TENNIS in DEPTH.

As if Williams’ 61 63 quarterfinal victory over World No.2 Maria Sharapova wasn’t impressive enough, her dismantling of Azarenka in the final was her 13th career win over a World No.1, tying Venus Williams for most victories over a World No.1 among active players; she also ties Kim Clijsters for second-most WTA titles among active players with 41 (Venus Williams has 43). Perhaps the biggest message: Williams is now 13-0 on clay this year, having gone 5-0 to win Charleston, 2-0 to help the US back into the World Group of Fed Cup, and now 6-0 to win Madrid. And along the way she has only lost one set, to Caroline Wozniacki in the third round this week (winning that, 16 63 62).

“I absolutely love clay. I grew up on clay – I played on hardcourt until I was 11, then until I turned 16 I only played on clay courts,” Williams said. “I actually love the clay but my results haven’t been stellar. I have won the French Open and lots of clay court tournaments, though. It’s really a myth about me not liking clay. I like it more than grass, which is weird. Hopefully I can start doing better.” Williams is now 7-1 in her head-to-head series with Azarenka. With the title run, the former No.1 keeps her climb back up the rankings going, No.9 to No.6.

“I don’t play to be No.2. I don’t think Victoria plays to be No.2, nor does Maria,” Williams said. “We all play to be the best. We’re all out here to do the best we can do, and if that’s No.1, that’s my ultimate goal. A lot of people feel that way.”

Bookmark It

Serena Williams thrashed Maria Sharapova to reach the semi-finals of the Madrid Open. The American triumphed 6-1 6-3 to claim her 11th successive victory on clay. Sharapova a recent winner in Stuttgart, was again beset by problems with her serve. She produced eight double faults and was shown no mercy by Williams. The new blue clay on show in the Spanish capital is playing fast, something which would appear to aid Williams’ power game. She has already won on clay in Charleston this season – another venue known for its court speed – but whether Williams will be able to continue her impressive form on the slower courts of Rome and Roland Garros remains to be seen.

Earlier in the day Victoria Azarenka fought back from a set down to reach the last four. The world number one found herself in trouble against reigning French Open champion Li Na but recovered to post a 3-6 6-3 6-3 success. Li started like a train and when she broke serve in the opening game of the second set, a shock looked on the cards. However, Azarenka retrieved the break immediately and pushed on in the second set to level the match. The momentum was well and truly with the Belarusian entering the decider and she duly raced 4-0 in front. Li found a second wind though, recovering to 4-3 and then threatened to break Azarenka again to level the set. However, Azarenka held her nerve, her serve and closed the match out in the following game. The top seed will next face Agnieszka Radwanska, a player she has beaten five times already this season.

Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka continued her shock run through the Mutua Madrid Open, following up her second round upset over reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova with a 76(8) 76(6) quarterfinal stunner over reigning US Open champion Sam Stosur, firing 19 aces in the process. Though she came into Madrid ranked No.105, Hradecka has seen much higher heights, having gone as high as No.41 in the world last summer. She brought out her best in her upset of World No.4 Kvitova earlier in the week, and she did it all over again against World No.5 Stosur, keeping the pressure on in a tight first set tie-break and closing it out on her fourth set point, then saving a set point in the second set tie-break. Neither player was broken in 24 service games. Hradecka’s wins against Kvitova and Stosur are her first two Top 10 wins, and the 26-year-old was already competing in her first ever Premier quarterfinal. Next up is Serena Williams.

Bookmark It

The ninth-seeded American was comprehensively outplayed in the opening set of their third-round tie on Thursday, but hit back to wrap up a 1-6 6-3 6-2 victory in one hour and 42 minutes. Williams was broken three times in the first set by her Danish opponent, seeded sixth, but turned the tables on Wozniacki with four breaks of her own over the next two sets. ”I had a slow start today, I don’t know why,” said the 30-year-old. “I was sluggish and mentally maybe fighting some demons. ”I started trying to play better, the first set was not me at all. I knew I had to get better. I just tried to play my game.” Williams has now won 10 straight matches on clay, a run which took in the title in Charleston last month. The reward for her latest win is a last-eight clash with second seed Maria Sharapova. The Russian, a recent winner in Stuttgart, advanced after opponent Lucie Safarova withdrew before their clash through illness.

Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska also progressed to the next round, beating Roberta Vinci, of Italy, 7-6 (7/1) 6-4. Qualifier Lucie Hradecka, who accounted for third seed Petra Kvitova on Wednesday, continued her run with a 6-2 7-6 (7/5) success over Ekaterina Makarova to reach the quarter-finals.

Bookmark It

Serena Williams won the 40th WTA title of her career by crushing Lucie Safarova 6-0 6-1 in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. The fifth seed overwhelmed the ninth-seeded Czech in just 58 minutes as she continued the impressive form which did for Sam Stosur in an equally one-sided semi-final. The American won the first nine games of the final to move into a 6-0 3-0 lead and, although Safarova did at least get on the board, Williams quickly wrapped up the title. The 13-time major winner, who beat second seed Stosur 6-1 6-1 yesterday, does not want the form she has shown in her last two matches to come to an end.

“I hope I can make it three and four and five and six and more and more and more,” the 30-year-old said on the WTA website. The victory moved Williams up a place in the world rankings to ninth and she feels she can climb further over the grasscourt season. ”I do have nothing to defend,” she added: “Wimbledon I didn’t do anything and Eastbourne I won one match, so that doesn’t count. I did pretty well in the summer, but then I dropped off again until this tournament. So I really am like a floating bird. ”It’s motivating for me to go home and work harder, because I know Lucie and Sam and everyone else is going to work hard, too. Now they know what to expect even more when they play me. So this is just a battle, and I want to continue to win.”

Bookmark It

There were victories for both Williams sisters at the Family Circle Cup as Venus followed up her successful comeback in Miami last week by cruising into the second round in Charleston. Venus, who spent seven months out before returning at the Sony Ericsson Open last week, cruised past Iveta Benesova 6-4 6-3 as she lost serve only once in the match. ”My serve felt great,” Williams told the WTA website. “I was still adjusting to the surface. Every clay court plays differently, the stadium can play different from the grandstand, I hadn’t played on stadium yet, and you don’t really slide a lot on that court anyway, so I was just getting the feel of the footing. But it was a good start.” However, Venus will now face a tough test in the second round where seventh seed Jelena Jankovic awaits.

Sister Serena was already in second-round action today, and made light work of Russian Elena Vesnina as she won 6-3 6-4. Also in the second round, second seed Samantha Stosur saw off wild-card Jamie Hampton 6-0 7-5 while Russian Vera Zvonareva had an even easier time in seeing off Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1 6-1. Eighth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had to come from behind to beat Eleni Daniilidou 3-6 6-4 6-4 but there was no way back for number 10 Anabel Medina Garrigues, who exited with a 7-5 6-3 loss to Anastasia Rodionova.

The remaining first round matches saw number 12 Yanina Wickmayer, 13th seed Nadia Petrova, and number 17 Marina Erakovic, advance along with Varvara Lepchenko, Anna Tatishvili, Jill Craybas, Anna Tatishvili and Yaroslava Shvedova

Bookmark It

Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka lost 10 of the first 11 games, then rallied to remain unbeaten this year by overcoming Dominika Cibulkova 1-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 Monday in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open. Azarenka won her 26th consecutive match, a streak that began at the start of this year. Her start is the best on the women’s tour since Martina Hingis went 37-0 to begin 1997. In the second set, Azarenka fell behind 4-love. She found herself two points from defeat five times but swept the last three games and converted the first match point when Cibulkova sailed a passing shot long. Azarenka has won her four previous tournaments this year, including the Australian Open for her first Grand Slam title. She seeks her third Key Biscayne title.

Serena Williams matched a career high with 20 aces to beat Samantha Stosur 7-5, 6-3 and advance to the quarterfinals. “My serve was hot,” Williams said. “I was like, `That’s pretty cool.”’ Williams avenged a loss to Stosur when they last met in the U.S. Open final in September. “That wasn’t in my mind,” Williams said. “I just thought, `This is a new game.”’

Venus Williams rallied from a set down to defeat Ana Ivanovic, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-2, and roar into the Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinals for the 10th time.

Bookmark It

The famous siblings are both in the USA’s squad to entertain Belarus in Worcester, Massachusetts. However, only Serena has been chosen for Saturday’s opening singles rubbers. Christina McHale has been picked ahead of Venus for the first rubber against new world number one Victoria Azarenka. Venus has not played since August when she revealed she was suffering from Sjogren’s Syndrome, an immune system disease, but she is due to return to action on Sunday as she has been named for the potentially-decisive doubles rubber in the World Group II tie. Venus is instead scheduled to partner Liezel Huber on Sunday, although changes can be made by captain Mary Joe Fernandez before then.

“Christina is very match-fit,” Fernandez told the official Fed Cup website. “She had a great Australian Open (reaching round three) and is very prepared and ready to go. Venus has had a great week of practice as well, but I think Christina has been playing a lot more.” Venus is just happy to be back after her long absence. ”I really starting feeling a lot better in January. It was really tough with things being out of my control,” she explained. ”It’s good to know I’ve turned the corner a lot.”

Serena, who has a perfect 7-0 record in Fed Cup play, will take on Olga Govortsova in the second rubber. She revealed her ankle injury, sustained prior to last month’s Australian Open, was “not 100 per cent healed” but she is ready to play.

Bookmark It

Venus Williams will return from illness and her sister, Serena, will play Fed Cup for the first time in nearly five years after being selected in the U.S. team to meet Belarus in a Feb. 4-5 World Group II match at Worcester, Mass. U.S. Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez announced the team, also containing Christina McHale and Liezel Huber, late Tuesday. “I am looking forward to having Serena and Venus on the team for the first time since I became U.S. Fed Cup captain,” Fernandez said. “They bring so much to this team, not only for what they can do on court, but the influence they will have on Christina and the rest of the team.”

It will be Venus Williams’ first appearance in a sanctioned competition since the U.S. Open, when she revealed she had Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain. Serena Williams, who lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open, has not played Fed Cup since 2007. The 19-year-old McHale, ranked a career-high No. 42, will be making her second consecutive appearance and third overall for the American team. Her highlights last year included a win over No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki at Cincinnati and a run to the third round of the U.S. Open. South African-born Huber, 35, has won six of her eight career matches for the U.S. Fed Cup team. The winner of the Worcester match will advance to the World Group playoff and a chance to compete for the Fed Cup title in 2013.

Victoria Azarenka, who is expected to lead the Belarus team, will face defending champion Kim Clijsters in the Australian Open semifinals on Thursday. “Victoria is playing the best tennis I have seen from her, so we are excited to be facing Belarus in our first match in the United States in two years,” Fernandez said.

Bookmark It