Second seed Maria Sharapova and fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki won their second round matches of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells 6-2 6-0, beating Gisela Dulko and Ekaterina Makarova respectively.

The 2006 champion Sharapova broke Dulko three times in each set en route to the victory. Simona Halep, who beat Petra Cetkovska 6-2 6-4, will be Sharapova’s opponent in the third round. They have never played each other so far.

Makarova, who played the quarterfinals of Australian Open this year, didn’t win a single service game in the quick loss to defending champion Wozniacki. Sofia Arvidsson, the 6-3 6-3 winner over Monica Niculescu, will be Wozniacki’s opponent in the third round. Arvidsson, 2-4 against Wozniacki in head-to-head, has recently won her second Memphis trophy. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

"I guess it's one of those days you just come on the court and the legs don't go, the reactions are not there," said JJ.

The last tournament the 12-time WTA titlist Jelena Jankovic won was Indian Wells in 2010, and the fact that she was coming off back-to-back semifinals in Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, made us expect more from her, but the Serb lost her opening match to 99th-ranked Jamie Hampton in straight sets.

The young American wildcard, who has for the first time moved into the Top 100 this week, defeated the 12th-seeded Jankovic 6-4 6-3, surpassing what was just a match before her career-best victory, the 6-0 6-1 upset of world No.38 Polona Hercog in the first round of Indian Wells.

World No.1 Victoria Azarenka was on the verge of extinction, but survived Mona Barthel’s winning streak (ten out of 12 games won from 4-6 1-5), the German’s 4-1 lead in the third set and two times when she was serving for the match, to eventually win 6-4 6-7(4) 7-6(6) after three hours, despite actually winning overall one point less than her opponent. Azarenka has thus kept her 2012 win-loss record intact, 18-0.

Two-time Indian Wells champion Daniela Hantuchova, seed No.19 this year, lost to Klara Zakopalova 6-3 6-7(7) 6-3 after a grueling match that also lasted three hours. This is the Slovakian’s third straight exit from Indian Wells in her opening match. (photo: Johan Rivera, follow him on Twitter @HobbiesPlus)

During an All-Access Hour in Indian Wells, Caroline Wozniacki tried to be funny and pop a balloon behind Maria Sharapova, while the Russian was being interviewed, but what was supposed to be a prank turned into an epic fail. Watch!

Wozniacki is trying too hard! And the balloon fail wasn't all, she was even making faces behind Agnieszka Radwanska!?

On a different note, Wozniacki is willing to alter her game in order to win a major and/or the Olympics, even if it means losing some matches initially. The Dane will not change what is working, but she will try out new elements.

Wozniacki won Indian Wells last year, while in 2010 she was runner-up to Jelena Jankovic. (photo: AP via The Slice)

Indian Wells and Miami, together offering more than $10 million in prize money, are underway and our contributor Omair wanted to share with you his reflections and questions about which outcomes the two big events will bring. Tell us your views in the comments!

Before doing a quick recap of the star-studded tournaments in 2012 so far, I will have a look at the questions I'd like to have answered during Indian Wells and Miami:

1. How long will Victoria Azarenka's streak continue?
2. Can Caroline Wozniacki bounce back from the disappointing start of 2012? At this time last year, she had already won one title (Dubai) and was runner-up at Doha and had a semifinal showing at the Australian Open. This year she has yet to make a final.
3. How will Petra Kvitova fare? She has played only two Fed Cup matches after losing to Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open.
4. Is Agnieszka Radwanska for real? No one other than Azarenka has been able to beat Radwanska so far in 2012.
5. Can Sharapova bounce back from a disappointing loss to Angelique Kerber at Paris?
6. How will Li Na fare? Will her slump continue like last year, or will she show her game?
7. Where does Vera Zvonareva stand after a very disappointing start of 2012? She is 4-4 so far this year.
8. Will Julia Georges be able to build on her momentum or will we see her inconsistency again?

Two great tournaments and intriguing matches await us. How do you see women’s tennis so far in 2012 and what will you be watching out for during the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments?

Now let's see how top 4 seeds at star-studded tourneys have fared so far in 2012.

Sydney

Top 4 seeds, with the lone exception of Caroline Wozniacki, made it to the semifinals. The semifinals and the finals were all promising matches, all three going to three sets. It was Sydney where we saw Victoria Azarenka excelling.

Australian Open

Here again 3 of the top 4 seeds made it to the semifinals, again with the lone exception of Caroline Wozniacki who lost in the quarters to defending champion Kim Clijsters. The semifinals proved to be great battles with Azarenka toughing it out against Clijsters and Maria Sharapova just hanging in against Petra Kvitova. Although the final was one-sided, Azarenka won in straight sets, it did show that the women at the top are ready to back up their rankings with strong and deep runs at tournaments.

Doha

Doha was Azarenka's first event as the new world No.1. Again we saw 3 of the top 4 seeds making it to the semifinals. I think you would have guessed the lone exception of the top 4 seeds, not making the semis, yes you are right, it was Wozniacki , yet again. Azarenka handed Radwanska her third defeat of 2012 in as many meetings, while Marion Bartoli retired after she lost the first set to Samantha Stosur. Azarenka routed Stosur in straight sets to claim her third title of 2012 in as many tournaments.

Tell us what you think! How would you answer my questions?

Related Omair's article: How likely is an Australian Open warm-up tournament winner to win the Melbourne Grand Slam? (photos: Johan Rivera, follow him on Twitter @HobbiesPlus)

Ana Ivanovic posed in a number of settings for Hollywood fashion photographer John Russo, including a swimming pool, where the 24-year-old exposed her sexy side, posing seemingly naked, or at least topless. The photo shoot also included a session of Ana looking gorgeous in young and hip dresses. A massage and a stop in the gym were there, too. Check out the teaser video:

The shoot took place last week at the Park Hyatt Aviara in San Diego and I expect the photos to be stunning, just as those from Ana's cooperation with Russo in Las Vegas for the cover of Vanidades.