Twice champion and holder Daniela Hantuchova reached the quarterfinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells by beating India’s Sania Mirza 6-1 7-6.

Fifth-seeded Hantuchova took the first set in 39 minutes, breaking Mirza in the second and fourth games. In the second set both players made two breaks so there was a tiebreak which world No.8 Hantuchova won 7-4.

Last year the Slovakian won the Indian Wells title with a victory over Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. (source: Reuters, photo: Getty Images)

Today at the Pacific Life Open, Australian world No.56 Casey Dellacqua moved into the fourth round of a WTA event for only the second time in her career as Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek retired with illness trailing 6-1 4-0.

Casey Dellacqua made the headlines in January, as she reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. Then she scored her first two Top 20 wins defeating No.15 seed Patty Schnyder and No.18 seed Amelie Mauresmo. Dellacqua left the Australian Open falling to Jelena Jankovic.

At the Pacific Life Open, Dellacqua will next play twelfth-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia. (source: The Age, photo: Getty Images)

Former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo suffered yet another early exit, this time to Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko. The Frenchwoman lost 6-1 6-2 in the third round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.

Mauresmo, who is now ranked only 27th in the world, simply can’t get back in form and this loss will make her agony and thoughts of retirement even more intense. In today’s match with world No.24 Bondarenko, Mauresmo could barely keep her serves in play and posted seven double faults. Bondarenko took advantage of Mauresmo’s poor form and did not even give the two-time Grand Slam champion a look at a break point.

Amelie Mauresmo and Alona Bondarenko will meet again at the Pacific Life Open, in doubles. Amelie and Svetlana Kuznetsova will play against Alona and her sister Kateryna Bondarenko, the Australian Open doubles champions. (source: On the Baseline, photo via Getty Images)

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)

New WTA rules which take effect in 2009 oblige players to take part in a number of tournaments, among which is Indian Wells. Those who refuse to compete will be subjects to sanctions (suspension from the next two premium tournaments) and big fines.

Despite all this, Serena says that chances of her returning to Indian Wells are slim to none. She is boycotting this tournament because of her bad experience in 2001, when she was booed and subjected to racial taunts. WTA announced that they are not going to adjust the rules for individual players, while the father of Williams sisters threatens the WTA Tour that he will take legal action if it tries to force his daughters to play in this tournament.

In my opinion, Serena should move on, leave that painful experience behind, and let us enjoy her talent in as many matches as possible. She should think of all those people who support her, and not waste her energy on those who certainly don't deserve it. (photo: Wire Image)