MARTINA HINGIS AND SABINE LISICKI WINS DOUBLES TITLE. SONY OPEN TENNIS 2014

MIAMI, FL, USA 
Martina Hingis and Sabine Lisicki capped a dream fortnight on Sunday afternoon, beating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina to take home the Sony Open Tennis doubles crown. Playing just their second tournament together, Hingis and Lisicki followed up earlier upsets of No.6 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Safarova and No.5 seeds Cara Black and Sania Mirza with a 46 64 105 win against the No.2 seeds, winning six points in a row from 4-5 in the match tie-break to end it. 

 After almost six years in retirement, Hingis returned to the doubles tour last summer, playing five WTA events alongside Daniela Hantuchova. After the US Open she didn't play for another six months but got back in the game at Indian Wells alongside Lisicki - this was their second tournament together. 

 Hingis now has 38 WTA doubles titles, having won 37 between 1995 and 2007 (11 with Anna Kournikova, eight with Jana Novotna, three each with Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario and Helena Sukova, two each with Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Mary Pierce and Natasha Zvereva and one each with Lindsay Davenport, Gigi Fernández, Mary Joe Fernandez, Maria Kirilenko, Barbara Schett and Nathalie Tauziat). 

 Lisicki now has three - she won Stuttgart in 2011 (with Sam Stosur) and 2013 (with Mona Barthel).

Serena Williams in Crandon Park 2014. Sony Open Tennis

Serena Williams of the United States holds up seven fingers to show how many Sony Open titles she has won whilst sitting next to the Butch Buchholz trophy after her straight sets victory against Li Na of China during their final match during day 13 at the Sony Open.
Crandon Park Tennis Cente,  March 2014. Key Biscayne, Florida

Serena Williams of the United States holds the Butch Buchholz trophy at the net after her straight sets victory against Li Na of China during their final match during day 13 at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center

Serena Williams of the United States hugs the Butch Buchholz trophy after her straight sets victory against Li Na of China during their final match. 

Serena Williams of the United States hugs the Butch Buchholz trophy after her straight sets victory against Li Na of China during their final match

Serena Williams got going against Li Na in final of Sony Open Tennis 2014

The going was getting tough - her opponent was crushing winners off both wings and stormed out to a 5-2 lead in the first set - but Serena Williams was just getting going, and after an hour and 59 minutes she had a 75 61 win over Li Na and a record seventh Sony Open Tennis crown. In a dream championship match-up between the Top 2 players in the world, it was actually the No.2-ranked Li who came out stronger, her massive groundstrokes on song as she stormed out to a 5-2 lead. But Williams wasn't done yet - she wasn't even done with the set. 
After closing the gap to 5-4, she saved a set point in the next game with a down-the-line backhand winner from behind the baseline and off her back foot, and after a series of massive returns she would sneak that first set out, 7-5. Li put up a valiant fight in the second set, but by then Williams just had too much momentum - the American ended up winning 11 of the last 12 games of the match to close it out and get the title. 
 Williams already had the record for most Sony Open Tennis titles coming in but now increases the lead with her seventh (Steffi Graf had the previous record with five). She's one of only four players to win the same WTA event seven or more times (along with Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Graf).

WILLIAMS VENCE A LI NA EN LA FINAL DEL SONY OPEN TENNIS

WILLIAMS_LI NA 75 61
Juez de silkla: El francés de voz inconfundible Sr. Kader Nouni
Serena pelea en la pista central en Miami enla lucha por reconquistar  le título ante la chinita Li, que s eha visto desbordada en la 1 manga tras un inicio feroz.
La chinita iba con dos Breaks de ventaja en la 1 manga, y en una jornada con excesivo viento la norteamericana muy relajada, fue ganado terreno tras desventaja de 5 a 2.
ACTUALIZANDO

MARIA SHARAPOVA MIAMI BLOG. SONY OPEN TENNIS 2014

With hands hidden inside the pockets of a pink hoodie and strands of straight blonde hair settled underneath an aqua blue painter’s cap, Maria Sharapova walks with an upbeat stride as she makes her way out to the patio of the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne.

The richness and diverse flavor in hot, subtropical Miami apparently had Sharapova in a creative and colorful mood when she recently gave the Sony Open Tennis a look into her world. 

 If Miami were a candy, what color and flavor would it be? 
 MS: Ah, yellow and spicy. 

 What candy do you remember eating as a little girl? 
 MS: I remember, actually after training I would ask my parents if they could, if they would reward me with something that was sweet and I loved lollipops, so that was something that I asked my mom for at the beginning. 

 What aspects of the Sony Open Tennis do you enjoy the most? 
 MS: I’d say the fans. I mean they really make me feel the passion that they have towards the sport in so many ways. I love their enthusiasm and what they bring, and on the court and for an athlete I think that’s a really good feeling. 

 What is your go to drink between sets? 
 MS: I have a sports drink that my trainer makes for me right before I go out on the court. So, usually (it’s) a mix of that and water. Your birthday is coming up in April. Do you have any plans to get married? MS: (Laughs) No…I plan on celebrating my birthday, but marriage is not part of the celebration. 

 What’s your favorite “Sugarpova” flavor during the summer? 
 MS: My favorite Sugarpova flavor is “Quirky.” The flavor is, I don’t know, it changes depending on the mood I’m in, but recently it’s been Quirky. I just like the texture and flavor. It’s like a liquorish with a marsh mellow in the middle and it’s quite chewy.

ORDER OF PLAY, 28 MARCH 2014, SONY OPEN TENNIS

WILLIAMS INTO FINAL OF SONY OPEN TENNIS 2014

For a while it looked like Sharapova was finally going to break her losing streak against Williams - she came out serving big and smacking her huge groundstrokes into the corners to build a 4-1 lead. But the No.1-seeded Williams would have none of it. She started to unleash her own big serves and groundstrokes - as well as her trademark ability to go from defense to offense at the drop of a hat - to steal that set, 6-4, and she eventually put the No.4-seeded Sharapova away in straights, 64 63. Both players displayed some impressive power in the match, but the numbers showed why Williams came out on top - she was just about even in her winners-to-errors differential (21 to 22 - including eight aces to two double faults) while Sharapova was -14 (15 to 29 - no aces and five doubles). 

 "I think she started out strong," Williams said. "I made some unforced errors, and I had a lot of chances to be up first game, and then had some chances to hold serve and chances to break again. So I think I definitely let myself down in the first three games, and then she just started playing better. "But when I'm not playing well, or when I'm feeling lower energy, I know I can do better. That's always a plus. Especially during a match, sometimes I feel like, 'Okay, well, you can take it up a level.'" "Despite my results against her, I still look forward to playing against Serena, because you learn so much from that type of level that she produces," Sharapova said of Williams. "She's an incredible champion. That's the reason she's at the top. She's accomplished a lot. Her tennis speaks for itself." Williams already had more wins over Sharapova than anyone else in her career going into the match, with 15 - that's now 16. Next are Venus Williams and Victoria Azarenka - she has 14 wins over both. 

 And while she clearly thrives against Sharapova, she also thrives in Miami - she is now through to her ninth career final at the Sony Open Tennis, more than any other event in her career. Williams' next-best tournaments in terms of finals reached are Wimbledon and the US Open - seven finals at each. "That's pretty awesome - I didn't even realize!" Williams said when she was told about the finals stat in her on-court interview. "But I just love playing here in Miami. This is my home. I love you guys!" Williams is 6-2 in her previous eight Sony Open Tennis finals, winning the title in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2013. Her two losses came in 1999 (to Venus Williams) and 2009 (to Azarenka).

ORDER OF PLAY, 27 MARCH 2014, SONY OPEN TENNIS

DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA INTO SEMIS OF SONY OPEN TENNIS 2014

 With all kinds of pressure on her shoulders - one of the biggest tennis stages in the world, a spot in the Top 10 on the line, three match points against her - Dominika Cibulkova pulled off an inspired victory in the quarterfinals of the Sony Open Tennis on Monday afternoon, battling more than two and a half hours to edge Agnieszka Radwanska in an absolute grinder, 36 76(5) 63. Neither player really found a rhythm on serve early on, with 14 of the first 18 games of the match going against the server - but it was Radwanska who kept her nerve just a little bit better, holding three times (to Cibulkova's one) to build a 63 54 lead, and getting three match points in that game. But one by one, they were swatted away - Radwanska barely missed a backhand return winner on the first match point, and Cibulkova blasted forehand winners on the next two. Danger averted - temporarily. Radwanska got another sniff of victory in the ensuing tie-break, storming out to a 5-2 lead, but again Cibulkova took it up a gear, reeling off five straight points to take it, 7-5, and take it to a third. 

 Cibulkova held at love and broke in a marathon second game to go up 2-0 in the third, and even though Radwanska caught back up to 2-all, then stayed with her to 3-all, it always seemed like Cibulkova had the momentum - and after holding serve for 4-3 the No.10-seeded Slovak pounced one last time, breaking at love for 5-3 and, after saving three break points, she held for the two-hour, 39-minute victory. By virtue of the victory, Cibulkova is projected to make her Top 10 debut on Monday's rankings. "This win really means a lot to me," Cibulkova beamed in her on-court interview. "It's always tough to play Aga, but I knew I just had to stay aggressive. If you make some mistakes with Aga you still have to stay aggressive. That's the way I play, and it's the only way to beat her. I had to keep it going." The numbers told the exact same story. Cibulkova not only had a better winners-to-unforced errors differential than Radwanska in the match (-5 to -11) but her numbers were just bigger overall, with 50 winners to 55 unforced errors for the Slovak, and 28 winners to 39 unforced errors for the Pole. Even more impressive, though, was Cibulkova's inspired play with something so grandiose on the line. "I knew before the match that this was the match I needed to win to become Top 10," she said. "So it was some more pressure, but I'm obviously very happy with the way I handled it on the court today." Additionally, Cibulkova is the first player to reach 20 WTA-level match wins this year.

SCORES 26 MARCH 2014, SONY OPEN TENNIS

Martina Hingis & Sabine Lisicki into Semis in Miami Open 2014

Four-time Sony Open Champion Martina Hingis, who won two titles each in singles and doubles, had a flair for drama when she dominated women's tennis in the late 1990s. But it's not likely that she ever produced anything quite as dramatic as she and doubles partner Sabine Lisicki did on Wednesday at the 2014 Sony Open Tennis in a thrilling quarterfinal match that included battling back from 7 match points, before they defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova 3-6, 7-6(7) and 10-7 in a match defining super tiebreak. "I don't ever think I had a match like this," said Hingis, adding that the tension and match points saved will undoubtedly lead to more confidence for the pairing. "You start to thrive on it." Hingis, whose 2 singles titles (1997, 2000) sandwiched her doubles titles (1998, 1999) at the Sony, led an improbable comeback starting at 4-5 in the second set and 15-40 down. 
Hingis-Lisicki won three straight points to even the match at 5-5. At deuce in that game, Medina Garrigues hit a volley that was called out. After a challenge, replay showed that the volley missed by mere millimeters. "It missed by a hair," said Hingis. The pair would turn away another two match points at 5-6 down and then two more in the 2nd set tiebreaker before defeating their opponents in a third-set super tiebreaker to win the match. Medina Garrigues and Shvedova had not lost a set coming into the quarterfinal. 
 Hingis and Sabicki, who were given a wildcard to enter the doubles tournament, are now into the Sony Open semifinals with Hingis only two matches away from winning her third Sony Open Tennis doubles title and her fifth overall. Hingis has already done better at the Sony Open than in her previous six tournaments since making her latest return to professional tennis. The five-time singles Grand Slam winner and nine-time doubles Grand Slam champion has come out of retirement several times since first leaving the game in 2003. 
When asked if success at the Sony Open would lead to a repeat pairing at the Grand Slams, Hingis said she wasn't looking that long term. "I know we play Friday," she said. Hingis and Lisicki have known each other since the latter was 10 years old and she traveled to Switzerland to practice with Hingis' mother. Lisicki said the friendship they share helps their chemistry on court. " We play great doubles together and have fun. That's why we are in the semis," said last year's Wimbledon finalist.

ORDER OF PLAY 26 MARCH 2014, SONY OPEN TENNIS

SHARAPOVA IN SEMI-FINALS IN SONY OPEN TENNIS 2014

After a few scratchy matches - she was pushed to three sets by Lucie Safarova and Kirsten Flipkens in her last two rounds - Sharapova came out a little slowly against Kvitova, her unforced errors hitting double digits after just a few games and Kvitova breaking early and building a 4-2 first set lead. But serving at 2-4, 15-30, the No.4-seeded Sharapova found her range in the nick of time - she would sneak that game out and eventually win 11 of the last 13 games of the match, getting more and more dominant as the match went on and closing out the No.8-seeded Kvitova in straight sets, 75 61. 
 "I didn't have a good first few games, so I was happy I kept trying to do the right thing - keep steady, but also keep trying to be aggressive," Sharapova said after the match. "I think that really paid off as the match went on, because I made a few too many unforced errors in the beginning of the match. "I started getting more chances as we played more games in the first set, and little by little I started getting myself back in the points more and playing my game, playing well, going inside the baseline - you're never sure until you finish the match, but I really felt like I started doing the right things.
" Sharapova was also very complimentary of her fellow Wimbledon champion after the match. "Petra is a Grand Slam champion," she said. "You can never underestimate someone that goes on the court and has that experience. She's capable of playing really great tennis, and I think everyone knows that." After getting over the fourth round hurdle at the Sony Open Tennis, Sharapova has never lost before the final - she is now 6-0 in quarterfinals at the Premier Mandatory stop and 5-0 in semifinals. 

NEWS ANGELIQUE KERVER VS SERENA WILLIAMS. SONY OPEN TENNIS

Serena Williams vs Angelique Kerber 
 Head-to-head: Williams leads 3-1 
After being tested in each of her first two matches this fortnight, Serena Williams improved to 64-7 here with a routine 63 61 defeat of Coco Vandeweghe on Monday. 
That also put the six-time Miami champion into the quarterfinals for the 13th time in her 14 outings here, the lone exception being a fourth round showing in 2000. After coming into Miami on a three match losing streak, Angelique Kerber has made it to the quarterfinals here for the first time. It hasn't been easy, though, as she was extended to three sets in the second round and fourth round.
 Her second round triumph over Peng Shuai was especially challenging, as she had to rally from a 5-2 third set deficit. If she is able to beat Williams for the second time, it will be her seventh Top 5 win and her first in seven meetings against a reigning World No.1.

SCORES 25 MARCH 2014, SONY OPEN TENNIS

ORDER OF PLAY, 25 MARCH 2014, SONY OPEN TENNIS

CIBULKOVA, RADWANSKA AND LI IN, VENUS, IVANOVIC OUT, NEWS SONY OPEN TENNIS. 25 MARCH 2014

Venus Williams and No. 10 seed Dominika Cibulkova entertained the fans in the last match of the night by going the distance, with Cibulkova finally pulling out a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 victory to put her in the quarterfinals. “I played against Venus Williams and I knew it was going to be tough,” Cibulkova said. “I knew she would fight and she would come back. She’s a great champion.” Cibulkova’s forehand was the key to her first-set win that took just 34 minutes. But in the second set, Williams rallied behind her serve and her grit, breaking Cibulkova in the last game to even the match. In the third set, Cibulkova played more aggressively, and she was able to break Williams four times, including the final game, where fittingly, a crosscourt forehand winner ended the match. Twenty of Cibulkova’s 33 winners on the night came on her forehand. 

 Next up, the Slovakian star will face No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who outlasted Elina Svitolina earlier in the night, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-2. In the first match of the night session, 10th-seeded American John Isner downed No. 18 Nicolas Almagro of Spain 7-5, 6-3. Isner will face No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Joao Sousa in the fourth round Tuesday. In women’s fourth-round play, No. 2 Li Na powered past Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-0, 6-2, and will next face No. 11 Caroline Wozniacki, who defeated American Varvara Lepchenko, 6-0, 6-1. 

No. 8 Petra Kvitova rallied from a set down to defeat No. 12 Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-0, 6-0. Kvitova’s reward is a date with No. 4 seed Maria Sharapova in the quarters, after Sharapova defeated Kirsten Flipkens earlier in the day.

MARIA SHARAPOVA ADVANCES IN SONY OPEN TENNIS 2014. MARIA IN QFS

Based on their history, it looked like a little bit of a mismatch going in - Sharapova had won all four of the pair's previous meetings in straight sets, in fact losing a total of just 11 games across their last three meetings. But sometimes that can work against you - this was almost one of those times. The No.19-seeded Flipkens came out on fire, ripping huge forehands and knifing slice backhands, her mix of power and touch helping her take a set from Sharapova for the first time in her career, 6-3. And after falling behind 4-0 in the second set, the crafty Belgian won four of the next five games to get all of the breaks back - she stepped up to the serve at 4-5, a few games from a straight set victory. But Sharapova is a Career Grand Slam-holder and former World No.1 for a reason.
She tightened the screws, cut down on her unforced errors and seized the momentum right when she needed it - the No.4-seeded Russian broke at love to take the second set, 6-4, and then rolled to a 36 64 61 victory. Every time she has passed the fourth round in Miami she has made it all the way to the final. She has been to five finals here - 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2013 - but has finished runner-up every time. 
 Next up for Sharapova is either No.8 seed Petra Kvitova or No.12 seed Ana Ivanovic, who played later.

SERENA WILLIAMS IN QFS OF SONY OPEN TENNIS 2014

After a pair of scratchy wins in her first two rounds, Williams looked as sharp as ever this time against Vandeweghe, hitting 17 winners to just 11 unforced errors and fighting off all six break points she faced in the match. The No.1-seeded Williams would beat Vandeweghe, a qualifier, 63 61.
 "It was a much tougher match than the scoreline showed," Williams said in her on-court interview afterwards. "CoCo has such an amazing serve, so every time I was returning I was like, 'Hopefully I can touch the ball.' But it was really good for me to win this match today. I love playing here." Williams has now reached the quarterfinals or better 13 times in 14 career appearances at the Sony Open Tennis. Her only pre-quarterfinal loss at the Premier Mandatory event came all the way back in 2000, when she fell to Jennifer Capriati (who would then fall to Sandrine Testud in the quarters). 
 Next up for Williams is No.5 seed Angelique Kerber, who recovered from a second set blowout to beat No.23 seed Ekaterina Makarova, 64 16 63. Makarova not only had a winning head-to-head record against Kerber going into the match, 4-3, but had also won their last two meetings in straight sets. Williams leads Kerber in their head-to-head, 3-1. Kerber's win came at Cincinnati two summers ago. "It'll be completely different - Angelique is really good and moves really, really well," Williams said. 
"I feel better than I did in my first few matches, though, so I hope I can keep going forward."

SCORES 24 MARCH 2014, SONY OPEN TENNIS