Busy Day 5 at NASDAQ-100 Open
MIAMI - From a statistical perspective, it doesn't get much tougher than the final 16 players remaining at this year's NASDAQ-100 Open.
For instance, the players who have reached the fourth round in Miami include eight of the Top 10 players in the world. Also, five of the 16 have held the world No.1 ranking at some point during their career.
Six of the last seven winners of the $3.1 million Tier I event are still alive and the final 16 have won a combined seven of the 17 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour contested in 2005.
With the entire women's third round being played on Sunday, the courts were packed with some of the world's top players all vying to play into the second week at Crandon Park Tennis Center.
Top seed Amelie Mauresmo had her quickest match of her stay in Miami this year, defeating No.30 seed Anna Smashnova, 62 61. After needing three sets to avoid a second round upset by rising Russian teen Maria Kirilenko, Mauresmo was able to get her game back on track to reach the round of 16.
Mauresmo will next face No.16 seed Karolina Sprem, who lost four straight matches before coming to Miami but seems to be getting her game back on track this week - defeating French lucky loser Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, 62 62.
Three-time defending champion Serena Williams won her 300th career singles match in Day 5 action, defeating Israeli qualifier Shahar Peer, 63 63. Williams, who now has a 34-4 career record at Crandon Park Tennis Center, hasn't lost a match on Key Biscayne since falling to Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals in 2001.
Though she squandered just three games in each set, Williams felt her game had room for improvement.
"I thought I made a lot of unforced errors and I thought I was swinging all out of key," Williams said. "It was weird. I don't think I played that great. I think I played better the other night."
Serena will next face No.15 seed Elena Likhovtseva, who defeated No.21 seed Ai Sugiyama for the sixth time in eight career meetings, 64 36 63.
No.2 seed Maria Sharapova has managed to reach the fourth round by dropping just six games in two matches, including Sunday's 62 60 victory against American Marissa Irvin. Sharapova's next opposition will come from Japanese No.23 seed Shinobu Asagoe, a 60 63 winner against No.14 seed Francesca Schiavone.
In a rematch of their third round showdown at Indian Wells, No.4 seed Elena Dementieva and No.22 Tatiana Golovin will square off in Miami's fourth round. Dementieva won a straight sets decision on Sunday against No.27 Magdalena Maleeva, 63 64, to advance to the final 16. Meanwhile, Golovin set up the fourth round encounter with a 63 76(4) victory against No.13 seed Elena Bovina.
Dementieva was able to survive a tough three-set match with Golovin at Indian Wells, but had to fight back from a break down in the third to move on. Each player has won a decision in their two previous matches.
No.6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova is looking for her first title of the season and is off to a good start in Miami, reaching the fourth round with a 61 63 victory over Dally Randriantefy. Kuznetsova will shoot for a seat in the quarterfinals when she next takes on Ana Ivanovic, who won a battle between two of the sport's rising players, defeating 15-year-old Nicole Vaidisova, 62 76(4).
In just her second match of the season, No.19 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne continues to improve her form, moving into the fourth round with a 63 62 victory against Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives. The former world No.1, who is returning to tennis this week after battling a viral illness for much of 2004, hadn't played on the Tour since the US Open.
Henin-Hardenne will next face No.7 seed Alicia Molik, who was down a set, but battled back for a 36 63 64 victory against No.29 Gisela Dulko.
Another former Belgian No.1, Kim Clijsters, won her ninth straight match by defeating No.12 seed Nathalie Dechy, 60 62. The Indian Wells champion will take on No.5 seed Anastasia Myskina, who defeated No.26 seed Flavia Pennetta, 64 60.
This will be the first time since the 2004 Australian Open that Clijsters and Myskina have been on opposite sides of the net. Clijsters has won five of their previous eight matchups, including both matches contested on an outdoor hard surface.
The highest seeded player to fall on Sunday was No.11 Patty Schnyder, who battled back from a set down to even the match, but didn't have enough in the third, falling to Colombian qualifier Catalina Castano, 62 26 61.
Castano will face No.8 seed Venus Williams, who needed just 53 minutes to secure the final spot in round four, defeating No.25 seed Fabiola Zuluaga, 62 60. Venus, a three-time winner in Miami, has a 31-4 career mark on Key Biscayne.
