Nadal advances to Madrid final

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MADRID -- Roger Federer will face Rafael Nadal for a championship.

On clay. In Spain.

The two rivals set up their first clash since the Australian Open when Nadal saved three match points to beat Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9) on Saturday.

Playing their fourth match this year, they needed a Masters Series record four hours, three minutes to decide matters at the Magic Box tennis centre. Federer beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4 in their semifinal.

Top-ranked Nadal's 33rd straight win on clay lifted him into his seventh final this season, but he will be nursing a right knee injury into Sunday's match.

Federer has lost his last five matches against Nadal, including the finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and Australia in February, when the Swiss player was in tears after the defeat.

"What's important for me is to get past that semifinal hurdle that I haven't been able to get past in the last couple of months," Federer said ahead of their 16th meeting in a final. "I feel like playing him anywhere is a challenge. The extra flair here is that it's in Spain."

Earlier, top-ranked Dinara Safina beat Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-2 to set up a final against teenager Caroline Wozniacki, who put away former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 7-6 (1), 6-3.

Nadal, who won in the Spanish capital in 2005 when the event was played on indoor hard court, is 9-1 on clay against Federer, who didn't doubt Nadal would be in top shape for the pairs first match in Spain.

"They asked me the same question in Australia," said Federer, who faced Nadal after he had won a gruelling five-set match against Fernando Verdasco. "I think with the adrenaline and the crowd he's going to be the Rafa we know tomorrow."

It's the mental aspect that Federer will have to prepare for as he comes face-to-face with Nadal for the first time since the Spaniard denied him a chance to equal Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam wins.

Djokovic was also left red-eyed after feeling in control for most of Saturday's match.

"It's frustrating when you play so well and you can't win," No. 4-ranked Djokovic said.

Nadal complained of discomfort in his right knee before the match, which hampered his ability to move as he made uncharacteristic errors that allowed for an early break in the first set.

Nadal had his leg wrapped in the second set before levelling.

In the deciding tiebreaker, Djokovic watched Nadal hit forehand winners down the near line to save his first two match points. The Serb then beat Nadal with a passing shot to save a match point of his own.

But leading 9-8, Djokovic sent the ball out and then netted on Nadal's next match point to end the longest three-set match in the history of Masters tournaments, the ATP level below the Grand Slams.

"I love these matches, it's very special to play these matches," said Nadal, who improved to 27-1 in clay semifinals. "If I don't fight here, when am I going to fight?"

Despite 50 unforced errors against Djokovic, Nadal's perseverance paid off as he rallied the 12,500 spectators with crucial winners to reach his 26th clay-court final. He has won 25 of those.

Djokovic, who missed a chance to take the No. 3 ranking from Andy Murray, added his latest loss to Nadal to those recently in the Olympics, the Davis Cup, and finals at Monte Carlo and Rome.

"I played one of my best on this surface, so ... I don't think you need my comments, you saw everything," Djokovic said. "A couple of points decided the winner."

Federer improved to 5-0 against del Potro, who has yet to take a set off the former No. 1. He will be going for his 15th Masters title -- and first in nearly two years -- which would allow him to equal the 22-year-old Nadal's tally. Only Andre Agassi has won more with 17.

Safina, coming off a victory at Rome, reached her fifth final of the season by staying undefeated in four meetings against Schnyder.

Wozniacki, who hasn't dropped a set this week to reach her third final of the season, saved two set points before rallying to take the first and then clinched it on her second match point when Mauresmo hit long.

Djokovic wins home Open in Serbia

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BELGRADE, Serbia -- Top-seeded Novak Djokovic beat unheralded Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-3, 7-6 (0) in the Serbia Open final Sunday to win the first ATP Tour tournament held in his home country. Djokovic played in his fourth straight final after being runner-up in Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome. It was his 13th career title. "Although this is not one of the biggest tournaments I had won, it means the most to me," Djokovic told some 7,000 spectators that packed a makeshift tennis stadium on the banks of the Danube River. Kubot, who was in the draw as a lucky loser from qualifying after Steve Darcis of Belgium withdrew because of a shoulder injury, was the first Pole to reach an ATP final since Wojtek Fibak in 1983 at Basel. "I have one of my best memories here in Serbia, and hope to be back next year," Kubot said. The 179th-ranked Kubot served for the second set, but Djokovic managed to return two difficult drop shots to force the tiebreaker, where he won all three points on Kubot's serve. Djokovic's family brought the first ATP event to Serbia this year after buying the licence from the former ABM Amro Open in the Netherlands.

Wimbledon unveils retractable roof

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON -- Wimbledon picked the perfect day for showcasing its new retractable roof on Centre Court.

The sliding, canvassed roof barely had time to shut Sunday for the All England Club's grand opening -- or closing -- of the new structure before the rain starting pouring down over south London. In the same kind of weather that has forced so many rain delays in the past, the Centre Court then hosted a televised tennis spectacle in perfect conditions.

"It's a real treat to be able to play in these conditions inside, when it's been so miserable, cold, windy and wet outside," said Tim Henman, who teamed with Kim Clijsters to play married couple Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in doubles and singles matches.

It seems no fan with a Centre Court ticket will ever return home again without seeing a single shot of tennis played.

"Fundamentally, it worked like it was supposed to work," said Ian Ritchie, the All England Club's chief executive.

To kick off the event, the sliding roof slowly started unfolding with a soft whirring in an afternoon ceremony as British singers Faryl Smith and Katherine Jenkins sang "Amazing Grace" in the centre of the court.

The 15,000 spectators -- along with invited guests such as former tennis great Boris Becker -- collectively raised their heads and cameras as the 10 trusses supporting a translucent canvas slowly covered the court to shield it from the heavy grey clouds above.

As the two-parted roof closed without a hitch, it was greeted by a thunderous applause.

Then shortly after the tennis began, as if on cue, it started to rain.

Not that anyone inside the stadium noticed.

"The conditions were really good," Clijsters said. "And I love the sound. Wimbledon already had that, where you feel like when (the crowd is) really into the match, the sound really comes down to the players. And now even more so with the roof. For the players, it just feels like they're right there next to you."

Agassi also said the closed surrounding will take the atmosphere to a new level.

"The sound was magnificent," he said. "I think when you get two people out there who can really play, and move and hit the ball, I think you're going to feel a level of titanic battle that you haven't seen yet. ... That's an environment that lends itself to some spectacular tennis."

The roof is perhaps the biggest change to come to the 87-year-old tennis cathedral, and marks a remarkable break with tradition by the famously conventional All England Club.

But if the Centre Court looked more modern than ever, the action on the grass looked decidedly old-school.

Graf, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, returned to the Centre Court for the first time in 10 years, while Agassi won his first Grand Slam title here in 1992.

They still know how to entertain a crowd, though. The couple drew a large cheer by exchanging a good-luck kiss on the court before the doubles match. Then they showed they can still make some shots as well.

On his first serve, Agassi taunted Clijsters for standing close to the baseline for her return, telling her to "move back a bit." When she didn't, he punished her with an ace.

On the next serve, Henman moved nearly all the way back to the wall for his return.

The ladies had their moments as well. In the third game, Clijsters and Graf exchanged so many crosscourt forehands that Henman and Agassi just put their hands on their hips and watched. When Clijsters finally hit the ball Agassi's way, he netted a volley -- to Graf's feigned dismay.

In the end, Henman and Clijsters won the one-set match 7-6 (6) after Agassi hit a lob long. Agassi then beat Henman 6-4 in singles and Clijsters defeated Graf by the same score.

But as much as the crowd enjoyed seeing the old Wimbledon stalwarts back on the Centre Court, it was the new structure that received the most praise.

"It's beautiful," said third-ranked Andy Murray, who hopes to become the first Briton since Fred Perry in 1936 to win Wimbledon. "It looks very nice, compared to most roofs."

Five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who beat rival Rafael Nadal in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday, sent a recorded greeting to the crowd, saying he couldn't wait to play at the new-look Centre Court.

"So often do we just wait around (during rain delays)," Federer said. "I know that can be fun too, but maybe after a few days you want to see a match. ... For me it's nice to see that Wimbledon is taking such a big step in the right direction."

The roof takes about 10 minutes to close, and the Centre Court's ventilation system then needs about 30 minutes to get moisture out of the air and create the right conditions. During short rain showers, organizers still plan on using the traditional covers on the court to create shorter breaks. Once the roof is up, it will not open up until a match is over.

After finally getting the roof completed, Ian Ritchie, the chief executive of the All England Club, said he wouldn't be surprised to see perfect weather at this year's tournament. But that's just fine with him.

"We see this as an outdoor summer tournament," he said. "The roof is an insurance."

No issues as Nadal wins 5th in Spain

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BARCELONA, Spain -- Rafael Nadal has won his fifth straight Barcelona Open title by beating David Ferrer 6-2, 7-5. The top-ranked Nadal exploited Ferrer's inconsistent service game to win the first set while also overcoming his own erratic play in the second set to win the Godo trophy at his fellow Spaniard's expense for the second straight year. Nadal, who was coming off a record fifth straight Monte Carlos Masters title, improved to 24-1 in clay court finals to pick up his fourth title of the season. The four-time defending French Open champion goes into the Rome Masters on a 25-match unbeaten run with only three defeats in his last 133 matches on the red surface.

Wimbledon roof to be ready in time

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WIMBLEDON, England -- The new retractable roof over Wimbledon's Centre Court could keep players, and fans, at the All England Club later than usual. Tournament organizers unveiled the 5,200-square-metre folding roof Tuesday and confirmed that it will be ready for the first time for the June 22-July 5 tournament. While matches will be scheduled as they were in previous years, the new roof and the 118 lights under it mean that play will likely continue well beyond the point at which bad light usually forces a halt. Also, matches will be moved from other courts to the tournament's only covered venue if bad weather hits the grass-court tournament. Last year's men's final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer finished in near darkness at 9:15 p.m. All England Club chairman Tim Phillips said that any match started on Centre Court should now be played to completion on the same day, with the only caveat that organizers do not intend following the U.S. Open and Australian Open in staging night matches. "Not yet," said Phillips, who acknowledged that play may continue past 10 p.m. "We still intend that it will be a day tournament." Phillips said that games would only be moved to Centre Court if enough games had been affected by the weather to threaten an overrun into the second week of the tournament. He identified the women's singles, which has matches scheduled for Monday and Tuesday on the second week, as the competition most likely to find itself under the new roof. Otherwise, players could find themselves without a rest day on the whole of the second week, he added. "On the first Saturday, one would want to ensure all the ladies singles are completed," Phillips said. But the prospect of late matches means the ventilation system under the roof will have to be working perfectly to prevent condensation and the danger of slipping for the players racing across court. It will take between eight and 10 minutes for the roof's 10 trusses to slide across and cover Centre Court, and then as long as another 30 minutes for the airflow system to reduce moisture sufficiently for play to begin. The construction of the closing roof began in 2006 with the dismantling of the traditional roof overhang after that year's tournament. The grass surface was more open to the elements during the wet tournament of 2007, but the overhang was back in 2008, along with 1,200 extra seats. A new 4,000-capacity Court No. 2 will also open for the first time, taking the total ground capacity to 40,000. If the Centre Court roof, which will be tested out on May 17 at a special exhibition featuring former Wimbledon champions Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, has to be closed during a match, it will not be opened again until after that match finishes so that players have consistent conditions and to prevent delays. Phillips and All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said the decision on whether to close the roof was solely down to the referee and that an unidentified member of staff would be responsible for actually activating the mechanism. "The button pusher," they jokingly called them. Any brief shower, such as the 15-minute rain interruption in Nadal's final victory in 2008, will still demand the use of the old-fashioned covers being pulled across the grass, rather than the more complicated process of closing of the roof. "Of course, it's going to be 13 days of blazing sunshine this summer anyway," Ritchie said.

Serena: 'I'm the best in the world'

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ROME -- Serena Williams may be ranked second in the world but she believes there is no one better.

The 27-year-old American was overtaken in the rankings two weeks ago by Dinara Safina, making the Russian and older sibling Marat Safin the only brother-sister duo to have been No. 1 in professional tennis.

"We all know who the real No. 1 is. Quite frankly, I'm the best in the world," Williams said Monday, adding that she is her toughest opponent and "I always beat myself."

Safina has never won a Grand Slam title, losing last year's French Open final and being beaten in the Australian Open final this year by Williams.

"I'm excited for her," Williams said with a smile.

Williams was speaking at the Italian Open, which she won in 2002 and where she will play her first clay-court event of the season. She opens against 2005 runner-up Patty Schnyder of Switzerland on Tuesday.

."I'm happy to be here," Williams said of the warmup for the French Open. "I think it will be a good event for me."

Safina, the 2006 runner-up, two-time defending champion Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia are among the top eight seeded players who have first-round byes.

Venus advances at Family Circle

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Second-seeded Venus Williams struggled to advance at the Family Circle Cup on Wednesday, beating Sania Mirza of India 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. It took the fifth-ranked Williams almost 2 1/2 hours to defeat the 100th-ranked Mirza on the green clay of stadium court at the tennis centre on Daniel Island. Williams, who won the Family Circle five years+ ago, is now 3-0 against Mirza. "When she's playing against me, she's got to go for it and I think there's also a sense of nothing to lose," Williams said. "When you look at the numbers and the rankings and statistics, you know, I'm supposed to win this match, so I think that gives her an opportunity to swing freely." It appeared Williams had the match well in hand, winning the first set 6-1, although it took 46 minutes to do so. She led 3-1 in the second before Mirza rattled off five straight games, including breaking Williams at love to take a 5-3 lead and holding serve in the final game, which went to deuce eight times. Williams recovered to easily win the third set. "These kind of matches are great to pull out," she said. "I've been in these situations before, so I rely on that." While Williams struggled, it was a big day for fellow-American Melanie Oudin, who advanced to the third round with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over No. 29 Aleksandra Wozniak, seeded ninth. "I was really happy with the way I played and how I kept it up, especially through playing a set and not letting her come back at all," said Oudin, ranked No. 176. The 17-year-old from Marietta, Ga., called it one of the biggest victories of her career. "This is definitely one of the top two biggest highlights I have had," she said, the other coming when she beat Sybille Bammer, who was ranked No. 27 at the time. Oudin will face 13th-ranked Marion Bartoli of France in the next round of the US$1-million Family Circle Cup. No. 5 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Blainville, Que., defeated Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3, 6-3, while Patty Schnyder, the No. 8 seed, was eliminated by Elena Vesnina 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5. No. 10-seeded Shuai Peng advanced with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Akgul Amanmuradova. In other matches Wednesday, 11th-seed Alona Bondarenko was ousted by Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-4, 7-5, and 12th-seeded Bethany Mattek-Sands was defeated by Anastasia Rodionova 6-2, 6-4. Sabine Lisicki, seeded 16th, advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Lenka Wienerova and faces Williams.

Nadal, Federer move on in Monaco

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONACO -- Rafael Nadal beat Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters, a first step in his bid for a fifth straight title in this clay-court tuneup for the French Open.

Each time Nadal has won Monte Carlo he has gone on to capture the French. The top-ranked Spaniard has won 17 straight matches on clay since losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of the Rome Masters in May 2008.

Nadal will next face two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin or Nicolas Lapentti.

Switzerland's Roger Federer, who lost to Nadal in the last three Monte Carlo finals, defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round. Federer, ranked No. 2, will face 13th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka, his doubles partner at the Beijing Olympics, on Thursday. Wawrinka beat Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Federer played his first match since marrying longtime girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec on Saturday in his hometown of Basel, Switzerland. He can equal Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles if he wins the French Open for the first time.

Federer began clay-court preparations 10 days ago, and Seppi was an ideal first test.

"I knew there was going to be some long rallies with Seppi. He's very steady off both sides," Federer said. "So on a good day he can be really dangerous. I've already played him twice this year, which was kind of good going into this match, knowing what to expect."

The biggest adjustment, Federer said, is getting used to the unpredictable bounces on clay.

"We've been playing on hard court now for nine months ... you never see a bad bounce," Federer said. "So all of a sudden you're a little bit worried, sometimes hitting half volleys because they can bounce onto your frame."

Federer has beaten Seppi three times this year and improved to 5-0 overall without dropping a set against the big-serving Italian.

Also advancing were No. 7-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain, No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, No. 12 David Nalbandian of Argentina and Simone Bolelli of Italy.

Verdasco beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4; Daydenko defeated Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-4, 6-3; Nalbandian downed Marcel Granollers of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; and Bolelli ousted Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 7-5, 6-3.

Masters: Djokovic, Murray move on

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONACO -- Third-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Andy Murray both won in straight sets Tuesday to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Djokovic was rarely troubled in beating Oscar Hernandez of Spain 6-1, 6-2, while Murray began slowly before defeating Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-2 to stay on course for a first career quarter-final match on clay.

Djokovic, who reached the French Open semifinals last year, next faces either Jean-Rene Lisnard or Albert Montanes. The Serb said he was surprised at how well he played in his first clay-court match of the season.

"I didn't quite expect to perform that good, considering the fact that I didn't have any matches, singles matches, on this surface," Djokovic said. "But I was really playing aggressive and patient at the same time. This combination is really important for this surface. So hopefully I can continue."

Murray twice dropped serve early to trail 2-1 in the opening set, but the British player took the next four games for a commanding lead.

"At the start of the match when I got broken, I was sort of moving like I was still on a hard court," Murray said. "And then after four, five, six games, I started to move better."

He broke Hanescu, a French Open quarter-finalist in 2005, in the seventh game of the second set to take a 5-2 lead, and then converted his fourth match point when the Romanian hit a forehand return into the net.

Murray, who lost to Roger Federer in the U.S. Open final last year, next takes on either 14th-seeded Marin Cilic or Fabio Fognini of Italy. If he wins that, he will reach a clay-court quarter-final match for the first time in his career.

"It takes time. I never played that well on clay especially in the last couple of years," Murray said. "I played solid and he made some mistakes. I was happy with the way I played for my first match on clay this year."

Also in the second round, sixth-seeded Gilles Simon lost to Andreas Beck of Germany 7-5, 6-1. Simon, who twice beat Federer last year, said the loss to a qualifier was the worst he could recall.

."I don't remember ever playing so badly. Nothing was right. Nothing was working. My forehand, my backhand, my serve, nothing," Simon said. "I played so bad today that I couldn't have beaten anyone."

.Marat Safin of Russia beat Lleyton Hewitt 6-4, 7-5 in a match between two-time Grand Slam champions. Safin next plays Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador.

.Hewitt won the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships on Sunday for his first clay-court tournament since 1999. But the 28-year-old Australian player felt exhausted after his flight out of Dallas, Texas, was delayed.

"I couldn't get out Sunday night," Hewitt said. "And then Monday, with the time change and everything, it just sort of put it even further behind. Then our flights got delayed about 3 1/2 hours, as well, out of Dallas."

Hewitt had massage treatment on his right thigh at the end of the first set and continued the match with a bandage.

"It's a bit sore at the moment," Hewitt said.

.In the first round, 10th-seeded David Ferrer beat Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-3 in an all-Spanish match; No. 12 David Nalbandian of Argentina beat Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia upset ninth-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-1.

Kirilenko crushes Pin in Barcelona

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BARCELONA, Spain -- Maria Kirilenko opened defence of her Barcelona Open title with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Camille Pin of France on Tuesday. The sixth-seeded Russian took advantage of Pin's erratic serve for six breaks on the outdoor clay. Two seeded players failed to reach the second round, -- Kaia Kanepi and Sorana Cirstea. Lucky loser Masa Zec Peskiric of Slovenia overcame 12 double-faults and rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over the fourth-seeded Kanepi, while Belorussian qualifier Anastasiya Yakimova posted a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) win over the eighth-seeded Cirstea. Zec Peskiric had replaced third-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues after the Spaniard pulled out with an abdominal strain.

Wozniak rallies at Family Circle Cup

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Ninth-seeded Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., rallied past Abigail Spears of the United States 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in her opener Tuesday at the Family Circle Cup. Wozniak was the runner-up at Ponte Vedra Beach on Sunday, falling 6-1, 6-2 to second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the final. Vera Zvonareva began her bid to reach a second straight Family Circle Cup final by beating Rossana de los Rios of Paraguay 6-3, 6-2. Joining third-seeded Zvonareva in the third round were No. 6 Marion Bartoli, who has never gone any further, and No. 7 Dominika Cibulkova, for the first time. In other second-round matches, Bartoli defeated Latvian qualifier Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-3, and Cibulkova downed Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-4, 6-0. Sania Mirza of India ended a three-match losing streak in beating Sesil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-4, and bought a second-round match with 2004 champion Venus Williams. Russian Alla Kudryavtseva's second win of the year, at the expense of American qualifier Angela Haynes 6-4, 5-7, 6-0, put her into a matchup with Wozniacki.

Murray advances at Monte Carlo

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONACO -- Fourth-seeded Andy Murray eased past Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The British player twice dropped serve early to trail 2-1 in the opening set, but took the next four games for a commanding lead.

He broke Hanescu, a French Open quarter-finalist in 2005, in the seventh game of the second set to take a 5-2 lead, and then converted his fourth match point when the Romanian hit a forehand return into the net.

Murray, who lost to Roger Federer in the U.S. Open final last year, next takes on the winner between 14th-seeded Marin Cilic and Fabio Fognini of Italy. If he wins that, he will reach a clay-court quarter-final for the first time.

"It takes time, I never played that well on clay especially in the last couple of years," Murray said. "I played solid and he made some mistakes. I was happy with the way I played for my first match on clay this year."

Also in the second round, sixth-seeded Gilles Simon lost 7-5, 6-1 to Andreas Beck of Germany.

Simon, who twice beat Federer last year, said the loss to a qualifier was the worst he could recall.

"I don't remember ever playing so badly. Nothing was right. Nothing was working. My forehand, my backhand, my serve, nothing," Simon said. "I played so bad today that I couldn't have beaten anyone."

In first-round matches, No. 12 David Nalbandian of Argentina beat Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia upset ninth-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-1.

Venus advances at Family Circle

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Second-seeded Venus Williams struggled to advance at the Family Circle Cup on Wednesday, beating Sania Mirza of India 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. It took the fifth-ranked Williams almost 2 1/2 hours to defeat the 100th-ranked Mirza on the green clay of stadium court at the tennis centre on Daniel Island. Williams, who won the Family Circle five years+ ago, is now 3-0 against Mirza. "When she's playing against me, she's got to go for it and I think there's also a sense of nothing to lose," Williams said. "When you look at the numbers and the rankings and statistics, you know, I'm supposed to win this match, so I think that gives her an opportunity to swing freely." It appeared Williams had the match well in hand, winning the first set 6-1, although it took 46 minutes to do so. She led 3-1 in the second before Mirza rattled off five straight games, including breaking Williams at love to take a 5-3 lead and holding serve in the final game, which went to deuce eight times. Williams recovered to easily win the third set. "These kind of matches are great to pull out," she said. "I've been in these situations before, so I rely on that." While Williams struggled, it was a big day for fellow-American Melanie Oudin, who advanced to the third round with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over No. 29 Aleksandra Wozniak, seeded ninth. "I was really happy with the way I played and how I kept it up, especially through playing a set and not letting her come back at all," said Oudin, ranked No. 176. The 17-year-old from Marietta, Ga., called it one of the biggest victories of her career. "This is definitely one of the top two biggest highlights I have had," she said, the other coming when she beat Sybille Bammer, who was ranked No. 27 at the time. Oudin will face 13th-ranked Marion Bartoli of France in the next round of the US$1-million Family Circle Cup. No. 5 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Blainville, Que., defeated Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3, 6-3, while Patty Schnyder, the No. 8 seed, was eliminated by Elena Vesnina 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5. No. 10-seeded Shuai Peng advanced with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Akgul Amanmuradova. In other matches Wednesday, 11th-seed Alona Bondarenko was ousted by Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-4, 7-5, and 12th-seeded Bethany Mattek-Sands was defeated by Anastasia Rodionova 6-2, 6-4. Sabine Lisicki, seeded 16th, advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Lenka Wienerova and faces Williams.

Nadal, Federer move on in Monaco

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONACO -- Rafael Nadal beat Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters, a first step in his bid for a fifth straight title in this clay-court tuneup for the French Open.

Each time Nadal has won Monte Carlo he has gone on to capture the French. The top-ranked Spaniard has won 17 straight matches on clay since losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of the Rome Masters in May 2008.

Nadal will next face two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin or Nicolas Lapentti.

Switzerland's Roger Federer, who lost to Nadal in the last three Monte Carlo finals, defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round. Federer, ranked No. 2, will face 13th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka, his doubles partner at the Beijing Olympics, on Thursday. Wawrinka beat Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Federer played his first match since marrying longtime girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec on Saturday in his hometown of Basel, Switzerland. He can equal Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles if he wins the French Open for the first time.

Federer began clay-court preparations 10 days ago, and Seppi was an ideal first test.

"I knew there was going to be some long rallies with Seppi. He's very steady off both sides," Federer said. "So on a good day he can be really dangerous. I've already played him twice this year, which was kind of good going into this match, knowing what to expect."

The biggest adjustment, Federer said, is getting used to the unpredictable bounces on clay.

"We've been playing on hard court now for nine months ... you never see a bad bounce," Federer said. "So all of a sudden you're a little bit worried, sometimes hitting half volleys because they can bounce onto your frame."

Federer has beaten Seppi three times this year and improved to 5-0 overall without dropping a set against the big-serving Italian.

Also advancing were No. 7-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain, No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, No. 12 David Nalbandian of Argentina and Simone Bolelli of Italy.

Verdasco beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4; Daydenko defeated Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-4, 6-3; Nalbandian downed Marcel Granollers of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; and Bolelli ousted Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 7-5, 6-3.

Masters: Djokovic, Murray move on

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONACO -- Third-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Andy Murray both won in straight sets Tuesday to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Djokovic was rarely troubled in beating Oscar Hernandez of Spain 6-1, 6-2, while Murray began slowly before defeating Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-2 to stay on course for a first career quarter-final match on clay.

Djokovic, who reached the French Open semifinals last year, next faces either Jean-Rene Lisnard or Albert Montanes. The Serb said he was surprised at how well he played in his first clay-court match of the season.

"I didn't quite expect to perform that good, considering the fact that I didn't have any matches, singles matches, on this surface," Djokovic said. "But I was really playing aggressive and patient at the same time. This combination is really important for this surface. So hopefully I can continue."

Murray twice dropped serve early to trail 2-1 in the opening set, but the British player took the next four games for a commanding lead.

"At the start of the match when I got broken, I was sort of moving like I was still on a hard court," Murray said. "And then after four, five, six games, I started to move better."

He broke Hanescu, a French Open quarter-finalist in 2005, in the seventh game of the second set to take a 5-2 lead, and then converted his fourth match point when the Romanian hit a forehand return into the net.

Murray, who lost to Roger Federer in the U.S. Open final last year, next takes on either 14th-seeded Marin Cilic or Fabio Fognini of Italy. If he wins that, he will reach a clay-court quarter-final match for the first time in his career.

"It takes time. I never played that well on clay especially in the last couple of years," Murray said. "I played solid and he made some mistakes. I was happy with the way I played for my first match on clay this year."

Also in the second round, sixth-seeded Gilles Simon lost to Andreas Beck of Germany 7-5, 6-1. Simon, who twice beat Federer last year, said the loss to a qualifier was the worst he could recall.

."I don't remember ever playing so badly. Nothing was right. Nothing was working. My forehand, my backhand, my serve, nothing," Simon said. "I played so bad today that I couldn't have beaten anyone."

.Marat Safin of Russia beat Lleyton Hewitt 6-4, 7-5 in a match between two-time Grand Slam champions. Safin next plays Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador.

.Hewitt won the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships on Sunday for his first clay-court tournament since 1999. But the 28-year-old Australian player felt exhausted after his flight out of Dallas, Texas, was delayed.

"I couldn't get out Sunday night," Hewitt said. "And then Monday, with the time change and everything, it just sort of put it even further behind. Then our flights got delayed about 3 1/2 hours, as well, out of Dallas."

Hewitt had massage treatment on his right thigh at the end of the first set and continued the match with a bandage.

"It's a bit sore at the moment," Hewitt said.

.In the first round, 10th-seeded David Ferrer beat Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-3 in an all-Spanish match; No. 12 David Nalbandian of Argentina beat Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia upset ninth-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-1.

Kirilenko crushes Pin in Barcelona

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BARCELONA, Spain -- Maria Kirilenko opened defence of her Barcelona Open title with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Camille Pin of France on Tuesday. The sixth-seeded Russian took advantage of Pin's erratic serve for six breaks on the outdoor clay. Two seeded players failed to reach the second round, -- Kaia Kanepi and Sorana Cirstea. Lucky loser Masa Zec Peskiric of Slovenia overcame 12 double-faults and rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over the fourth-seeded Kanepi, while Belorussian qualifier Anastasiya Yakimova posted a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) win over the eighth-seeded Cirstea. Zec Peskiric had replaced third-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues after the Spaniard pulled out with an abdominal strain.

Wozniak rallies at Family Circle Cup

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Ninth-seeded Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., rallied past Abigail Spears of the United States 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in her opener Tuesday at the Family Circle Cup. Wozniak was the runner-up at Ponte Vedra Beach on Sunday, falling 6-1, 6-2 to second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the final. Vera Zvonareva began her bid to reach a second straight Family Circle Cup final by beating Rossana de los Rios of Paraguay 6-3, 6-2. Joining third-seeded Zvonareva in the third round were No. 6 Marion Bartoli, who has never gone any further, and No. 7 Dominika Cibulkova, for the first time. In other second-round matches, Bartoli defeated Latvian qualifier Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-3, and Cibulkova downed Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-4, 6-0. Sania Mirza of India ended a three-match losing streak in beating Sesil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-4, and bought a second-round match with 2004 champion Venus Williams. Russian Alla Kudryavtseva's second win of the year, at the expense of American qualifier Angela Haynes 6-4, 5-7, 6-0, put her into a matchup with Wozniacki.

Murray advances at Monte Carlo

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONACO -- Fourth-seeded Andy Murray eased past Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The British player twice dropped serve early to trail 2-1 in the opening set, but took the next four games for a commanding lead.

He broke Hanescu, a French Open quarter-finalist in 2005, in the seventh game of the second set to take a 5-2 lead, and then converted his fourth match point when the Romanian hit a forehand return into the net.

Murray, who lost to Roger Federer in the U.S. Open final last year, next takes on the winner between 14th-seeded Marin Cilic and Fabio Fognini of Italy. If he wins that, he will reach a clay-court quarter-final for the first time.

"It takes time, I never played that well on clay especially in the last couple of years," Murray said. "I played solid and he made some mistakes. I was happy with the way I played for my first match on clay this year."

Also in the second round, sixth-seeded Gilles Simon lost 7-5, 6-1 to Andreas Beck of Germany.

Simon, who twice beat Federer last year, said the loss to a qualifier was the worst he could recall.

"I don't remember ever playing so badly. Nothing was right. Nothing was working. My forehand, my backhand, my serve, nothing," Simon said. "I played so bad today that I couldn't have beaten anyone."

In first-round matches, No. 12 David Nalbandian of Argentina beat Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia upset ninth-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-1.

Wozniak falls short in Florida final

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki defeated Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., 6-1, 6-2 to win The MPS Group Championships on Sunday.

Wozniacki, from Denmark, won 84 per cent of her first serve points in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour clay-court season opener and took advantage of several mistakes.

Wozniak never mounted a charge and down 3-1 in the first set double-faulted away two games.

Each player held serve in the second until Wozniacki broke her opponent at 3-2. Wozniak, who committed 31 unforced errors, won only three points the last two games in a match that lasted only 63 minutes.

"My plan was to play aggressive and make her run," Wozniacki said. "This is a great start to the clay-court season, a really good start. I proved I can beat these better players."

As a precaution, Wozniacki played for the second straight match with her right thigh taped. She said the leg had stopped hurting since Saturday and was once again able to use her speed to track down balls all match.

"The speed is one of my plusses," she said.

She also did not have the same dizziness and nausea as experienced in her semifinal win over Elena Vesnina. During that match trainers attended to her several times and took her blood pressure on court.

In the final, she kept ice bags nearby and occasionally used them on her legs.

"They were precautionary," she said. "I didn't want the same thing to happen today as happened (Saturday)."

The win was Wozniacki's first of the season and fourth career title and she took home US$37,000 of the tournament's $220,000 purse.

"I came up short," Wozniak said. "I missed key shots and she took advantage of all my mistakes. You get so close and then lose, it is sad."

Wozniak, who is coming back from a tendon tear in her right shoulder, said she still is hurting and the pain helped contribute to her six double faults, including those in the first set.

"It's getting better but still hurts every time I serve," she said. "You just try to not think about it."

In doubles, unseeded Chia-Jung Chuang and Sania Mirza upset top-seeded American Lisa Raymond and Kveta Peschke 6-3, 4-6 10-7 to win the doubles title.

Chuang, from Taiwan, and Mirza, from India, jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreaker and withstood a charge from Raymond and Peschke.

The winners lost out on one match point while leading 9-6 but Mirza ended the match with a hard forehand from the baseline that split the defenders.

"In the tiebreak, it's anybody's match," Mirza said. "We played the important points well."

Chuang and Mirza picked up $11,000 for the win.

Hewitt wins first tourney in 2 years

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Lleyton Hewitt of Australia held on to win his first tournament in two years Sunday with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Wayne Odesnik of the United States in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. Hewitt won his 498th career match and moved closer to joining Roger Federer and Carlos Moya as the only active players with 500 or more victories. Hewitt also won his first clay court tournament since he took the Delray Beach tournament in 1999. Hewitt ranks 35th on the career victories list. He sailed to a 3-0 lead in the second set without much opposition from Odesnik, making his first ATP final. Odesnik had at least one service break in each of his 10 service games, and made his only rally by breaking Hewitt in the fourth game of the second set, then withstanding five break points to hold his serve in the fifth game. Odesnik broke Hewitt two more times for a 5-3 lead in the second set. Then his serving problems returned and he was broken after three break points in the ninth game and again in the 11th game. Hewitt won on the first match point on Odesnik's forehand error. Hewitt didn't need the extended match that took two hours, three minutes. Rain had already caused a one hour, 25-minute delay at the start. Hewitt hoped to still catch a flight to Monte Carlo, where he is scheduled for a first-round match on Tuesday. Hewitt won a trip to his first clay court final in a decade with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Evgeny Korolev of Russia in Saturday's semifinals. Odesnik reached the final with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Germany's Bjorn Phau. Hewitt failed to win a tournament in 2008 for the first time since he turned pro in 1998. He ended 2008 ranked No. 67 and currently is No. 88. He's still undergoing rehab for hip surgery in August. Odesnik was trying to become the first American to win a clay court event since 2006, when Mardy Fish won this event. Since the clay court tournament came to Houston in 2001, Americans have won five of the eight titles. Andy Roddick won three and Andre Agassi and Fish each have one trophy.

Ferrero takes home Casablanca title

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CASABLANCA, Morocco -- Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain beat fifth-seeded Florent Serra of France 6-4, 7-5 Sunday to win his first title since 2003 at the Grand Prix Hassan II.

Ferrero, who was unseeded at the clay-court event, broke Serra six times to win for the first time since the Madrid Masters in October 2003. That year, Ferrero won his only Grand Slam title at the French Open and lost in the U.S. Open final to Andy Roddick.

Ferrero's win took him to 12 career titles.

Serra was chasing a third title after last winning in Adelaide, Australia, in January 2006. His only other title came in Bucharest, Romania, in 2005.

Robredo moves on at Monte Carlo

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- Eleventh-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain and 13th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland advanced to the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters in straight sets on Sunday.

Robredo beat Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-1, 6-4, and Wawrinka defeated Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-2, 6-3.

Schuettler, the 2004 runner-up, won only 16 points in the first set and lost his serve five times.

Robredo next plays either Juan Monaco or Jeremy Chardy, while Wawrinka will face either Igor Andreev or Martin Vassallo Arguello.

Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany and Simone Bolelli of Italy also won. Kohlschreiber beat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-1, 6-3 to set up a second-round match against seventh-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain.

"It's a very good start for the clay court season," Kohlschreiber said. "Overall I have to say I did everything right. I played a good match today."

Bolelli needed more than two hours to defeat big-serving Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Bolelli broke Soderling in the fourth game of the third set and then held for a 4-1 lead. He clinched the match with an ace on his second match point and next faces either ninth-seeded Gael Monfils of France or Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal will begin his quest for a fifth consecutive Monte Carlo title in the second round against either Igor Kunitsyn of Russia or Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina.

The Spaniard has won the French Open and Monte Carlo every year since 2005 -- beating second-ranked Roger Federer in the last three finals at both events.

All the players ranked in the top 10 are taking part this year, except sixth-ranked Andy Roddick.

Federer accepted a last-minute wild card invitation Thursday. The 13-time Grand Slam champion married his longtime girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in a small ceremony in his hometown of Basel on Saturday.

After struggling with his form last year and losing his No. 1 ranking to Nadal, Federer also lost to the Spaniard in this year's Australian Open final.

Federer marries longtime girlfriend

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BASEL, Switzerland -- Roger Federer married longtime girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec Saturday in a small ceremony in his hometown.

The second-ranked tennis player announced the wedding on his website, saying the couple got married "surrounded by a small group of close friends and family."

"It was a beautiful spring day and an incredibly joyous occasion," he said.

The couple announced last month they are expecting their first child.

Federer is set to play in next week's Monte Carlo Masters after accepting a last-minute wild card invitation Thursday. Federer is a three-time finalist at the clay-court tournament but has never won.

After struggling with his form last year and losing his No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal, Federer is aiming for his sixth Wimbledon title this summer. He lost to Nadal in the Australian Open final, the year's first major.

Hewitt ends decade-long drought

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HOUSTON -- Lleyton Hewitt of Australia reached his first clay-court final in a decade with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Evgeny Korolev of Russia at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships on Saturday. The former No. 1 player will meet Wayne Odesnik of the United States in Sunday's title match. Odesnik reached the final with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Germany's Bjorn Phau. Hewitt won his 498th career match, moving him closer to joining Roger Federer and Carlos Moya as the only active players with 500 wins. A victory Sunday would give Hewitt his first title on clay since Delray Beach in 1999. There were no service breaks in the match until the final game of the second set, when Korolev fell behind love-40 and lost on the first match point with a backhand that sailed past the baseline. Hewitt faced no break points in the match and gained control of the first-set tiebreaker on four straight errors by the Russian. Korolev hit a backhand into the net to bring on the first set point at 6-2. Hewitt won the set with a strong forehand to the corner just out of Korolev's reach. Odesnik is trying to become the first American to win a clay-court event since 2006 when Mardy Fish won the U.S. Men's Clay Court title in Houston. Odesnik faced little drama until the sixth game of the second set, when he led 5-1. Phau fought off the first match point with a forehand winner. Facing a break point, Odesnik served what he thought was an ace, but it was overruled. He double-faulted on his second serve for the break. That only delayed the outcome. Odesnik held in the ninth game and won it on the second match point when Phau hit a forehand beyond the baseline.

Wozniak upsets Petrova in semis

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., upset top-seeded Nadia Petrova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 Saturday in the semifinals of The MPS Group Championships.

She will meet second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who beat Russia's Elena Vesnina in the other semifinal 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

Wozniak, the tournament's No. 5 seed, won the first set and led 4-1 in the second before Petrova, ranked 10th in the world, came back to win five straight games.

"She stepped it up in the second set," Wozniak said. "I started backing up. Of course, my emotions got involved, but I found my composure in the third set. It feels good to beat the top seed and a top-10 player."

Wozniak, who had 35 winners, built a 3-0 lead in the third set. She withstood the Russian's rally with a variety of well-placed shots to every area of the court.

"She played really well," Petrova said. "I've never seen anybody paint more lines that she did today."

Petrova, who is coming back from a stress reaction injury to her right foot, said she's not disappointed with the loss.

"Two weeks ago they were talking about surgery so I am lucky to be able to play," she said. "I know when I get my feet back I'll play good tennis."

The winner will receive US$37,000 of the $220,000 purse.

The top-seeded doubles team of Lisa Raymond and Kveta Peschke beat Wozniacki and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 4-6, 7-5, 15-13. They will play unseeded Chia-Jung Chuang of Taiwan and Sania Mirza in the final. Chuang and Mirza beat American Angela Haynes and Liga Dekmeijere 6-4, 7-5.

Hewitt, Phau onto Clay semis

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON -- Lleyton Hewitt beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-4 Friday to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at River Oaks Country Club.

It wasn't easy. Hewitt was serving for the match in the eighth game but was broken on Garcia-Lopez's crosscourt forehand winner at break point. Hewitt served for the match again in the 10th game and squandered three match points before his forehand winner ended the match. It gave Hewitt 497 career victories, far outdistancing the three other semifinal players, who have a combined 122 career victories.

In other matches, Bjorn Phau beat Tommy Haas 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Evgeny Korolev beat Guillermo Canas 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Wayne Odesnik outlasted John Isner 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (5).

In Saturday's semifinals, Odesnik will face Phau in the first match.

Hewitt, formerly ranked No. 1, is trying to reach his first final since he won at Las Vegas in 2007. Last year, Hewitt had a string of 10 years with at least one victory snapped. He has been coming back from hip surgery and currently carries a No. 88 world ranking.

Hewitt had to overcome five break points in his first three serves of the match. He was broken in the fifth game of the opening set but he broke Garcia-Lopez in the fourth and eighth games.

"From 3-2 in the first set to 5-1 in the second, I played great," Hewitt said. "He started going for everything because he had nothing to lose. He was swinging from the hips. It made the match hard to close out."

Phau came close to breaking Haas twice in the final set and finally got the lead in the seventh game when Haas double-faulted at break point. Phau won on the first match point when Haas hit a forehand into the net, ending the one hour, 56 minute match.

Haas escaped two break points in the opening game of the third set. He eventually held with an ace on the final point. Haas also held in a 14-point third game, although he never faced a break point.

"My serve let me down in the third set," Haas said. "I'm thankful for the wild card. I got to play a couple of matches on clay but I'm sick of losing after 13 years. I want to get my team together and see what happens. I have a hard time playing here. Every time you go for a shot it is risky. He moves better than I do so he has a better chance to get back on the points. To tell you the truth, I'm glad it's over."

Phau is appearing in his fourth career semifinal.

"Today was my best match," Phau said. "Yesterday, I was the favourite and I was fighting my game. Today, I had nothing to lose. To be honest, I didn't have too many expectations. I didn't have too much time to prepare. Now, I've already taken a big step."

.Odesnik won his third straight match of the tournament, equaling his total for the year. Odesnik also made the second semifinal of his career. He was a semifinalist here last year.

"He puts a lot of pressure on you to hold serve," Odesnik said. "He takes some pretty big cuts at the ball and if they go in, it's not easy to defend."

Serena drops out of Family Circle

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Defending champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Family Circle Cup because of an injury to her left leg.

The world's No. 1 player announced in a statement earlier in the week that she still plans to attend some tournament events.

Williams said she originally hurt her leg at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka earlier this month.

Azarenka withdrew from the Family Circle Cup on Tuesday because of an injured right shoulder.

Williams' sister Venus and No. 3-ranked Elena Dementieva are among those slated to play in the tournament.

Qualifying play begins Saturday.

Wozniak advances to semis of MPS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida -- Fifth-seeded Aleksandra Wozniak of Blaineville, Que., outlasted Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7) to advance to the semifinals of The MPS Group Championships on Friday.

She will play on Saturday against top-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova, who defeated Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Wozniak blew a 5-2 lead in the third set and double-faulted on her first match point before ousting Paszek.

The Canadian, nursing an injury to her right shoulder, led 6-5 in the tiebreaker before the double fault. After an exchange of points, Paszek put two balls wide to give Wozniak the win.

"I got tight and that's what led to the double fault," Wozniak said. "But, you have to fight your nerves and just stay strong, especially in a tiebreaker."

Petrova led in the tiebreaker, but Bondarenko hit a forehand winner and Petrova put a forehand into the net to make it 6-5. Bondarenko lost when she hit a backhand into the net.

"I will gain confidence from this and that is what I have been lacking," said Petrova, who developed blisters on her feet during the match.

"I just want to put them in a bucket of ice," she said.

Petrova fell behind 3-0 in the third set before rallying to tie it 6-6.

Phau bests Haas, onto Clay semis

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON -- Bjorn Phau beat Tommy Haas 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Friday to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at River Oaks Country Club.

Phau came close to breaking Haas twice in the final set and finally got the lead in the seventh game when Haas double-faulted at break point. Phau won on the first match point when Haas hit a forehand into the net, ending the one-hour 56-minute match.

Wild card Lleyton Hewitt met Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain and Guillermo Canas of Argentina played Evgeny Korolev of Russia in later quarter-final matchups.

Haas escaped two break points in the opening game of the third set. He eventually held with an ace on the final point. Haas also held in a 14-point third game, although he never faced a break point.

"My serve let me down in the third set," Haas said. "I'm thankful for the wild card. I got to play a couple of matches on clay but I'm sick of losing after 13 years. I want to get my team together and see what happens. I have a hard time playing here. Every time you go for a shot it is risky. He moves better than I do so he has a better chance to get back on the points. To tell you the truth, I'm glad it's over."

Phau is appearing in his fourth career semifinal.

"Today was my best match," Phau said. "Yesterday, I was the favourite and I was fighting my game. Today, I had nothing to lose. To be honest, I didn't have too many expectations. I didn't have too much time to prepare. Now, I've already taken a big step."

Earlier, Wayne Odesnik outlasted John Isner 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the day's first quarter-final.

Odesnik won his third straight match of the tournament, equalling his total for the year. Odesnik also made the second semifinal of his career. He was a semifinalist here last year.

"He puts a lot of pressure on you to hold serve," Odesnik said. "He takes some pretty big cuts at the ball and if they go in, it's not easy to defend."

Haas rallies at Clay Court Champs.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tommy Haas of Germany rallied to beat defending champion Marcel Granollers of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Thursday night in a second-round match at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships.

Granollers' loss left the tournament without a seeded player in the quarter-finals, which hadn't happened in the clay court tournament since pro tennis went to the open era in 1968.

The sixth-seeded Granollers, who beat James Blake in last year's finals, broke Haas in the fifth game of the opening set during a string when Haas was consistently hitting errors.

Haas broke Granollers in the fourth and eighth games of the second set.

What was Haas thinking at that point?

"A lot of things you don't want to know about," he said.

Haas was broken in the third game of the final set but he broke right back. Haas broke Granollers again in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead by running down a drop shot and returning it to the side court, where Granollers hit it weakly out of bounds.

Haas won it at the second match point in the ninth game when Granollers returned a serve over the baseline.

"It's not easy playing here, to be honest," Haas said. "The balls are hard and the clay is slippery. If you don't hit the ball clean, it flies away."

Granollers got Haas on the third break point in the third game of the final set, but it wasn't enough.

"I don't think I played my best, but Tommy played very good," Granollers said.

Earlier, Evgeny Korolev of Russia fought through rough wind and a comeback try by Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain for a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory in the second round.

Korolev had control of the match until midway through the second set, then had to use a tiebreaker to get past Gimeno-Traver.

Bjorn Phau of Germany, who eliminated second-seeded Mardy Fish in the first round, also needed a tiebreaker to beat Scoville Jenkins of the United States 6-4, 7-6 (2) in another second-round match.

Guillermo Canas of Argentina played Taylor Dent in later second-round matches.

Korolev had control of the match until midway in the second set and then had to use a tiebreaker to get past Gimeno-Traver.

Korolev, a finalist this year at Del Ray Beach, emerged from three straight service breaks to take the first set.

Korolev broke Gimeno-Traver with a hard forehand winner in the sixth game but the Spaniard broke back in the seventh game that included two double faults by Korolev. Korolev then broke back again and served out the set.

Neither player lost a point on his serve until the seventh game of the second set when Gimeno-Traver hit a backhand error and eventually was broken.

Korolev was serving for the match in the 10th game but lost his serve and had to win it at the third match point of the tiebreaker on Gimeno-Traver's forehand error.

Jenkins came within one point of forcing the match to a third set when he had Phau at set point in the ninth game of the second set.

Phau salvaged the game and ran away with the tiebreaker -- Jenkins double faulted to start it and was never in it from there on.

Wozniacki into Ponte quarters

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark advanced to the quarter-finals of The MPS Group Championships with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Virginie Razzano of France on Thursday.

The world's 12th-ranked player took advantage of Razzano's late errors for two late breaks at Sawgrass Country Club.

In the first set, the Dane held serve to lead 4-3. Razzano took a 40-0 lead in the eighth game, but Wozniacki won five straight points to break and then held serve to close out the set.

Wozniacki broke again at 5-5 in the second set, falling behind 40-30 before Razzano made a series of mistakes.

An attempted drop shot from the baseline fell short and into the net, a double-fault at deuce and a pair of shots that went long sealed Razzano's fate.

Wozniacki won the last game in five points when the 41st-ranked Frenchwoman hit a return long.

"I fought back and played some good points," Wozniacki said. "And, I got a little lucky."

Wozniacki said a new conditioning regimen is paying dividends.

"I could see she was getting a little tired," Wozniacki said. "I felt good all the way."

Wozniacki will play Daniela Hantuchova on Friday. Hantuchova beat eighth-seeded American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 7-5.

"I was really focused the first set and worked well," Hantuchova said. "Then she went for some flashy shots and made them. But, I'm really happy with the way I'm playing on clay."

In other matches Thursday, fifth-seeded Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada fought off Sabine Lisicki of Germany to win 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 and Tamira Paszek of Austria earned a spot in the quarter-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Varvara Lepchenko of the U.S.

Wozniacki also made it to the semifinals of the doubles with partner Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic. They won in a walkover when a strained right forearm prevented Kateryna Bondarenko from teaming with her sister Alona.

The top-seeded doubles team of American Lisa Raymond and Kveta Peschke will meet Wozniacki and Strycova in the semifinals. Raymond and Peschke beat American Carly Gullickson and Taiwan's Chin-Wei Chan 6-0, 7-5.

The second-seeds, China's Shuai Peng and Zi Yan lost to American Angela Haynes and Liga Dekmeijere 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Hewitt wins a quick one in Houston

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON --

Lleyton Hewitt of Australia took 57 minutes to beat Sergio Roitman of Argentina 6-1, 6-3 Wednesday in a second-round match of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at River Oaks Country Club.

Hewitt was slowed last season by hip surgery, but showed no signs of the ailment against his struggling opponent.

Roitman held his serve only once in the match and made only one brief surge by breaking Hewitt twice in the second set.

It didn't matter much because Hewitt broke Roitman nine times in the match, including the final game when Hewitt hit a forehand winner at the first match point.

Earlier, the run on seeded players continued.

Wayne Odesnik of the U.S. beat third-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4, 6-0 and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain defeated No. 4 seed Jeremy Chardy of France, 6-1, 6-0.

The upsets reduced the field to one seeded player, defending champion Marcel Granollers of Spain, the No. 6 seed. He has a tough match on Thursday against Tommy Haas of Germany.

Top-seeded James Blake and No. 2-seeded Mardy Fish were eliminated in first-round matches along with three other seeds, going into Wednesday's matches.

The last time the clay court tournament had only one seeded player remaining after two rounds was 1994 at Birmingham, Ala., when Todd Martin was the lone seeded player after two rounds.

"I probably could have closed it out more comfortably in the second set," Hewitt said. "He played a couple of good points to break me but it was blustery conditions out there so it was good to go ahead and finish up the second set."

Hewitt wasn't bothered by his hip.

"It has its good days and bad days," Hewitt said. "I still have to go to rehab. Clay doesn't cause so much pounding. You slide into the shots."

Wind raked across the Stadium Court, but Melzer was the only player bothered in his match against Odesnik. The Austrian began to fall behind near the end of the first set, when he won only two points in the final three games.

"It should be that windy all the time," Odesnik said. "I'm used to it, growing up in Florida and training a lot in Austin. I just focused on what I had to do today. We are both lefties but on clay, I think I have a little more spin on the ball.

"I'm comfortable on clay."

He's also likes the site. Odesnik was a semifinalist here last year.

Melzer lost his serve without winning a point in the ninth game and Odesnik served a love game in the 10th that included a service winner and an ace to end the first set.

"I think that's the worst I've played so far this year," Melzer said. "I had so many chances in the first set but it was too much of a mess. He deserved the easy win."

Melzer's frustration grew in the second set.

He destroyed his racket on the first point of the fourth game when his backhand service return sailed far out of bounds.

He received a racket abuse warning, and Odesnik served a second-serve ace and another ace to end the game. Melzer won only three points in the final three games of the second set.

Melzer had three double-faults and hit only 51 per cent of his first serves in a match that lasted 62 minutes.

"Today, a lot of people would beat me," Melzer said. "Today, it wasn't who was on the other side of the net. It was about me missing every third shot."

Chardy never got into his match with Garcia-Lopez. Chardy held serve to open the match and didn't win another game.

The Frenchman took Garcia-Lopez to one break point in the second game of the final set but Garcia-Lopez had little problem holding serve.

Chardy fell behind 0-40 in the final game and held off three match points. Chardy double-faulted to bring on the fourth match point and Garcia-Lopez's forehand volley ended it.

Safina to supplant Serena for No. 1

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Russian Dinara Safina will overtake American Serena Williams for the No. 1 ranking in tennis later this month.

The WTA Tour said Wednesday that Safina will rise to No. 1 for the first time in her career in the April 20 rankings.

Safina is the younger sister of former No. 1 Marat Safin. They are the first brother-sister duo to be No. 1.

She will become the 19th woman -- and second Russian -- to top the WTA rankings.

Safina was the runner-up at the 2008 French Open to Ana Ivanovic and at the 2009 Australian Open to Williams.

Top two seeds Blake, Fish upset

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Guillermo Canas of Argentina, ranked 113th in the world, completed a sweep of the top two seeds in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships Tuesday night with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over top-seeded James Blake.

Earlier, Germany's Bjorn Phau, ranked 77th, beat second-seeded Mardy Fish of the United States 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. It marked the first time since 2000 that the top two seeds in the Clay Court Championships failed to advance past the first round.

Canas, who had lost six straight first-round matches this year, used his clay-court experience to pull ahead of Blake in the first set. Canas, 119-80 in career clay-court matches, broke Blake in the fifth and seventh games of the first set.

Cana led 5-4 in the 10th game of the final set when Blake made a determined bid, forcing Canas to four break points before Canas held and won at the first match point on a forehand passing shot.

"It's hard to gain confidence when you lose in the first round," Canas said. "This year has been a tough start. I haven't played well for the past two months. Now, for me, I hope to continue on with the tournament."

Blake dropped to 39-41 in career clay-court matches.

"At times I beat myself out there. I made too many errors," Blake said. "He kind of forces you into that the way he plays defence. It's no excuse for some errors, especially the ones I made at key times.

"If you expect to win matches you have to put that around big points."

Fish, ranked 28th, was the crowd favourite at the start of the match but, by the third set, Phau's determined play started drawing scattered cheers.

Phau broke Fish in the third game of the decisive set and served a love game in the fourth game. Phau closed out the victory with another break in the eighth game with a series of crowd-pleasing shots.

Phau took Fish to the first match point with a sliding backhand that he shot down the line past the flat-footed Fish. Fish brought it back to deuce but then Phau ended it with two blazing backhand winners.

."At the beginning, I didn't feel as well but I started to feel better by the third set," Phau said. "I tried to get into a rhythm and I think I got it."

.Fish had Phau at break point in the seventh game of the third set before the German held with an ace at game-point.

The match started with service breaks in the first two games. Fish lost his serve again in the eighth game of the opening set and Phau won it at the first set point in the ninth game on Fish's error.

Fish closed the second set in the 12th game with a break, winning it on Phau's forehand error.

Tommy Haas of Germany beat fellow countryman Denis Gremelmayr 6-3, 6-3.

Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, needed only 62 minutes to beat Diego Junqueira of Argentina 6-0, 6-2.

."I didn't know what to expect," Hewitt said. "It's my first clay court tournament since last year. I wasn't brought up on clay so it's a matter of getting your footwork down and getting the nerves out of the way."

Although Hewitt has won just once on clay, he has a career record of 80-37 on the surface.

"I must be doing something right," he said.

Wozniak advances in Ponte Vedra

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Fifth-seeded Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., advanced to the second round of The MPS Group Championships Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over American Jill Craybas.

Top-seeded Nadia Petrova, meanwhile, breezed through her opening match with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Olga Govortsova.

The 10th-ranked Petrova was ahead 4-2 in the second set, with gusting wind, when Govortsova broke and held to tie it at 4-4.

Petrova, who won 76 per cent of her first-serve points, took a lead 5-4 in a game with five deuces. She added one of her four aces in the final game.

"It is really rare for it to get that windy," Petrova said. "It was difficult, very difficult. The tennis you play in this kind of condition is to put more balls in the court. It is pretty difficult to play great, beautiful tennis. You have to keep it very simple and very smart."

The Russian will meet 14-year-old American Madison Keys in the next round.

Other winners Tuesday include Anastasia Rodionova and Daniela Hantuchova, who fought off three match points to beat Anastasija Sevastova in a third-set tiebreaker.

The third-seeded doubles team of Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko also won.

No. 2 seed Fish falls in first round

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Bjorn Phau of Germany, ranked 77th in the world, upset second-seeded Mardy Fish of the United States 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 Tuesday in a first-round match at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. Top-seeded James Blake of the United States was to meet Guillermo Canas of Argentina in a later first-round match at River Oaks Country Club. Fish, ranked 28th, was the crowd favourite at the start of the match but by the third set, Phau's determined play started drawing scattered cheers. Phau broke Fish in the third game of the decisive set and served a love game in the fourth game. Phau closed out the victory with another break in the eighth game with a series of crowd-pleasing shots. Phau took Fish to the first match point with a sliding backhand that he shot down the line past the flat-footed Fish. Fish brought it back to deuce but then Phau ended it with two blazing backhand winners. Fish had Phau at break point in the seventh game of the third set before the German held with an ace at game-point. The match started with service breaks in the first two games. Fish lost his serve again in the eighth game of the opening set and Phau won it at the first set point in the ninth game on Fish's error. Fish closed the second set in the 12th game with a break, winning it on Phau's forehand error. Tommy Haas of Germany beat fellow countryman Denis Gremelmayr 6-3, 6-3.

Murray first Brit to take Sony title

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Andy Murray hit second serves for aces, slipped passing shots through the narrowest openings and rarely made a mistake.

It was a performance worthy of a trophy, and Murray became the first Brit to win the Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Novak Djokovic 6-2, 7-5 Sunday.

The Scotsman used his vast repertoire of shots and took advantage of two wobbly stretches by Djokovic, who struggled with the 85-degree heat.

Djokovic rushed his strokes at the start and fell behind 4-love. In the second set, Murray rallied from a break down at 1-4, overcame two set points and won 10 of the final 11 points.

The No. 4-seeded Murray committed only 19 unforced errors, patiently mixing the pace and direction of his shots to keep the No. 3-seeded Djokovic off balance.

"It's my way of dictating how the match is getting played," Murray said. "A lot of people might not necessarily think my game looks the most aggressive or offensive, but very few times will I not have the points played how I like them to be played."

Twice Murray hit second serves for aces, and he threw in several effective change-up first serves, including a 76 m.p.h. ace. He mixed in some power, too, finishing one point with a leaping overhead a la Pete Sampras.

When rallying from the baseline didn't work for Djokovic, he tried charging the net, and Murray repeatedly beat him with crosscourt passing shots.

"You have to say, `Well done,"' Djokovic said.

It was a matchup between Nos. 3 and 4, instead of the anticipated showdown between Nos. 1 and 2. Top-ranked Rafael Nadal lost in the quarter-finals to Juan Martin del Potro, and Djokovic upset Roger Federer in the semifinals.

Lately Murray has won more than anyone. He's the first three-time titlist this year on the men's tour thanks to a career-best 26-2 start, and since July his record is 57-7, best on the tour.

With U.S. tennis fortunes flagging, maybe Americans can claim Murray, who owns a condo near Key Biscayne and trained during the winter at the University of Miami. Back home, he's touted as a threat to become the first British man since 1936 to win Wimbledon.

The benefits of Murray's conditioning regimen showed as he repeatedly scrambled into the corners to retrieve shots.

"Physically he's moving much better all over the court," Djokovic said. "The balls he wasn't getting before, he is now."

Despite the sweltering sunshine, Murray's legs looked fresh throughout the match, while Djokovic appeared to wilt quickly and consulted with a trainer early in the second set. The Serb has a history of not finishing matches, most recently at this year's Australian Open quarter-finals against Andy Roddick on a 95-degree day.

"Yet again I was, I think, the biggest enemy to myself," Djokovic said. "I was struggling again adjusting to the heat. That's just the way it is. I can't fight it. It has been for a while like this."

Warm weather wasn't a problem for Djokovic when he won the Key Biscayne title in 2007, but the steamy conditions had him panting from the outset Sunday.

"He has been struggling with it this year, but he's obviously a great player," Murray said. "You need to get him to that point where he feels like it's very tough and the points are long. That's not an easy thing to do."

Following Djokovic's visit with the trainer, he began playing riskier tennis to keep the points short, and for a while the strategy worked. He broke twice to win four games in a row, and Murray needed 16 points in the next game to hold for 2-4.

"He started to come to the net on 60, 70 per cent of the points," Murray said. "I started mishitting some balls and lost my rhythm for a little while."

Djokovic had two set points serving in the ninth game, but on the first he was unable to handle a sharp return, and on the second he double-faulted.

Forehand errors by Djokovic on consecutive points gave Murray the break, cutting the margin to 5-4. Murray hit three aces to hold for 5-all, broke in the next game at love and swept the final four points to close out the match.

The statistics reflected Murray's well-rounded game: He won 26 of 34 points on his first serve, broke Djokovic five times and won 10 of 11 points at the net.

The tour now moves to clay, where Murray hopes to gain ground in the rankings on Nadal, Federer and Djokovic.

"The clay-court season will be very important for me," Murray said. "On the hard courts, I think my game is up there with the top guys. On grass it definitely got better last year. I need to improve my results on clay. If I do that, there's a chance I'll get higher."

Azarenka upsets Serena in final

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Rising from her chair following the final changeover, Serena Williams glanced at her skirt and brushed away some lint, trying to look good in defeat.

It wasn't easy. A sore leg and erratic strokes were too much to overcome, and the top-ranked Williams was upset 6-3, 6-1 Saturday by 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Williams said her left thigh began bothering her in the quarter-finals, and she also was bothered by a sprained ankle.

"It was a little difficult moving to the left and a little bit to the right," she said.

With a chuckle, she added, "A little forward was also difficult."

The loss ended Williams' reign on Key Biscayne. She was bidding for a record sixth women's title and her third in a row. Instead, she fell to 38-2 in the tournament since 2001, with the only other loss to her sister Venus.

"I'm not that bummed, because I feel like there's next year," Williams said. "And then there's the year after and the year after."

The result heralded the emergence of Azarenka, a Belarusian who trains in Scottsdale, Ariz., and will crack the top 10 next week for the first time.

Novak Djokovic will bid for his second Key Biscayne men's title Sunday against Andy Murray, the tournament's first British finalist.

Williams played with her thigh taped, and even when she wasn't on the move, her strokes lacked consistency. She served poorly and had trouble putting Azarenka's 90 m.p.h. serves into play.

Williams limped at times and said she considered pulling out before the match.

"I don't like to not play," she said. "I gave the effort that I could give today. That's all I could give."

Azarenka quickly realized Williams wasn't 100 per cent and took advantage with pinpoint strokes to the corners.

"You could see the leg tape right away," Azarenka said. "But I wasn't really paying attention too much, because I had to play my game, and I had to keep her moving as much as I could."

Williams led 3-2 before Azarenka won five consecutive games to take control. The teenager also won the final five games and closed out the biggest win of her career when Williams sailed a backhand long. Azarenka tossed away her racket, covered her face and hopped to the net.

Her voice shook during the trophy ceremony.

"I'm sorry. I think I forget my English right now," she told the crowd. "It was such an honour for me to play Serena. She's the greatest player for me. I was so happy to be able to play her and win."

.For Azarenka, it was a big improvement on their match in the fourth round at the Australian Open in January, when she became sick to her stomach beforehand and lost.

Azarenka said she battled nerves Saturday, but they betrayed her only with an occasional double-fault. She was so poised serving in the final game that when she challenged a call and was advised the replay system had malfunctioned, she smiled and won the next point.

"She has really, really improved," Williams said. "I actually look forward to playing her again so I can play a little better, and obviously do better. She's going to be a really good player."

Azarenka was the steadier player in rallies, often punctuating her shots with a two-tone shriek worthy of Maria Sharapova. A subdued Williams remained impassive throughout, even as the match slipped away, in contrast with Roger Federer's racket-breaking outburst that stunned the stadium Friday.

Williams dropped serve five times and committed unforced errors on 34 of the 64 points she lost. Despite reaching the final, she was erratic throughout the tournament: She lost five games in a row a staggering five times.

Despite the defeat, she'll retain the No. 1 ranking for a 10th consecutive week next week, while Azarenka will climb to No. 8.

Azarenka, who won her first tour title three months ago at Brisbane, improved to 23-2 this year. She grew up in Minsk and befriended NHL goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who invited her to the United States to train. She moved to Scottsdale and has lived there with Khabibulin and his wife since 2005.

Azarenka said her title would be big news in Belarus, where the most famous tennis player has been men's doubles specialist Max Mirnyi, who teamed with Andy Ram to win the doubles title Saturday. She was expecting a congratulatory phone call from President Alexander Lukashenko, whom she met when she was in grade school.

"He came to one of the tennis tournaments, and I was presenting flowers to him," she said.

Azarenka won US$700,000, more than the men's first prize of $605,500. The two tours offer the same total prize money but distribute it differently.

"I can spend it in one day," Azarenka said. "I'm not allowed to drink in the States yet, but I'll definitely go celebrate somewhere."

Federer falls to Djokovic at Sony

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Maybe it was the unpredictable wind or the unreliable forehand or the months of unsatisfactory results. Perhaps it was the sweltering mid-afternoon sun.

Whatever the reason, Roger Federer reached his boiling point Friday. He raised his racket over his head and slammed it to the concrete, a shocking outburst from the five-time winner of the ATP Tour's Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award.

The tirade came during a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals at the Sony Ericsson Open -- the latest evidence Federer is in meltdown mode.

"It has been a tough last year or so," a red-eyed Federer said shortly after the match.

He fell behind 2-love in the third set, and when he netted an easy shot in the next game, he mangled his racket with his most forceful forehand of the day.

"I was just frustrated," Federer said. "Didn't feel great. It's just a natural thing I did."

Pitching a fit failed to help. Federer lost the next two games as the match slipped away despite support from a sympathetic crowd.

The beneficiary was the No. 3-seeded Djokovic, winner of the 2007 title. He'll play in the final Sunday against No. 4-seeded Andy Murray, who became the tournament's first British finalist by beating No. 6 Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Murray improved to 56-7 since last July.

Top-ranked Serena Williams will bid for a record sixth Key Biscayne title Saturday against No. 11 Victoria Azarenka.

Federer was betrayed by his forehand, long touted as the game's best. It was the biggest culprit during the match's pivotal stretch bridging the second and third sets, when he lost 24 of 28 points and seven consecutive games.

Djokovic said his tactics contributed to Federer's frustration with his forehand.

"I tried to change pace and play fast, and then play a bit slower with more spin," Djokovic said. "He usually expects a ball on the backhand side, because that's where the players try to play him. But I'm not giving him any consistency on one side so he can really be comfortable."

Federer shanked at least half a dozen forehands, sending one 40 feet straight up. He blamed the breeze, a staple at Key Biscayne.

"I definitely struggled with my timing," he said. "You kind of try hard, and then it's just not working. Today it was different just because there's so much wind. Once you start feeling bad, it's kind of tough to regroup."

Federer had a reputation for tirades in juniors, and he broke a racket in anger in the 2005 Key Biscayne final against Nadal. But that's the last such tantrum he could remember, and he has long been considered the tour's model citizen.

So it was surprising when he kicked a ball in frustration after an errant forehand. Two games later Federer took out his frustration on his racket, which snapped at his feet.

Stefan Edberg streaking across the court would have been no more startling. Fans jeered at first, then reconsidered their reaction as Federer trudged to his chair and unwrapped a new racket. When he walked back to the baseline, they roared.

Chair umpire Fergus Murphy did not cite Federer for a code violation, probably because he was speechless. Djokovic had his back to the outburst.

"Look, it's obvious frustration," Djokovic said. "I just tried to keep my focus. I was on a roll in this period of the match, so I just tried to continue on playing patiently and win the match."

.Even with fans firmly in Federer's corner down the stretch, his forehand continued to misfire, including twice in the final game. Then, for the sake of variety, he sailed a backhand long on match point.

Federer has endured wrenching defeats in recent Grand Slams, including a loss in February at the Australian Open that left him sobbing. But he has also struggled in Masters events, the ATP Tour's most prestigious tournaments aside from the majors.

With the Key Biscayne defeat, he came up short of a title at his 13th Masters tournament in a row since August 2007. The drought is one reason his 4 1/2-year reign atop the rankings ended last summer, when he was overtaken by Nadal.

Federer denied he's feeling a lot of pressure to regain his championship form.

"I haven't been winning 20 tournaments in a row, so nobody expects me to win really," he said.

Federer now heads to Europe to play on clay, his least-favourite surface. Or maybe it's now hard court, where he failed to win a title during the January-to-April season.

"My game never really clicked," Federer said. "Thank God the hard-court season is over."

In his haste to get off the court after losing, Federer neglected to shake the umpire's hand. He did congratulate Djokovic, then went to his chair and carefully tucked his racket into his bag. There would be no more outbursts this day, at least not in public.

Serena evens up sibling showdown

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Serena Williams retained the No. 1 world tennis ranking by being the best player in her family Thursday night.

Williams defeated older sister Venus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. It was their 20th sibling showdown, and each has won 10 times.

Serena needed to reach the final to retain the top ranking she has held since Feb. 2. Otherwise, she would have been supplanted next week by No. 2-ranked Dinara Safina.

Serena's opponent Saturday will be 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. Azarenka became sick to her stomach before losing a fourth-round match against Williams at the Australian Open in January.

Serena jumped to a 4-1 lead in the final set against Venus and broke serve for the sixth time in the final game.

When she closed out her victory, she hopped in delight, raised a fist and shouted "Yes!" She then met her sister at the net with a handshake and slap on the back.

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal lost in the men's quarter-finals to 20-year-old Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3). The upset delighted a partisan crowd that included many transplants from Argentina.

"Wonderful for the crowd," Nadal said. "Terrible for me."

Del Potro had lost all nine sets in their four previous matches, but he was buoyed by a home-court advantage, with many fans singing "Del-Po" between points.

"They helped me a lot," del Potro said.

The No. 6-seeded del Potro's opponent Friday will be No. 4 Andy Murray, who beat No. 8 Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2. Murray broke serve five times and saved seven of eight break points against him.

The 6-foot-6 del Potro showed patience in long rallies and used his looping forehand to keep Nadal deep as their three-hour match built to a dramatic finish.

"I beat him with my mind and with my game," del Potro said. "When we played long points, I was dominating every time."

Nadal was up two breaks in the final set at 3-love, but del Potro climbed back into the match by winning 12 of the next 14 points.

"I played really bad all the time," Nadal said. "When I have it 3-love in the third, I played worse. It was amazing disaster."

When Nadal lost serve for the second consecutive time for 3-all, del Potro let loose a primal scream. There was more noise to come.

In the 12th game of the set, Nadal saved three match points, two with aces. He caught a break in the tiebreaker when his return skipped along the net cord before clearing it for a winner and a 3-2 lead.

That was the last point Nadal won. Del Potro hit three consecutive winners to go up 6-3, and on the final point Nadal put a backhand in the net as the crowd erupted one last time.

"I beat the No. 1," del Potro said. "If you don't play unbelievable, you cannot beat him."

Nadal is a six-time Grand Slam champion, and he won at Indian Wells two weeks ago, but his best finish at Key Biscayne was as the runner-up in 2005 and 2008.

"I didn't play well during this tournament," Nadal said. "I didn't adapt well. I played really bad."

Azarenka kept waving clenched fists during her semifinal, as if there was any doubt she meant business. Celebrating every important point she won, the teenager earned her biggest victory yet.

"It's the first final in such a big tournament for me," the No. 11-seeded Azarenka said. "It's all kind of an experience for me. It's a new thing that I'm going to be introduced to on +how to handle."

Azarenka closed out the victory on her fourth match point when Kuznetsova netted a backhand to end the 2-hour, 40-minute endurance test played in blistering heat.

"I'm just so happy that I found energy in that fighting moment," Azarenka said. "That was kind of adrenaline, I would say, on the last games."

Azarenka, who trains in Scottsdale, Ariz., is ranked a career-best 10th after reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells two weeks ago.