Makarova downs Serena Williams in stunning upset

In a stunning upset, No. 56 ranked Ekaterina Makarova of Russia defeated No. 12 seed, Serena Williams of the USA in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 in round 4 of the Australian Open.

Williams had seven double faults, several to set up break points, to allow Makarova to earn one of the biggest wins of her career. Makarova now advances to the quarterfinals against either 2008 champion Maria Sharapova or Sabine Lisicki

Williams came into the tournament with a badly-injured left ankle that forced her to pull out of a warmup tournament in Brisbane two weeks ago. In the match she appeared to be moving well, but made 37 unforced errors and had her service broken while trying to stay in the match.

Makarova stuns Zvonareva in round 3

In an all Russian match, No. 56 ranked Ekaterina Makarova stunned No. 7 seed, Vera Zvonareva in straight sets, 7-6(7), 6-1 in the 3rd round of the Australian Open.

The first set was hard fought and very competitive, coming down to Makarova pulling out a hard-fought tie-break. The 2nd set was all Makarova, with Zvonareva breaking down in tears just before match point. Apparently, Zvonareva still hasn’t conquered her emotions afterall.

The unseeded Russian nailed crucial break points in the second and the sixth games to wrap up victory with a breadstick at 6-1, marching into the fourth round of this Grand Slam event.

Lisicki leaves French Open on stretcher

German qualifier, Sabine Lisicki, left the French Open Wednesday on a stretcher after being overcome by dizziness and muscle cramps following a second round 2 1/2 hour loss to Vera Zvonareva 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

There were some apparent problems as the 21-year-old Lisicki had been examined by a trainer at least twice during third-set changeovers, even having her blood pressure checked.

When the matched ended, Lisicki didn’t go up to the net to shake hands. Instead she crouched down on the court. Zvonareva walked around the net and checked on Lisicki, putting a hand on her shoulder. A sobbing Lisicki then lay down on a towel placed on the red clay, and a trainer massaged her back until the stretcher arrived.

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.

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 defeats Zvonareva to reach final

No. 3 seed, #3 Kim Clijsters of Belgium won in straight sets over No. 2 seed, #2 Vera Zvonareva of Russia to reach the Final of the 2011 Australian Open.

Clijsters handled Zvonareva quite easily winning 6-3, 6-3, hitting 18 winners with 18 unforced errors compared to Zvonareva’s 14 winers and 21 unforced errors. Clijsters scored on 4 of the 7 break points she reached against Zvonareva, while Zvonareva converted only 1 of 3 break points against Clijsters.

Li upsets Wozniacki in semifinal

No. 9 seed, Na Li of China, upset World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in a thrilling 3-setter, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at the 2011 Australian Open.

Wozniacki won the 1st set 6-3, looking like she would easily take the match. She continued looking good in the 2nd set, serving for the match at 5-4. Wozniacki reached match point at 40-30, but Li won the point and the game to break even at 5-5. Li went on to win the set 7-5.

Zvonareva wins close 2-setter over Safarova

Vera Zvonareva, the No. 2 seed, had to fight hard, but overcame a determined No. 31 seed, Lucie Safarova in their 3rd round match Saturday at the 2011 Australian Open in Melbourne winning 6-3, 7-6 (11-9).

Zvonareva broke former doubles partner Safarova once in the first set and looked as though she would cruise to victory when she broke again at the start of the second.

However, Zvonareva seemed to tighten up toward the end of the 2nd set and she lost her serve three times in a row as Safarova recovered to send the set into a tiebreak.

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.