Seed No.14 Kim Clijsters and third seed Victoria Azarenka made premature exits at the BNP Paribas Open, while sixth seed Jelena Jankovic fought her way into the fourth round.
Two-time Indian Wells champion Kim Clijsters lost to Alisa Kleybanova 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) in the third round, despite storming through the second set and having a 4-0 lead in the third-set tiebreak.
“I definitely think I let it slip away but credit to her,” said Clijsters after losing to the No.23 seed. “She played some really good points to get back into it.”
Victoria Azarenka fell to 28th-seeded Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 7-6(4) 6-2 at the very tournament that propelled her into the Top 10 last year. The Belorussian quickly fell behind 5-1 and even though she saved four set points and leveled to 5-5, she lost the first set and shortly after the second as well.
Sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic beat Sara Errani 2-6 7-6(6) 6-4 despite making 57 unforced errors compared to Errani’s 42. The world No.9 quickly lost the first set, won the second in a tiebreak, and let her experience prevail in the decider of the marathon match to prevent Errani from scoring her first Top-10 victory in 12 attempts. (photo: Stephane Martinache)
Marija, today I heard that Nicole Vaidišová retires. Is that true?
LuLinQa, it’s true, everyone’s talking about it. Hm, talking about her and Ana, I can see them hand in hand. But I feel that Ana still has love for the game.
Yes she has, but she is very hotheaded or, I don´t know how to express it, sometimes.