerio in the third round.  Alisa Kleybenova demanded  Henin’s best before going down in three sets.  A similar performance was required by Henin in the round of 16 with U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer proving a tough kill.  Again, Henin needed to go the distance to seal the win and a date with Nadia Petrova in the quarters.

Petrova was probably regarded as the Russian least likely to succeed at the start of the Open.  However, after dismantling U.S. Open champ Kim Clijsters in the third round and ushering out French Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova in round four, Petrova is no doubt a formidable adversary. Therefore, if Petrova continues along the same lines, Henin may be in for a colossal surprise.

Defending champion Serena Williams has been impressive in marching to the round of 16.  Serena has yet to drop serve nor a set.  Her toughest test will be Aussie hopeful Sam Stosur in the upcoming round.  With a big serve and a win over Serena in Stanford last year, Stosur has the tools to upstage the world number one.

Read the full story

Finally, after five attempts, Roger Federer reached the finals of a tournament this year and collected the top prize at the Estroril Open in Portugal. Curiously, Federer’s first title of 2008 occurred on clay after Russian Nikolay Davydenko, the second seed, retired due to a leg injury in the second set 7-6, 1-2.

To jump start his clay season, Federer added this competition to his schedule with the objective of getting additional practice as he contemplates Roland Garros, the premier clay court premium. Federer had some difficulties during the tournament, needing three sets on a couple of occasions to advance thru to the next round. Although Federer has an 11-0 record against Davydenko, a good match was anticipated for various reasons. Firstly, Davydenko has always competed well on clay and was on familiar grounds having won this tournament in 2003. Secondly, Federer has not been in classic form this year. Considering that Davydenko was fresh off his victory at the Sony Ericsson Open where he beat Andy Roddick in the semifinals, a player against whom he has a wretched record. Then in the finals, Davydenko crushed Rafael Nadal to earn his second ATP Masters’ title. As such, it was fitting to set aside Davydenko’s poor record against Federer and assume that momentum was in the Russian’s corner. Therefore, it is lamentable that his run in Estoril finished on a sour note after a competitive first set and after Nikolay was able to break Roger early in the second.

Despite the asterisk, this result may be a favorable omen for Federer on many fronts. Amongst its former champions, this event counts Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sergi Brugera, just to name a few, who are also French Open champions. Another positive development to emerge from the Federer’s camp is the hiring of Jose Higueras as a coach on a trial basis. Higueras has an extensive clay court resume both as a player and tutor. He guided Jim Courier and Michael Chang to their French Open Championships and had a hand in shaping the game of clay court aces such as Moya and Bruegera. Perhaps, Higueras will be the key to Federer’s unlocking of the French Open mystery. In the doubles final, t he South African team of Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie needed a third set tiebreak to vanquish Jamie Murray of Scotland and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe.

The women were also in action in Portugal, a tier IV event. The spoils belonged to Russian Maria Kirilenko as she claimed both the singles and doubles titles. In the singles final, Kirilenko, the second seed, took on Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic and defeated her in two sets 6-4, 6-2. The day prior, Kirilenko teamed up with Italian Flavia Pennetta to capture the doubles trophy.