Kvitova downs Suarez Navarro at Melbourne to advance to round 3

Petra Kvitova, world No. 2 of the Czech Republic, narrowly escaped in a close match over No. 58 ranked Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the 3rd round of the 2012 Australian Open.

The reigning Wimbledon champion, Kvitova, won the first set easily but became visibly frustrated as she lost the second and had to come from a break down in the third to pull out the match.

Rus pulls upset over Clijsters

A 20-year-old wild card, Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, took out No. 2 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium Thursday in the 2nd round of the French Open, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

In the biggest win of her career, Rus scored on 7 of 13 break points, while Clijsters converted only 5 of 17 break point chances.

Clijsters injured her right ankle badly offcourt in April and had not played since then. However, she said her ankle was fine in the match.

Azarenka triumphs over Sharapova

No. 8 seed, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus easily triumphed over No. 16 seed, Maria Sharapova of Russia in a straight-sets victory, 6-1, 6-4, in the Final of the 2011 WTA Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Saturday.

Azarenka came out with guns blazing, while Sharapova hardly got her guns out of the holster, with the resulting match not really what we would expect from a WTA Final. Azarenka broke serve the first eight times Sharapova served, taking a 6-1, 4-0 lead before Sharapova held serve for the first and only time. Sharapova then broke Azarenka’s serve twice to bring it up to 4-5, giving a little glimpse of hope. But Azarenka closed it out at 6-4.

Azarenka and Sharapova reach final

No. 8 seed, Victoria Azarenka and No. 16 seed, Maria Sharapova, will face off on Saturday in the Final of the 2011 WTA Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

They are tied at 2-2 in career matches, with Azarenka winning their last match in last year’s Stanford final, 6-4, 6-1.

Azarenka defeated No. 3 seed, Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-3 in her Semifinal match, while Sharapova took down Andrea Petkovic 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Clijsters and Henin headed for 4th round Belgian showdown

Belgian countrywomen Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters are headed for a potential 4th round showdown. Both have advanced into the 3rd round, and one more win each will pit them against each other.

It would make a very interesting match, putting 8th seeded Kim against 17th seeded Justine. Both are playing in their 1st Wimbledon since coming out of retirement, and both are working on winning their first Wimbledon. They both made the semifinal in their last Wimbledon appearance, Kim in 2006 and Justine in 2007. Justine has made the final twice, but did not win either one.

Kuznetsova squeaks by Petkovic at French Open

No. 6 seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia had a scare today, and barely squeaked by unseeded No. 41 ranked Andrea Petkovic of Germany in round 2 of the French Open in Paris. Final score: 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

In a match interrupted by a 1 1/2 hour rain delay, Andrea won the first set, and was up 5-2 in the second set. Svetlana came back, but Andrea served for the match at 5-4. Andrea got up 40-love, but sent a backhand into the net, a forehand long, and a backhand wide to waste three match points. On her fourth match point, she put another backhand into the net.

Kuznetsova, Safina, Azarenka, Dementieva, Wozniacki, Radwanska among top 10 seed upsets in Rome

Maria Kirilenko of Russia is making her way through the draw at the 2010 WTA Internazionali BNL d’Italia currently being played May 2-9 in Rome, Italy. In reaching the Quarterfinals, she knocked off No. 5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in round 2. In round 3, she defeated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. Kirilenko now faces No. 1 seed, Serena Williams of the USA in the Quarterfinals.

Another big upset in Rome was achieved in round 2 by Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania who defeated No. 3 seed, Dinara Safina of Russia, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1. Dulgheru was then ousted by No. 14 seed, Nadia Petrova of Russia, 0-6, 6-3, 2-6.

Safina Will Not Return to Tennis Any Time Soon

Russia’s Dinara Safina, the former No. 1 ranked tennis player, has no set time frame for returning to competitive tennis. However, she has not given up hopes of making a return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

Safina has been off the competitive circuit since the 2010 Australian Open. She had severely injured her back during the 2009 summer season, but had continued to play up through the Australian Open, when she was forced to retire in the fourth round while playing against her countrywoman, Maria Kirilenko.

Sharapova Defeats Arvidsson For Championship

Maria Sharapova had a disappointing start to the year, losing in the first round of the Australian Open to No. 58th ranked Maria Kirilenko in a battle of Russians. However, Sharapova showed better form in her 2nd tournament of the year, defeating Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden, 6-2, 6-1 Saturday night for the championship of the WTA The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships & The Cellular South Cup held in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

Sharapova showed some of the form she displayed when she was on top of the WTA Tour, not losing a set in five rounds. Sharapova picked up her first title on the comeback trail after recovering from last year’s shoulder injury.

Safina Pulls Out Of Dubai With Back Injury

World No. 2, Dinara Safina of Russia, has been forced to pull out of next week’s Dubai Tennis Championships because of ongoing back problems.

She said on her website, “Unfortunately, I will not be able to play the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this year because of the back injury that’s been bothering me since the end of last season. I wish the tournament the best of success on its 10th anniversary and hope to be back next year, as it’s one of my favorite events.

Thanks to all my fans for their support during this difficult period. Keep checking my site for updates on my recovery.”