World number nine Jelena Jankovic reached her first semifinal of the season by beating Alisa Kleybanova 6-4 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The sixth-seeded Serb, a semifinalist at Indian Wells two years ago, won four straight games to come back from 2-4 down in the second set and win the error-strewn quarterfinal against the 23rd-seeded Russian. Jankovic made 21 unforced errors, while Kleybanova piled up a total of 40. However, the Russian was better in the number of winners, hitting 19 compared to Jankovic’s seven.

The 20-year-old Kleybanova was coming off her maiden WTA title at the Malaysian Open last month, and Jankovic ended her eight-match winning streak.

Jankovic’s semifinal opponent will be the winner of the Samantha Stosur vs. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez match. The other two already known semifinalists are good friends Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska. (photo by our reader Colleen)

Fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska eased past fourth seed Elena Dementieva 6-4 6-3 to move into the semifinals of the Premier-level tournament BNP Paribas Open, where the Pole will play close friend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark who advanced to the final four with a 6-4 4-6 6-1 victory over seed No.18 Zheng Jie of China.

Radwanska converted six of her eight break opportunities against Dementieva, had her own serve broken only once, and hasn’t lost a set at Indian Wells. The Russian was left frustrated after the match, because the weather was perfect for tennis, but she played the wrong game, long rallies that suited Radwanska.

The second-seeded Wozniacki survived a difficult match against Zheng and defeated the Chinese for the first time in their three meetings. The 19-year-old Wozniacki broke Zheng three times in the third set and let out a shriek of delight the moment she won the match which ensures her return to her career-high ranking of No.3.

Even though they are good friends, Wozniacki and Radwanska have competed only twice so far on the tennis court and are tied at 1-1. (photos: Tidalist, chascow)

All Top 10 members playing the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday progressed to the quarterfinals of the tournament without too much trouble.

World No.7 Elena Dementieva and world No.8 Agnieszka Radwanska retained perfect records against their fourth-round opponents at Indian Wells with the Russian fourth seed beating No.19 seed Aravane Rezai 6-3 6-3, and now having a 6-0 career record against the Frenchwoman, while fifth seed Radwanska beat No.11 seed Marion Bartoli 6-3 6-2, extending the career record against the Wimbledon finalist to 5-0.

World No.4 Caroline Wozniacki, second seed and the highest seed left in the draw, recovered from a second set slump and charged through the deciding set to beat seed No.16 Nadia Petrova 6-3 3-6 6-0. Wozniacki's opponent in the quarterfinals will be Chinese force Zheng Jie, who knocked out Maria Sharapova in the third round and Alicia Molik in the fourth. Ninth-ranked Jelena Jankovic defeated No.17 seed Shahar Peer 6-2 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Premier-level tournament.

Even though all the Top 10 players progressed, defending champion Vera Zvonareva, seeded 12th, lost to No.8 seed Samantha Stosur 6-2 7-5. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, photo: Tidalist)

Former world number seven Nicole Vaidisova has retired at the young age of 20 and is planning to marry long-time boyfriend Radek Stepanek in July.

The Czech was once one of the brightest new stars, and her indisputably good looks only added to her popularity, but in the recent years her results were more than disappointing, especially having in mind her wasted talent.

The fact that Vaidisova lost in the first round of an ITF tournament this year is making her retirement from the sport less of a shocking decision. Her last tennis match was loss to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in Memphis second round last month.

Vaidisova has just informed the upcoming Sony Ericsson Open in Miami that she’s rejecting a wildcard and pulled out of all her tournaments the rest of the season.

Vaidisova is ending her tennis career ranked 176th, with six WTA Tour titles under her belt – the last one came a long time ago, in Strasbourg in 2006. In addition, she can be proud of two semifinals Grand Slam showings, at the 2006 French Open and 2007 Australian Open. (source: Tennis Reporters, photo: Stephane Martinache)

Seed No.14 Kim Clijsters and third seed Victoria Azarenka made premature exits at the BNP Paribas Open, while sixth seed Jelena Jankovic fought her way into the fourth round.

Two-time Indian Wells champion Kim Clijsters lost to Alisa Kleybanova 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) in the third round, despite storming through the second set and having a 4-0 lead in the third-set tiebreak.

"I definitely think I let it slip away but credit to her," said Clijsters after losing to the No.23 seed. "She played some really good points to get back into it."

Victoria Azarenka fell to 28th-seeded Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 7-6(4) 6-2 at the very tournament that propelled her into the Top 10 last year. The Belorussian quickly fell behind 5-1 and even though she saved four set points and leveled to 5-5, she lost the first set and shortly after the second as well.

Sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic beat Sara Errani 2-6 7-6(6) 6-4 despite making 57 unforced errors compared to Errani's 42. The world No.9 quickly lost the first set, won the second in a tiebreak, and let her experience prevail in the decider of the marathon match to prevent Errani from scoring her first Top-10 victory in 12 attempts. (photo: Stephane Martinache)

Seed No.18 Zheng Jie overcame tenth seed Maria Sharapova 6-3 2-6 6-3 after two hours and 43 minutes of topsy-turvy marathon in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Sharapova made 14 double faults, 62 unforced errors and was broken seven times during the match. Zheng broke Sharapova's serve three times in the first set, then the Russian leveled after the second set which lasted one hour and eight minutes, and finally, Zheng came back from 3-1 down in the decider to win the match.

"She's like a ball machine. She hits a lot of balls back, hits them hard and deep. I should have done a much better job on her serve because that is definitely one of her weaker parts of the game," said the world No.13 Sharapova, who received treatment for her right elbow during the match.

The 26-year-old Chinese, a surprise semifinalist at this year's Australian Open, will next play Australian wildcard Alicia Molik. (source: Reuters, photo: Nick Bollettieri)

Here’s our monthly update on Maria Sharapova’s relationship with Sasha Vujacic. In February the couple was spotted enjoying a casual day in Los Angeles, and now Sasha is following Maria in her career obligations, accompanying his Russian girlfriend in Indian Wells. These photos were taken on March 13.

Maria is seeded 10th at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. She had a bye in the first round, while in the second round she defeated Vera Dushevina in three sets. Right now Masha is playing her third-round match against seed No.18 Zheng Jie of China. (source: Great Tennis Photos)

Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was upset by Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 4-6 6-1, who earned her second Top 10 win, having famously beaten then-No.6 Venus Williams at last year's Australian Open. Kuznetsova came back from a set and a break down to force the third set, but lost it very quickly and became the first No.1 seed in eight years to lose her first match at Indian Wells, since 2002 when Kim Clijsters fell to now-retired Nathalie Dechy.

Ana Ivanovic, seeded 24th this year, was defeated 6-2 6-4 by world No.63 Anastasija Sevastova in the second round, and Ivanovic won't be even a Top 50 player any more. The Serb hired a new coach, the former one of tennis legend Steffi Graf, but the light at the end of the tunnel is still nowhere to be seen.

Two-time Indian Wells champion Kim Clijsters defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2 6-1, while seed No.21 Daniela Hantuchova, another former champion in this year’s draw, suffered a 6-3 7-5 upset by Roberta Vinci. (photo: Tidalist)

Argentinean world No.37 Gisela Dulko defeated seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, while British qualifier Elena Baltacha upset seventh seed Li Na of China.

The 31st-seeded Dulko broke wildcard Henin’s serve three times in the third set, converting every break point she had, before scoring a 6-2 1-6 6-4 win. When Dulko won the match, after two hours, she fell to her knees as spectators applauded to congratulate her on this amazing victory over Henin, who was a Grand Slam finalist less than two months ago.

The 26-year-old Baltacha achieved her first Top 10 victory by beating tenth-ranked Li Na in the second round. Baltacha’s win came after two hours and 50 minutes, two saved match points, recovery from 5-1 down in the third set tiebreaker and after the Briton "fought her heart out". World No.65 Baltacha's final result was 7-6(6) 2-6 7-6(7).

Dulko’s opponent in the third round will be fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, while Baltacha will play wildcard Alicia Molik. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova and second-ranked ATP player Novak Djokovic will face each other in a mixed doubles exhibition match on March 23 during the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Sharapova’s doubles partner will be music star Jay Sean, while Djokovic will line up alongside former Spice Girl Mel B. Therefore, we will have a celebrity match of epic proportions, guaranteeing lots of fun, as always when Sharapova and Djokovic are next to each other.

The video is showing the reactions of Jay Sean and Mel B when they found out who their tennis partners would be.