Maria Sharapova will skip the Fed Cup semifinal against the USA in Moscow this month, and instead of her, Svetlana Kuznetsova will lead the Russian team.

World No.5 Sharapova and No.4 Kuznetsova are very busy, and both have the goal of taking the first spot in the rankings this year. As Sharapova played the last tie, against Israel, now it’s Kuznetsova’s turn. That has been the plan, and it’s fair enough.

The American team has been significantly weakened as neither Venus nor Serena Williams will play against Russia in the 26-27 April tie.

Russia have been the competition's most consistent team in recent years, winning the trophy on three of the last four occasions. (source: BBC)

Top seed Ana Ivanovic and second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova will meet in the final of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells after both prevailed in the semifinals on Friday.

Ana Ivanovic extended her head–to-head record against fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic to 5-1 beating her 7-6(3) 6-3 in the semis. Well, Ivanovic is on a good way to become as fatal to Jelena Jankovic as Justine Henin.

In the other semifinal, Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Maria Sharapova 6-3 5-7 6-2. Kuznetsova’s triumph ended Maria Sharapova's 18-0 winning streak and handed the Australian Open champion her first loss of the season.

After the loss, Sharapova said she has been traveling too much lately (and we know exactly how much), so she's considering taking a little break from the tennis court. There is even a possibility she'll skip the upcoming Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

A look at the stats shows us that Ivanovic is 4-1 all-time against Kuznetsova, which includes winning all three matches last year. Still, all Ivanovic’s victories over Kuznetsova have come in three sets, including the one in their only prior meeting in a final, at Qatar Telecom German Open, which propelled Ivanovic into the Top 10 for the first time.

If Ivanovic wins the Pacific Life Open title, she’ll remain the world No.2, while Jankovic would go back to her career high at No.3, and Kuznetsova would fall to No.4. If Kuznetsova wins the tournament, she and Jankovic would stay in their current position. (photo: Getty Images)

Last year's Pacific Life Open runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova became the first player into the semifinals of this year's event when she defeated Agnieszka Radwanska.

World No.3 Kuznetsova, seeded second at the event, avenged her Australian Open loss to Radwanska sweeping past the Polish teenager 6-2 6-4.

Kuznetsova broke her 19-year-old opponent in the first and third games of the opening set. They traded service breaks early in the second set, and Kuznetsova broke in the seventh game before serving out to seal the win in tenth.

In the semifinals Kuznetsova will play either Daniela Hantuchova, a player she lost to in the last year’s Indian Wells final, or Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova. (source: Reuters)

Second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova battled to a 6-1 4-6 6-3 victory over Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in the third round of the Pacific Life Open on Sunday.

World No.3 Kuznetsova was a runner-up in Indian Wells last year, when she lost to another Slovakian, Daniela Hantuchova, in the final.

Against world No.40 Cibulkova, who recently added a victory over Venus Williams to her resume, Kuznetsova made many errors in the second set. The Russian, a runner-up this year in Sydney and Dubai, managed to up her game in the third set to book a place in the next round against Denmark's 17-year-old Caroline Wozniacki, a player I closely keep an eye on.

World No.47 Wozniacki, who won the 2006 Wimbledon junior title, brushed aside Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-0 6-2 today in Indian Wells. (source: ESPN, photos via Getty Images)

Elena Dementieva came from a set down and beat fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 4-6 6-3 6-2 for the title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

World No.11 Dementieva, who became the first-ever Russian singles champion in Dubai, won her ninth career single title today.

Eighth-seeded Dementieva won the Dubai title on her event debut, while second seed Kuznetsova suffered her second loss in Dubai final, last time was in 2004 to Justine Henin.

After Kuznetsova took the first set and won the first game of the second, Dementieva reeled off four straight games to take control of the second and broke serve in the ninth game to send the match to the third set. Read more »