Tennis Miami 2012: Radwanska beats Sharapova for Sony Ericsson Open Title

03/31 Update: World #4 Agnieszka Radwanska downed #2 Maria Sharapova 7-5, 6-4 to win the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open title at the Miami tennis tournament. The victory is Radwanska’s second title in 2012, after beating Julia Georges at the Dubai tournament. Radwanska becomes the 13th different winner in event history, and the first Polish woman to capture the title. She improved to 26-4 season record, with all four of her defeats coming at the hands of top-ranked Victoria Azarenka. Sharapova drops to a 0-4 final record at Crandon Park, having finished runner-up in 2005, 2006 and 2011. She has not won a tournament in 2012 losing in all three finals she played in.

03/28 Update: The Sony Ericsson Open 2012 women's singles title will be decided by two of the more consistent players this year. World #2 Maria Sharapova and #5-seed Agniezska Radwanska advanced to the singles final with contrasting victories and will be battling for their first ever Miami tennis tournament title. Sharapova downed Caroline Wozniacki 46 62 64 while Radwanska beat Azarenka's quarterfinal conqueror Marion Bartoli 64 62. Radwanska will be aiming for her second title this year after winning in Dubai while Sharapova has still to win a tournament this year losing the Australian Open and Indian Wells finals both to Azarenka. Sharapova has defeated Radwanska in their last six matches, five of which were on hard courts.

Tennis Miami 2012 - 2012 SONY ERICSSON OPEN RESULTS: Women's Singles - Semifinals, Thursday, March 28, 2012
[2] M Sharapova (RUS) d [4] C Wozniacki (DEN) 46 62 64
[5] A Radwanska (POL) d [7] M Bartoli (FRA) 64 62

03/26 Update: The Sony Ericsson Open 2012 women's favorites for the singles title continued to advance with several marquee players reaching the final 8. Four of the top five seeds advanced to the quarterfinal stage led by #1 Victoria Azarenka and #2 Maria Sharapova. #4 Caroline Wozniacki set-up a quarterfinal showdown with #10 Serena Williams who eliminated US Open champion and #6 seed Sam Stosur. #5 seed Agniezska Radwanska will be going against wild card entry Venus Williams for a quarterfinal spot. The Williams sisters are the only players in the quarterfinals not seeded in the top eight.

Tennis Miami 2012 - 2012 SONY ERICSSON OPEN RESULTS: Women's Singles - Fourth Round
[1] V Azarenka (BLR) d [16] D Cibulkova (SVK) 16 76(7) 75
[2] M Sharapova (RUS) d E Makarova (RUS) 64 76(3)
[4] C Wozniacki (DEN) d [23] Y Wickmayer (BEL) 76(6) 60
[5] A Radwanska (POL) d [WC] G Muguruza Blanco (ESP) 63 62
[10] S Williams (USA) d [6] S Stosur (AUS) 75 63
[7] M Bartoli (FRA) d [22] M Kirilenko (RUS) 61 62
[8] N Li (CHN) d [12] S Lisicki (GER) 36 64 62
[WC] V Williams (USA) d [15] A Ivanovic (SRB) 67(4) 62 62

Women's Doubles - Quarterfinals
[WC] G Dulko (ARG) / P Suarez (ARG) d V Dushevina (RUS) / S Peer (ISR) 76(2) 67(3) 10-6

Women's Doubles - Second Round
V King (USA) / M Niculescu (ROU) d [7] Y Shvedova (KAZ) / G Voskoboeva (KAZ) 75 62
A Medina Garrigues (ESP) / F Pennetta (ITA) d J Goerges (GER) / S Stosur (AUS) 67(4) 62 11-9
[WC] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) / L Safarova (CZE) d N Llagostera Vives (ESP) / A Parra Santonja (ESP) 61 76(2)

03/24 Update: WTA title favorites Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki all advanced into the fourth round of the Miami 2012 tennis tournament while two-time champion Kim Clijsters was eliminated during third round action at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. World #2 Maria Sharapova downed American qualifier Sloane Stephens 64 62 while 5-time champion Serena beat Roberta Vinci 62 61. Also advancing was #4-seed Caroline Wozniacki, a 63 75 victor over Petra Cetkovska while US Open champion and #6 seed Sam Stosur beat Caroline Scheepers 26 75 62. Stosur sets up a fourth round showdown with Serena for a spot in the quarterfinals. It would be the first meeting between the two players after Stosur upset Serena to win her first grand slam title at the US Open in September. Meanwhile, Kim Clijsters lost to top Belgian countrywoman Yanina Wickmayer 64 76(5)

Tennis Miami 2012 - 2012 SONY ERICSSON OPEN RESULTS: Saturday, March 24, 2012

Women's- Singles - Third Round
[2] M Sharapova (RUS) d [Q] S Stephens (USA) 64 62
[4] C Wozniacki (DEN) d [29] P Cetkovska (CZE) 63 75
[6] S Stosur (AUS) d C Scheepers (RSA) 26 75 62
[8] N Li (CHN) d I Benesova (CZE) 75 62
[10] S Williams (USA) d [21] R Vinci (ITA) 62 61
[12] S Lisicki (GER) d [17] S Peng (CHN) 64 75
[23] Y Wickmayer (BEL) d K Clijsters (BEL) 64 76(5)
E Makarova (RUS) d M Barthel (GER) 62 64

Women's Doubles - Second Round
V Dushevina (RUS) / S Peer (ISR) d [8] D Hantuchova (SVK) / A Radwanska (POL) 62 75
[WC] G Dulko (ARG) / P Suarez (ARG) d A Klepac (SLO) / A Rosolska (POL) walkover

Women's Doubles - First Round
[WC] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) / L Safarova (CZE) d [3] S Mirza (IND) / E Vesnina (RUS) 16 61 11-9
[5] M Kirilenko (RUS) / N Petrova (RUS) d S Hsieh (TPE) / S Peng (CHN) 76(2) 64
[7] Y Shvedova (KAZ) / G Voskoboeva (KAZ) d [WC] D Cibulkova (SVK) / J Jankovic (SRB) 62 76(5)
A Medina Garrigues (ESP) / F Pennetta (ITA) d C Chuang (TPE) / A Kleybanova (RUS) 61 63
V King (USA) / M Niculescu (ROU) d K Date-Krumm (JPN) / S Zhang (CHN) 76(1) 63
E Makarova (RUS) / J Zheng (CHN) d N Grandin (RSA) / V Uhlirova (CZE) 64 62

03/23 Update: For the second straight tournament, reigning Wimbledon champion and world #3 Petra Kvitova is bundled out early in a top tier WTA tournament. Wild card entry and former world #1 Venus Williams dominated Kvitova in the last set to advance to the third round with a 64 46 60 victory. The battle of the defending Wimbledon champion and the 5-time Wimbledon titlist and Florida native was a highly anticipated night match at the early stages of the Miami 2012 tennis tournament. Eventually, it was experience that prevailed with the Venus winning her second match in a row in her first tournament back after pulling out of the US Open in 2011. Other top seeded players advancing included #1 Victoria Azarenka, #5 Agnieszka Radwanska and #7 Marion Bartoli.

Miami 2012 Tennis Results: Friday, March 23, 2012

Singles - Second Round
(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Michaella Krajicek (NED) 63 75
(WC) Venus Williams (USA) d. (3) Petra Kvitova (CZE) 64 46 60
(5) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (Q) Madison Keys (USA) 61 61
(7) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Polona Hercog (SLO) 57 62 61
(WC) Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco (ESP) d. (9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 64 63
Ksenia Pervak (KAZ) d. (11) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 64 46 75
(15) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Vania King (USA) 64 75
(16) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Anna Tatishvili (GEO) 75 61
Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (18) Angelique Kerber (GER) 76(4) 61
(20) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. (Q) Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) 67(4) 62 76(4)
(22) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. (WC) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 76(1) 63
(24) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) 64 26 60
(WC) Heather Watson (GBR) d. (27) Lucie Safarova (CZE) 62 61
(WC) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. (28) Monica Niculescu (ROU) 46 63 64
Sílvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) d. (31) Kaia Kanepi (EST) 75 63
Simona Halep (ROU) d. (32) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 63 62

Doubles - First Round
Goerges/Stosur (GER/AUS) d. (1) Huber/Raymond (USA/USA) 61 64
(WC) Dulko/Suárez (ARG/ARG) d. (2) Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) 64 64
(6) Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. Kops-Jones/Spears (USA/USA) 62 61
Kuznetsova/Zvonareva (RUS/RUS) d. Chan/Erakovic (TPE/NZL) 63 64
Dushevina/Peer (RUS/ISR) d. Govortsova/Rodionova (BLR/AUS) 75 46 106
Llagostera Vives/Parra Santonja (ESP/ESP) d. Gajdosova/Zakopalova (AUS/CZE) 36 64 108
(WC) Groenefeld/Martic (GER/CRO) d. Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) 75 57 1210

03/22 Update: Tournament favorites advanced to the third round of the Miami 2012 tennis tournament by posting victories at the Sony Ericsson Open second round action on Thursday, March 22. All five of the top 10 seeds playing went through with #2 Maria Sharapova, #4 Caroline Wozniacki, #6 Sam Stosur, #8 Li Na and #10 Serena Williams advancing. Sharapova was the only player losing a set amongst the top seeds. Meanwhile, two minor upsets occurred when Mona Barthel upended #13 Jelena Jankovic and former #1 Kim Clijsters beat #14 Julia Goerges, both in straight sets. 5-time Miami champion Serena may meet Clijsters in the quarterfinals and possibly Sharapova in the semifinals.

Miami 2012 Tennis Results: Thursday, March 22, 2012

Singles - Second Round
(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Shahar Peer (ISR) 46 63 63
(4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 64 60
(6) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (Q) Valeria Savinykh (RUS) 64 60
(8) Li Na (CHN) d. (Q) Melinda Czink (HUN) 75 62
(10) Serena Williams (USA) d. (WC) Zhang Shuai (CHN) 62 63
(12) Sabine Lisicki (GER) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 63 62
Mona Barthel (GER) d. (13) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 60 63
Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (14) Julia Goerges (GER) 62 75
(17) Peng Shuai (CHN) d. (Q) Stéphanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) 61 62
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) d. (19) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 61 62
(21) Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 75 61
(23) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Marina Erakovic (NZL) 63 64
Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d. (25) Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 16 64 60
Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. (26) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 16 76(7) 76(7)
(29) Petra Cetkovska (CZE) d. Christina McHale (USA) 06 75 61
(Q) Sloane Stephens (USA) d. (30) Sara Errani (ITA) 36 62 75

Doubles - First Round
Birnerova/Jans-Ignacik (CZE/POL) d. (4) Hlavackova/Hradecka (CZE/CZE) 64 75
(8) Hantuchova/A.Radwanska (SVK/POL) d. Begu/Bratchikova (ROU/RUS) 63 67(5) 103
Klepac/Rosolska (SLO/POL) d. Kudryavtseva/Panova (RUS/RUS) 63 64

03/20 Update: First round action at the Miami 2012 tennis tournament started on Tuesday, March 20 with several first round matches completed - one particular match producing an inspiring victory. Wild card Alisa Kleybanova rallied past Johanna Larsson of Sweden 26 63 62 to advance to the second round. Kleybanova is making her comeback after undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma last summer. She now advances to the second round where she will face fellow Russian and #22-seed Maria Kirilenko.

Two other wildcard entries joined Kleybanova in the next round. Young Heather Watson beat veteran Sorana Cristea in a third set tiebreak 63 36 76(4) to advance while Zhang Shuai also needed three sets to oust Elena Baltacha 67(5) 63 62. Zhang's reward for advancing is a date with Florida native and 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams. Also advancing is two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Zheng Jie. Zheng downed Lucie Hradecka to advance in two sets 61 64. Another interesting player advancing is Mona Barthel of Germany. Barthel almost ended world #1's perfect 2012 record when she went the distance before eventually losing in straight sets.

Miami 2012 Tennis Results: Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Singles - First Round
Zheng Jie (CHN) d. Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 61 64
Mona Barthel (GER) d. Greta Arn (HUN) 61 60
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) d. Jelena Dokic (AUS) 61 75
Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) 36 63 60
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) d. Petra Martic (CRO) 63 62
Marina Erakovic (NZL) d. Mathilde Johansson (FRA) 46 64 64
Simona Halep (ROU) d. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 67(5) 63 63
Anna Tatishvili (GEO) d. Tamira Paszek (AUT) 64 43 ret. (low back injury)
Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) d. (WC) Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 63 63
(WC) Heather Watson (GBR) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 63 36 76(4)
(WC) Zhang Shuai (CHN) d. Elena Baltacha (GBR) 67(5) 63 62
(WC) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) d. Johanna Larsson (SWE) 26 63 62