Sharapova shocked in Miami

Azarenka beats former world number one in final.

MIAMI:

Victoria Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 to win the Miami WTA title for the second time.

Eighth-seed Azarenka was on top from the outset breaking the Russian’s first two serves. Sharapova never found her rhythm and made a series of unforced errors, gifting points to Azarenka, who showed a wonderful range of shots in a resounding win as the Russian waits for her first title since May 2010.

Nadal outplays Federer

Rafael Nadal notched a convincing 6-3, 6-2 victory over world number three Roger Federer to ease his way into the final.

In the first set the Swiss made no inroads, as the world number one dropped just two points on his own serve. The dominance continued in the second set as Federer’s grip on the match loosened and the Spaniard took control. Nadal, who is seeking his first Miami title, was rarely troubled on his serve and broke Federer four times to wrap up a win.

“I was down right away,” said Federer. “From then it was an uphill battle.”

Djokovic notches up
easy win

World number two Novak Djokovic’s remarkable run continued as he stormed into the final, where he will face Nadal.

Djokovic, who reached his fourth final in as many tournaments this year with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Mardy Fish, admitted that he was enjoying a purple patch in his career.

“I don’t feel invincible,” said Djokovic. “What I feel is big confidence. What I feel is that I’m playing the best tennis of my life.”

Fish had the Serb on the defensive early, but a rain delay of nearly an hour, gave Djokovic time to regroup. With the Serb serving for the set at 5-3, Fish gave himself a double break-point, but could not capitalize on either.

“Those were huge points,” said Fish. “It was extremely disappointing. I left a lot of shots out there today.”



Published in The Express Tribune, April 03^rd, 2011