Defending champion and top seed Maria Sharapova advanced to the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix after a struggle lasting two hours and 16 minutes against fellow Roland Garros champion and fellow former No.1 Ana Ivanovic. In the third set Sharapova let Ivanovic level to 4-4 after leading 4-1, but she again took charge with a break to love and held serve to finish the match 7-5 4-6 6-4. The Russian's semifinal opponent will be third seed Angelique Kerber, who put out Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3 7-6(2).

The other semifinal will feature Li Na and Bethanie Mattek Sands. The second-seeded French Open titlist Li defeated fellow Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova 6-3 7-5, winning 11 of 14 games from 0-2 down in the first set and even though Kvitova took charge in the next three games in a row, it was Li who closed it out to set up a meeting with surprise semifinalist Mattek Sands, who saved a match point in the qualifying stage of the tournament before taking out Yanina Wickmayer in the first round, fourth seed Sara Errani in the second (even impressively bageling the Italian in the first set) and Sabine Lisicki 6-4 6-2 in the quarterfinals, converting all six break chanced that she earned.

(photos: © Neal Trousdale)

Fifth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat top seed Angelique Kerber in the final of the Monterrey Open and won the Mexican tournament for the third time. The Russian is now 15-0 in Monterrey, having won the title every time she entered: in 2010, 2011 and this year.

In the third set Pavlyuchenkova was leading 5-0 before Kerber got closer by winning two straight games, and then when Pavlyuchenkova was serving for the match at 5-2, Kerber won two more games. Eventually, Pavlyuchenkova closed it out 4-6 6-2 6-4.

Having won the $40,000 International-level trophy, the Russian has climbed from No.26 to No.20 in the WTA rankings. Kerber has remained world No.6. (source: Women Who Serve, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Top seed Victoria Azarenka, who crushed Maria Sharapova in last year’s Indian Wells final, couldn’t find her rhythm in the beginning of her third-round meeting with Kirsten Flipkens, but in the end came out strong by taking all of her opponent’s serves in the third set to win 3-6 6-3 6-0. Her rival in the fourth round will be Urszula Radwanska, who earlier defeated Jamie Hampton 6-0 7-6(4).

Fourth seed Angelique Kerber beat seed No.30 Yanina Wickmayer 6-1 7-6(4), but only after recovering from 1-4 down in the second set, thanks to her coach’s reminder to focus on their pre-match strategy, by winning five of the next seven games and then the tiebreak. Garbine Muguruza, who swept past Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4 6-0, will be Kerber’s fourth-round opponent. Read more »

By upsetting fellow German Angelique Kerber 6-1 6-2 in the second round of the $2,369,000 Qatar Total Open, Mona Barthel not only defeated a sixth-ranked player for the first time, but she also recorded her 14th win of the season, tying Li Na for most match wins this year. Agnieszka Radwanska could join Barthel and Li on the top soon, if she beats Anastasia Rodionova today.

Kerber won the opening games of both sets, but after the initial break to start the match, Kerber won just one of the next ten games, missing aggression and falling to Barthel’s 30 winners to 12 unforced errors in just one minute over an hour.

It is Barthel’s third Top 10 victory in just two weeks, having beaten No.10 Marion Bartoli and No.7 Sara Errani en route to the Paris title. Her next opponent in Doha will be either tenth seed Caroline Wozniacki or Sorana Cirstea. (photo: janmci, stats via Moo's Tennis Blog)

It's time for our traditional Grand Slam fashion overview! Unlike in previous years, we will start by looking at the less known brands that made an impact at the 2013 Australian Open and we'll leave the giants such as Nike and Adidas for the end of the article.

German Mona Barthel followed her Hobart run to the finals with a first-round 7-5 2-6 6-4 defeat to Ksenia Pervak at the Australian Open, but she left in style, wearing a gracious dress from Denise Cronwall's 2013 collection. Cronwall's designs are always feminine and romantic and even though this dress doesn't have the designer's signature lace and flower patterns, the wavy seam brings about the recognizable elegant feel.

Another young star Camila Giorgi also had a brief appearance at Melbourne Park, but as always she engraved her fashion mark with a colorful and cheerful outfit that perfectly complements her age and beauty.

Venus Williams is slowly spreading her line and is not the only one wearing her clothes on the tennis courts any more. World No.166, former No.25, Jarmila Gajdosova switched from Lacoste to EleVen and proudly sported the peach and white Oh&Oh tank and a matching skirt. Venus herself is working a dress with watercolor print and thin black contrast binding at the bust, waistline, and shoulders.

Compare Australian Open fashion from previous years:

• 2012
• 2011

Two more fashion switches at this Australian Open are Julia Goerges, who came to Fila from Nike, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, who replaced Fila with Qiaodan. Goerges' Fila debut is all blue: the German was wearing separates from spring 2013 Center Court Collection. Notice that her manicure is perfectly blending with the outfit. Kuznetsova was also all blue, but a different shade of blue, wearing the dress of the Chinese manufacturer. Read more »