Clijsters stuns Ivanovic with epic comeback

Kim Clijsters pulled out an amazing comeback in round 4 of the 2011 WTA Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on March 29, stunning Ana Ivanovic who looked to have the match in the bag.

Leading 5-1, 40-0 in the decisive third set against No. 2 seed, Clijsters, No. 19 seed Ivanovic was one point away from the biggest win of her recent comeback. But then the wheels came off. Those three match points were wiped away. Two more followed. By the time it was over, Clijsters had prevailed 7-5 in the third-set tiebreaker and completed the most epic comeback on the WTA this year. And Ivanovic had a broken racquet.

Petkovic upsets Wozniacki at Sony Ericsson Open

No. 21 seed, Andrea Petkovic of Germany, pulled an upset over World No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark at the 2011 WTA Sony Ericsson Open, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

It was the biggest win of Petkovic’s career. Her previous best was a win over then No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009.

Petkovic fired an ace on set point to end the 1st set, and another ace on match point to finish the match. She totaled 3 aces, with 4 double faults, while converting 6 of 14 break points and scoring 101 points overall. Wozniacki only had 1 ace, with 5 double faults, scored on 5 of 17 break points against Petkovic, and won 97 points in all.

Wozniacki triumphs over Bartoli at Indian Wells final

World No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, triumphed over No. 15 seed, Marion Bartoli of France, in a tightly fought match at the finals of the 2011 WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.

Wozniacki proved again why she is ranked at No 1 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 8 minutes. Running Bartoli from side to side at will, Wozniacki easily took the first set, 6-1, making it look like this would be a blowout. Bartoli looked very winded after some of the long grueling points, but stormed back the 2nd set showing she had no intentions of being blown away. With very determined play, she took the 2nd set 6-2.

Clijsters withdraws from match against Bartoli at Indian Wells

No. 2 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, was forced to withdraw from her fourth round match against No. 15 seed, Marion Bartoli of France, at the 2011 WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells today. Clijsters won the first set 6-3, as was trailing 1-2 in the second when she called on her trainer for treatment on her shoulder. She withdrew one game later.

Clijsters said her shoulder pain mainly affected serving and trying to hit high forehands. She claims she withdrew largely as a precaution with Fed Cup duties and the clay court season fast approaching.

Wozniacki easy victor over Martinez Sanchez at Indian Wells

World No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, had an easy time reaching the 4th round of the 2011 WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells with a win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, 6-1, 6-3.

Martinez Sanchez was 3-0 against Wozniacki in previous matches, but this time, Wozniacki was the more consistent player and the outcome was reversed from their previous three meetings.

Martinez Sanchez got only 28 percent of her first serves in during the first set. Wozniacki took advantage, going on offense as soon as the second serves arrived. Her returns left the Spaniard scrambling during many points.

Sharapova advances over Rezai at Indian Wells

No. 16 seed, Maria Sharapova advanced to the fourth round of the 2011 WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells with an easy, straight sets win over No. 20 seed, Aravane Rezai of France, 6-2, 6-2.

Rezai was celebrating her 24th birthday, and was hoping for a win to cap it off, but it wasn’t to be. In just 73 minutes, Sharapova had put a damper on the birthday-girl’s hopes.

It took Sharapova a few games to get used to Rezai’s pace, but once she did, there was no stopping her. She benefited from her opponent’s missteps, but also played much better than in her last match, a three-set battle with Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Cibulkova upsets Zvonareva at Indian Wells

No. 25 seed, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, defeated No. 3 seed, Vera Zvonareva of Russia, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in round three of the WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

It was a 3-hour marathon as the 21-year-old Cibulkova played her heart out against 26-year-old Zvonareva. Zvonareva had won the three previous meetings between the pair and she looked on course for a fourth as she took the first set but Cibulkova fought back to claim the upset win in tightly fought battle.

Clijsters upset by Kvitova in Paris final

The day before the rankings showed Kim Clijsters has ascended the ladder to World No. 1 once again, she was upset by Petra Kvitova in the final of the Open Gaz de France, 6-4, 6-3.

”I would like to dedicate this trophy to my grandfather, who passed away last week,” Kvitova said. ”I played for my grandfather. I’m happy I won the tournament for him.”

Kvitova has now won 16 of 17 matches this season, and earned the WTA Newcomer of the Year award last season. Kvitova is ranked No. 14 in the new rankings that came out today.

Li upsets Clijsters at Sydney

No. 8 seed, Na Li of China upset No. 3 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium at the 2011 WTA Medibank International played in Sydney, Australia on Friday.

It was the fourth career WTA title for 28-year-old Na, and she became the first Chinese player to ever win a “Premier” level title.

Kim, 27 years old, jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the 1st set before Na came back to win the set in a tie-break 7-3. Na said: “I was 5-0 down and saw the time, it was only 15 minutes. I thought, ‘Yeah, the fans, they pay a lot of money and the match will be over in half an hour.’ One or two points changed it, and it turned around like that.”

Venus Williams struggles in return to the court

Venus Williams, the World No. 5 women’s tennis player, is struggling after returning from an injury-laden last season.

Venus missed a majority of the 2010 season with an injury to her left knee. She made her return to the court Thursday in an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion really struggled against the current Wold No. 2 Vera Zvonareva of Russia. Vera won easily 6-4, 6-2. Venus committed 16 unforced errors, while hitting only five winners in the entire match.