In the final of the Sony Ericsson Open, Victoria Azarenka's powerful tennis made Maria Sharapova's error-prone game surface and the Belarus went first to a 6-1 4-0 lead, and then all the way to a 6-1 6-4 victory for her second title at the tournament in three years.

Sharapova made 43 unforced errors and held serve only once in the entire match. However, after the match Azarenka pointed out how her good selection of shots forced Sharapova to make mistakes: "I think I had the right tactics. She likes to swing big and when she has time it's very heavy and coming fast. So I was trying to take time away and not let her do that… I think she was missing a lot because of my game."

By virtue of winning the $4,5-million event, Azarenka earned $700,000 and a return to her career best ranking of No.6. Sharapova will be back in Top 10, from her current No.13.

Azarenka has won her sixth career title, while Sharapova now has a 0-3 win-loss record in the finals of Miami. (photo via BBC)

The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open final will feature powerful, competitive and loud players – Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. The two are not underdogs, but it can't be said that they were favored to be the last women standing.

Both have already been at this stage of the Miami tournament, but only Azarenka managed to go a step further and win the title against Serena Williams in 2009. If Sharapova wins this time, it will be a huge thing, but not because it will be her first win in the final of Miami in three attempts, rather because the Premier-level title will be a great milestone in her post shoulder injury career.

If Azarenka’s record against Russian players is of any relevance, let's see the WTA Tour stats:

-    Azarenka has a 46.3% win percentage against Russians (25-29)
-    Azarenka is on a four match winning streak against Russians, the best of her career

As for Azarenka's record against Sharapova in particular, they are tied at 2-2, although it was Azarenka who won their last match, in Stanford final last year. Who will win the title is not easily predictable, but the final promises big fight and powerful game. Read more »

German Andrea Petkovic came to the semifinal against struggling Maria Sharapova with the confidence of upsets over world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round and sixth seed Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals, but in the second and third sets the Russian showed the form that brought her so many titles and number one ranking to win the match 3-6 6-0 6-2.

Petkovic was dominant in the first set and it looked as if we were in for another Petko Dance. However, the match turned into a one-sided affair, to Sharapova's advantage. The Russian won 11 straight games, building a 5-0 lead in the third set, and Petkovic’s inspiring performance at the Sony Ericsson Open had a rather flat end. And this amazing result for Sharapova came despite her grueling 3-6 7-6(6) 7-6(5) win in the previous round against Alexandra Dulgheru, and an ankle injury she suffered then.

All in all, Sharapova forced a perfect revenge for her shockingly easy 6-2 6-3 loss to Petkovic at the 2011 Australian Open.

World No.23 Petkovic will crack the Top 20 when the new rankings are released on Monday, while the 13-ranked Sharapova is ensured a spot in the Top 10 again.

Even though Sharapova played the Sony Ericsson Open final in 2005 and 2006, she will try to win her first title at the tournament, either against Vera Zvonareva or 2009 champion Victoria Azarenka.

Reminder: Do join our contest for a chance to win Maria Sharapova’s Nike dress! (photos: Tidalist, © Neal Trousdale)

The semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open are shaping up. By defeating Agnieszka Radwanska on Wednesday, Vera Zvonareva became the third Miami semifinalist this year, and her opponent in the final four will be either Kim Clijsters or Victoria Azarenka.

In the match against ninth-seeded Radwanska, Zvonareva double faulted at 4-5, 30-all in the first set to give the Pole a set point. However, she saved it with an ace and won three games to win the set. The second set was easier for the Russian, who has a chance to return to No.2 ranking, and she advanced to the semis with a 7-5 6-3 victory.

The other semifinal will feature Andrea Petkovic, who toughed it out against Jelena Jankovic, and Maria Sharapova, who had her fair share of hard time against Alexandra Dulgheru in the quarterfinal match that lasted almost three and a half hours. (source: WTA Tour, photo: sr_cranks)

Ana Ivanovic has a lot to regret after her fourth round match against Kim Clijsters at the Sony Ericsson Open. The 19th-ranked Serb was so close to recording what would be a huge confidence-boosting victory and in fact one of the biggest wins of her career, but the outcome of the match made her break her racquet and cry a bit as she lost 7-6(4) 3-6 7-6(5) despite a 5-1 lead  and five match points in the deciding set.

Stunning facts of this rain-delayed encounter are that Ivanovic converted only 5 of 22 break points and she finished the match with more points and games won than defending champion and world No.2 Clijsters!

Ivanovic was also in doubles competition with Andrea Petkovic, but since both are tired from their last singles matches (Petkovic had a tough victory over sixth seed Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals), they have withdrawn from doubles. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

In a long and closely-fought rain-interrupted Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinal, Andrea Petkovic followed up her win over world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki with a 2-6 6-2 6-4 upset of sixth seed Jelena Jankovic, Miami runner-up to Serena Williams in 2008.

In the first set, the seventh-ranked Jankovic faced no break points and won 80% of points on her serve, compared to Petkovic's 49%. Also, she won 51% of return points, compared to Petkovic's low 20%.

German world No.23 Petkovic established a 2-0 lead in the beginning of the second set and even though Jankovic had multiple break points in the third game, after a long fight Petkovic increased the lead to 3-0 and solidly went on to win the set 6-2.

In the decider, it was Jankovic who was first in the better position, leading 4-2, but it was obvious it wouldn't be an easy job for her. Petkovic took charge and even though Jankovic kept fighting, and maintained the match thrilling until the end, Petkovic won four straight games to reach the semifinals of the $4,500,000 tournament. (photo: sr_cranks)

World No.23 Andrea Petkovic recorded her first victory over a top-ranked player in her first meeting with Caroline Wozniacki, beating the Dane 7-5 3-6 6-3 in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

The 23-year-old Petkovic had a precise strategy for this encounter and she managed to stick to it. Also, the facts that Wozniacki wasted three set points at 5-4 in the first set, committed more than 50 unforced errors in the match and converted only 5 of 17 break points helped Petkovic become the first German woman since Steffi Graf in 1999 to beat a reigning No.1

"I didn’t try to overpower her because she’s so good at bringing the ball back, so I tried to mix it up a little bit," Petkovic told Tennis Channel.

Wozniacki, who won her 14th career title a week ago at Indian Wells, will remain No. 1 through at least April 18. Read more »

Ana Ivanovic advanced to the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open after coming back from a set down and then earning a double break in the decider when her opponent, Virginie Razzano, retired with a thigh injury.

The 23-year-old Ivanovic broke the 101st-ranked Razzano in the opening game, but failed to hold her own service game right afterwards and Razzano cruised through the rest of the first set. In the second set, Ivanovic fought off five break points in the sixth game to earn a 4-2 lead and then efficiently went on to win the last set of the match that was finished before Razzano’s retirement. Final score: 2-6 6-2 3-0. Read more »

Wearing red t-shirts with Japanese flags at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, tennis players acknowledged the hardships Japan is going through. Moreover, they raised funds to help the country which is hosting one of the major stops in tennis tournaments.

Tennis world, including contributions from the WTA, ATP, ITF, four Grand Slams and tennis fans, has collected over $300,000 for Japan. In addition, sports brand Fila, represented by Kim Clijsters, who had said she would skip the Tokyo tournament because of radiation fears, made special Japan t-shirts which are being sold at the Sony Ericsson Open during the weekend and all the proceeds will go to the country struck by the tsunami-nuclear disaster. Read more »

Maria Sharapova is playing the Sony Ericsson Open for the first time in three years, and her opening round was successful, both in terms of her result and fashion-wise.

The 16th-seeded Russian, two-time finalist at the event, cruised past Croatian wildcard Petra Martic 6-3 6-2 in the second round. Also, the tennis fashion icon used the high-profile tournament to debut the Nike Maria Sharapova Cross Court Statement Dress ($110). Nike has switched from orange and gray tones to blue combined with gold – actually, the official colors of this dress are "chlorine blue, copa and bronze" (copa?). Read more »