One of the ways the Sony Ericsson Open built its name was by catering to players. The tournament spends an estimated $500,000 to $800,000 annually on what might be called player amenities, little touches to nudge player opinion upward.

The players lounge isn't in the basement but overlooks the court, so players can watch matches. That's space that could have gone to lucrative suites for high-rolling patrons. There are ten computers for players to check e-mails, plus, wireless service is available all over the stadium for those with laptops. Read more »

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Serena Williams has once again shown she feels good in Miami. The world No.8 came back from a set down to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova and reach the championship match when she'll fight for her fifth Sony Ericsson Open title.

Eighth-seeded Williams won today's semifinal 3-6 7-5 6-3 after 2 hours and 47 minutes. The fans enjoyed an entertaining match, uncertain up until the last point.

Third-seeded Kuznetsova won the first set, and was within sight of victory at 5-5 in the second, but Williams took the match to the third set. In the decider, out of the nine games played, there were five breaks of serve and a total of fourteen break points. You can imagine the uncertainty.

Serena Williams was victorious in the finals of Miami in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007. She lost the final there only once, in 1999. If Williams wins the Sony Ericsson Open again, she’ll tie Steffi Graf’s record of five titles in Miami.

In Saturday’s final, Serena Williams will play either Jelena Jankovic or Vera Zvonareva. (image via Yahoo)

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Jelena Jankovic moved into the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami after Elena Dementieva retired from their quarterfinal match when trailing 6-1 3-1.

The first two games of the match were long, filled with break points, but in the end both those games went into the hands of the fourth-seeded Jankovic. Since that moment, the momentum was on Jankovic's side up until the end of the match.

After decisively losing the first set, tenth-seeded Dementieva took a medical timeout (it seemed she had problems with her back). Then the Russian continued to play, but at the moment Jankovic took a 3-1 lead in the second set, I suppose Dementieva realized there was no way she could beat the superb Serb, and retired from the match before making her back problems worse.

World No.3 Jankovic joined Svetlana Kuznetsova and Serena Williams in the Sony Ericsson Open semifinals, and will next face the winner of the match between Vera Zvonareva and Dinara Safina which is to be played later today. (image via Yahoo)

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Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Venus Williams 6-4 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Kuznetsova’s victory spoiled the prospect of an all-Williams semifinal. So, instead of her older sister, Serena Williams, who beat Justine Henin in the Sony Ericsson Open quarters, will next face the Russian world No.4.

"I just felt a little bit off," said Venus, who has won the tournament in 1998, 1999 and 2001. "I didn't have the answers today, and she played well.

"I'm always happy for Serena to win. It would have been obviously very exciting for me to win too, but it just didn't happen." (via xinhuanet)

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Serena Williams dominated world No.1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinal of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Final score 6-2 6-0.

In the beginning, games were long and each one contained break points. However, eighth-seeded Williams scored at more important moments and established a 3-0 lead. Even though Henin afterwards won her service game for the first time and returned the break, her luck was short-lived. From that point on, every game up until the end of the match went into Serena’s hands!

Top-seeded Henin seemed frightened and timid, while Williams went towards her goal focused and strong. Well, who can blame Henin for being afraid. Last year she lost to Serena in the Sony Ericsson Open final, having won the first set 6-0. And that's not all. Serena has collected four titles at the Sony Ericsson Open, while Jusine's 41 career titles don't include one from the tournament in Miami. (photo via Getty Images)

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