In the most attractive Wednesday's match at the Sony Ericssion Open, former world No.1 Dinara Safina broke former world No.4 Jelena Dokic's serve at 4-all in both sets on her way to a 6-4 6-4 first-round victory.

"I was really pleased with my serve and showed I can serve not only double faults but also some aces," said Safina, who ended each set off with an ace.

Both Safina, a wildcard at the event this year, and Dokic, this time a qualifier, have quarterfinal Miami appearances as their best results at the tournament. Safina, currently ranked 91st, reached the last 8 in 2008, when she lost to fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, who will actually be her opponent in the awaiting round this year. The world No.64 Dokic played Miami quarterfinals in 2001 and 2003.

Prior to the Sony Ericsson Open, at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Safina won three matches in a row, her best performance in more than a year. (source: WTA Tour, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Player parties provide a perfect venue for players to get in touch with their glamorous side (if they have one) and the blue red carpet on Tuesday night at the Paris Theater in Miami was one of the best such occasions.

Let's start with my favorites. Russian Anna Kournikova simply knows what to wear and how to work it, while her countrywoman Vera Zvonareva looks very pretty in a romantic purple dress.

Although I've been in the mood for floral prints lately, Anastasia Plavyuchenkova's dress is too much for my taste. Maria Sharapova is still faithful to her vintage-oriented style. Read more »

Bethanie Mattek Sands, Heather Watson, Alize Cornet, Sabine Lisicki, Sorana Cirstea and Dominika Cibulkova have been chosen to be a part of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Hot Shots campaign – a web-based TV show which will follow the tennis stars as they travel the world on tour.

The six participating players were announced in Miami, ahead of the Sony Ericsson Open, and Sony Ericsson brand ambassador, Maria Sharapova, was also there. Read more »

Former world No.1 Kim Clijsters took less than an hour to beat Venus Williams 6-2 6-1 and claim her 37th career title and her second one at the Sony Erisson Open in Miami.

Clijsters faced no break points throughout the final. In addition, she won 17 points in a row in the second set, while Williams won only eight points throughout the set.

The third-seeded Williams was one victory away from winning her fourth title at the Sony Erisson Open and also her third straight title, but the 14th-seeded Belgian ended the 15-match winning streak of the American seven-time Grand Slam champion. The two are now leveled at 6-6 in career meetings, with Clijsters winning both their encounters since returning to the Tour.

Clijsters defeated the following players on her way to the $700,000 prize in Miami: Petra Kvitova, Shahar Peer, last year's champion Victoria Azarenka, Samantha Stosur, Justine Henin and finally Venus Williams.

The 26-year-old Clijsters is expected to climb to spot No.10 in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings next week, which will be her highest ranking since coming back to professional tennis. (photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Kim Clijsters won her 24th matchup with fellow Belgian former world No.1 Justine Henin 6-2 6-7(3) 7-6(6) to advance to the Sony Ericsson Open final where her opponent will be third seed Venus Williams.

Nobody expected a thriller when the 14th-seeded Clijsters held a point for a 6-2 4-0 lead. However, Henin, a wildcard, fought back and won the second set in a tiebreak. The third set was a see-saw ending up with another tiebreak, which Clijsters won after ups and downs of both players.

Clijsters will have a chance to win her second title at the Sony Ericsson Open and even her head-to-head record against three-time Miami champion Williams to 6-6. (photo: Twenty90seven)

Three-time Sony Ericsson Open champion Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli 6-3 6-4 to advance to the finals of her neighborhood tournament.

Seed No.13 Bartoli had made notable results in Miami by losing only three games to top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round and knocking out Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets in the quarterfinals, before falling to seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams. The Frenchwoman now has to find satisfaction in reaching her first semifinal in Miami and making her best result of this season.

The world No.5 Williams, seeded third in Miami, has extended her winning streak to 16 matches and is just one win away from claiming her third title in a row (after Dubai and Acapulco). In the final the American will face the winner of the high-profile semifinal between Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. (photo: Emmett Anderson)

Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, two former Belgian world No.1s  that have nine Grand Slam singles titles between them, will face each other for the 23rd time in their fruitful careers and the occasion will be the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open semifinals. Their head-to-head record is very close – Henin leads the series 12-11.

Justine Henin, wildcard entry into the tournament, has beaten her fourth seeded opponent in a row with a 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 triumph over seed No.2 Caroline Wozniacki in the Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinals, while No.14 seed Kim Clijsters defeated No.9 seed Samantha Stosur 6-3 7-5 in the second quarterfinal of the day.

The world No.33 Henin, who is projected to return to the Top 30 next week, had committed 31 unforced errors in the first set, before her game became more stable. In the third set she lost only two of 22 service points and closed out the match against Wozniacki with a love game.

Clijsters, currently ranked 16th, played her quarterfinal aggressively and Stosur, who pulled off come-from-behind wins in her first two matches in Miami and then upset No.7 seed Jelena Jankovic in the last round, couldn’t overcome the power of the two-time Grand Slam champion.

"It has always been special and it will always be special," Henin said on the rivalry with Clijsters. "Kim and I grew up together, arrived on the tour at the same time, played well at the same time, retired at the same time, and now we came back at the same time. It's amazing. We have never stopped respecting each other. Never, ever, ever."

Additional info: The other semifinal at the Sony Ericsson Open features Venus Williams and Marion Bartoli. (photos: Twenty90seven)

Third seed Venus Williams became the first member of the final four at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, beating seed No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3 6-1 in the quarterfinals. The 29-year-old Williams fired eight aces and lost just seven points on her first serve against the Pole. The American seven-time Grand Slam champion has now won 14 matches in a row and is just two wins away from her third straight tournament title, the feat she accomplished in 2002.

Awaiting Williams in the semifinals is Marion Bartoli, seeded 13th, who defeated No.12 seed Yanina Wickmayer in their first meeting. Bartoli managed to hold serve after six straight breaks to win the first set, and then came back from triple set point down at 4-5 in the second set to win the match 6-4 7-5.

Williams and Bartoli have played twice so far and are tied at 1-1. (photos: chascow, Emmett Anderson)

After a first-round bye at the Sony Ericsson Open, the 2009 US Open champion Kim Clijsters defeated Petra Kvitova 6-1 6-1 in the second round, Shahar Peer 6-0 6-1 in the third round, and now fourth seed and last year's champion Victoria Azarenka with almost equally impressive scoreline 6-4 -6-0.

Belgian No.14 seed Clijsters will next play ninth seed Samantha Stosur, who ended Jelena Jankovic’s eight-match winning streak by defeating the Serb 6-1 7-6 (9) in their fourth career encounter. Remember, world No.8 Jankovic defeated Stosur 6-2 6-4 in the Indian Wells semifinals last week, on her way to the title.

The winner of both career clashes between Clijsters and Stosur was the Belgian, in straight sets. Their last meeting was three years ago, at this very tournament, the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. (photo: Esther Lim)

The 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli defeated top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3 6-0  in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open and scored her first victory over the two-time Grand Slam champion.

The 13th-seeded Bartoli broke Kuznetsova twice in the first set and converted all three of her break chances in the second set in which her opponent won just eight points. However, we have to mention that Kuznetsova’s performance was affected by a shoulder problem, and the Russian had three medical treatments during the match.

The world No.4 Kuznetsova, who is yet to win a title this season, won this tournament four years ago and reached the semifinals the last two years. Bartoli advanced to the quarterfinals in Miami only for the second time, while in her five other attempts she had won one match.

Bartoli’s record against Top 5 players has got even better today, as the French world No.15 earned her seventh win in her last 11 matches against the members of the elite. (photo: chascow)