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Post by Admin on Mar 20, 2014 15:25:25 GMT
Maria Sharapova may look comfortable sitting on the bonnet of a Porsche, but Serena Williams is the one who feels truly at home at the Sony Open in Miami. The world No 1 lives just an hour away in Palm Beach and defeated Sharapova in last year's final. 'I have been waiting on this for a while, it feels good to be back here,' she said. 'It is home, it feels like home, I drive just an hour, it feels great. I train here so it is easier to anticipate the wind and the heat and all the extra elements.' But as the competition gets under way, Sharapova, who put in a photo call with the environmentally friendly Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid at Bal Harbour, was keen to downplay any talk of a rivalry between the two tennis giants, citing the fact that the Russian has not beaten Williams since 2004. 'I think in order to make it a proper rivalry, I’ll have to win in the future,' said Sharapova, who is ranked No. 7.
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Post by Admin on Mar 21, 2014 6:00:22 GMT
Angelique Kerber of Germany celebrates after defeating Peng Shuai of China 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5) on March 20 at the Sony Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla. Fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber eked out a victory in her opening match Thursday at the Sony Open, beating Peng Shuai 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5). Kerber, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, matched her best showing at Key Biscayne by reaching the third round. The opening set was a tight affair between the competitors, with both Kerber and Peng grabbing a break before Kerber managed to push on and take the lead. However, it was a different story in the second set as Peng dominated the court and managed to seal three out of four break points, while the number five seed struggled to create a break advantage of her own. In the deciding set, Peng was able to grab an early break and hold her serve in order to maintain dominance, but Kerber launched a fightback to draw games level on 5-5. The set resulted in a tie-break, which Kerber was able to see out and grab a place in the next phase of the tournament.
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Post by Admin on Mar 22, 2014 2:28:06 GMT
Agnieszka Radwanska, the Sony Open Tennis champion in 2012, made a winning beginning to her 2014 campaign at the Premier Mandatory-level event on Friday. The No.3-seeded Radwanska came out like a house on fire - she won the first set at love in just 22 minutes - before going on to beat Romina Oprandi in straight sets, 60 64, in an hour and 14 minutes. "First of all, I started very well," Radwanska said. "She started to play much better in the second set and we had a lot of breaks and long games - it was tricky, and I was getting a bit nervous. "But I was happy I could finish this match in two sets today." Radwanska talked afterwards about the aforementioned knee injury from the week before. "I feel much better now, obviously," she said. "It's not perfect yet, but I think those few days I had of rest in between Indian Wells and Miami really helped me. Tomorrow I'll just have a light hit and lots of treatment and ice, and we'll see how it goes for my next match, which will be on Sunday."
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Post by Admin on Mar 22, 2014 23:34:15 GMT
Former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic caused an upset of sorts here at the Sony Open in Miami, as the Serb got one over recently crowned Indian Wells champion Flavia Pennetta. After 39 minutes of grueling tennis action, former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic clinched the first set. The Serbian made a fine comeback from a break down to win the first set against the BNP Paribas Open champion Pennetta. Ivanovic got only 45% of first serve in, hammered 9 winners and also committed more number of unforced errors as compared to the Italian, but in the end - the Serbian played a lot better tennis on crucial points and won the first set. Riding on the first set’s momentum, Ivanovic broke the Italian early to establish a 3-0 lead in the second set. It was here that Pennetta upped her game as she really needed to after dropping 5 games on the bounce. She held on to her own serve through sheer determination as the Serb did put her under a lot of pressure, but the quality of the serving from Ivanovic denied her from getting a break of serve to get back into the match.
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Post by Admin on Mar 23, 2014 6:13:06 GMT
Maria Sharapova needed nine match points before she finally closed out a win Saturday in the third round of the Sony Open, beating Lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-2. Sharapova had two match points in the tiebreaker, and seven more in the final game. The No. 26-seeded Safarova stayed alive with a succession of vital winners. "She kept hitting unbelievable shots," Sharapova said. "One more. One more. I said, 'How many chances are you going to get?'" With the capacity crowd in a frenzy, a long exchange on the final point ended with Safarova pushing a weary forehand into the net. She then shared a hug with Sharapova. The match took three hours and ended at 10 p.m. to conclude an 11-hour day session on the stadium court, with two night-session matches yet to come. "After a match like that, it's tough to have only one winner," Sharapova said, "because both players give a lot and both want to win so much." Maria Sharapova, from Russia, celebrates after winning a point in her match against Lucie Safarova during the Sony Open Tennis in Key Biscayne, Fl., Saturday, March 22, 2014.
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