Wimbledon champion Kvitova wins Linz Open

(Reuters) - Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova won her fifth WTA title of the year on Sunday when she brushed aside Dominika Cibulkova to take the Linz Open.

The 21-year-old Czech won 6-4 6-1 to notch up her fourth win in as many meetings with Cibulkova and dash her Slovakian opponent's hopes of winning a first WTA title.

"It wasn't as clear as the result suggests," said Kvitova after adding to her titles at Wimbledon, Brisbane, Madrid and indoors at Paris. "It was only easy for me toward the end."

Kvitova broke in the first game but Cibulkova hit back to level at 4-4 before Kvitova broke again to take the set. The pair swapped service breaks at the start of the second set before Kvitova took control, winning five games in a row to wrap up the match.

"In the first set, I thought that maybe I could do it, but in the end I was on the defensive too often and she deserved the win," said Cibulkova.

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Murray passes Federer in rankings with third win

(Reuters) - Andy Murray beat Spain's David Ferrer 7-5 6-4 to claim the Shanghai Masters tennis title on Sunday and move ahead of Swiss Roger Federer in the rankings for the first time in his career.

The victory completed a stunning Asian hat-trick for Murray and allowed the seemingly unstoppable Scot to leapfrog 16-times grand-slam champion Federer into third spot in the ATP list.

Murray's 25th victory from 26 matches sends Federer out of the top three for the first time in eight years.

Murray has now won three titles in as many weeks on the Asian swing of the ATP World Tour - his best winning streak - after his victories in Bangkok and Tokyo.

"If you finish in front of Federer in a year, then there's not many people in the last five, six, seven years that have been able to say that," said Murray.

"I'm still not guaranteed to finish (the year) at number three; I'm still going to have to win some more matches," the Scot added.

"This is the best tournament run of my life. I was very nervous as I wanted to retain the title."

The defending champion broke the third-seeded Ferrer in the first game but a catalog of errors then undermined his hard work.

Spaniard Ferrer, hoping for revenge for his 6-2 6-3 semi-final loss to Murray last weekend, double-faulted with the first set poised at 5-5.

Murray leaped on the error and produced a pair of aces to secure the set.

World number five Ferrer was seeking his first Masters title but his hopes were dashed by an increasingly dominant Murray who ran him ragged for much of the second set.

The Briton lobbed to break Ferrer at 1-1, broke again to repel the Spaniard's last-ditch rally and finished off the match with a sizzling forehand.

"It is difficult to beat Andy at the moment; he is playing very confidently," said Ferrer. "Maybe in the first set I had my chance at 5-5 30-30 but I played so bad in that game. After that, I served badly for a very long time."

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Wozniacki ready for French after winning Brussels title

(Reuters) - World number one Caroline Wozniacki warmed up for the French Open by coming back from a set down to beat China's Peng Shuai in the inaugural Brussels Open on Saturday.

Wozniacki beat the eighth-seeded Peng 2-6 6-3 6-3 on clay to earn her fourth title of the season.

"I was pleased with the way I played and fought today," the Dane said. "Now I'm looking forward to Roland Garros. I think I play on Monday but I'll be ready."

The 20-year-old Wozniacki, who has yet to win a grand slam title, will begin her attempt on the French title against Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm.

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Nadal keeps top ranking after making Rome semis

(Reuters) - Rafa Nadal made sure of retaining his world number one status at the French Open after cruising past Croat Marin Cilic 6-1 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters on Friday.

Nadal showed no signs of the fever that had brought him to the brink of pulling out on Thursday in a typically clinical display, hammering the world number 23 to set up a semi-final against Richard Gasquet.

Second seed Djokovic stretched his unbeaten run for the year to 35 matches after dispatching fifth-seed Soderling 6-3 6-0. The Serb will meet Andy Murray, who became the first British player in the tournament's professional era to reach the final four after outlasting unseeded German Florian Mayer 1-6 6-1 6-1.

Champion for five of the past six years, Nadal raced into a 4-0 lead, breaking Cilic's serve with a ferocious forehand topspinner and backhand crosscourt before taking the first set.

The Croat, who had won one of his previous two meetings against Nadal, stayed with the Spaniard until the seventh game of the second set when the topseed moved up an extra gear to break twice more, bringing his overall win-loss run in Rome to 30-1.

"I started the match with intensity and played aggressively," said Nadal. "I was running faster and when you move your legs faster, the shots come more easily. I played better but if you want to win a tournament, you have to play well every day."

Nadal said his health was improving.

"I was lucky. I felt much better today," he said. "Yesterday afternoon I had fever but it improved at the end of the day. I still had a bit of fever this morning but it was fine before the match."

After losing his opening service game against Soderling, Djokovic stormed back, making the decisive break in the eighth game with a screaming crosscourt backhand to take the set.

The second set was an ordeal for the big Swede as Djokovic moved him around the court with a combination of dainty dropshots and flashing strokes to win the set to love.

Murray began his match with Mayer in ragged fashion, dropping the first set before storming to victory against the world number 27 having never got beyond the third round in six previous visits.

"It's nice to do well here but now I want to go further," said Murray.

"It will be great to play Novak. He's playing really well though I haven't seen him play this week. I won't be able to get away with playing the way I did in the first set.

"I felt I was rushing, so I had to back off which made the rallies a lot longer. I had to release some emotion. I was getting myself pumped up.

"I feel good on clay but have to make sure I practice enough before the claycourt season begins," he added. "To be number one, I need to improve on this surface to be among the Rogers, Rafas and Novaks."

Gasquet followed up his third-round defeat of Roger Federer by knocking out seventh-seed Tomas Berdych 4-6 6-2 6-4.

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Nadal through in Madrid, Bellucci fells Berdych

 (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal cleared the latest hurdle on his quest for a third claycourt title in under a month when he overpowered Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-2 6-2 on Friday to set up a Madrid Masters semi-final against Roger Federer.

The heavyweight pair were joined in the last four by unseeded Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, who caused another upset following Thursday's third-round victory over fourth seed Andy Murray when he knocked out Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6 6-3.

Bellucci, a stylish left-hander whose previous best at a Masters event was a fourth-round berth in Miami in 2010, will play second seed Novak Djokovic or sixth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer for a place in Sunday's final.

Nadal and great rival Federer have met in the last two finals in the Spanish capital, with the Swiss winning in 2009 and Nadal gaining revenge last year.

Former number one Federer went through to the last four when he saw off fifth seed Robin Soderling 7-6 6-4 in breezy conditions in the Magic Box arena, his 16th win in 17 matches against the Swede.

"The conditions were tough today. I didn't know you could get so much wind inside an enclosed space," Federer said in a television interview.

Looking ahead to Saturday's match against Nadal, who has won 15 of 23 meetings between the pair, he added: "He seems like he is playing amazing tennis right now but I'll give it my best shot and see how I get on."

Nadal recorded back-to-back titles on his beloved clay at the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open in April, beating Davis Cup team mate Ferrer in both finals.

The 24-year-old Spaniard's win against the unseeded Llodra was his 36th consecutive victory on the red dirt since falling to Soderling in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open.

SURPRISE PACKAGE

Surprise package Bellucci told a news conference his success against Briton Murray on Thursday, the biggest win of his career, had given him a confidence boost and he felt ready to take on anyone.

"I was losing some matches and wasn't playing very well but yesterday I played my best tennis and today I had a lot of confidence on the court," the 23-year-old world number 36 said after beating seventh seed Berdych.

"I have got even more confidence for tomorrow's match," he added. "I've got to face the match shot after shot and ball after ball so if I continue down this path I think I'm going to do well. I think I can beat any player."

Nadal moved into the last eight on Thursday without hitting a shot after resurgent former world number four Juan Martin Del Potro withdrew from the tournament due to a hip injury.

"It's not that I need minutes on the court so it didn't affect me at all," Nadal said after dispatching Llodra. "I just wish a swift recovery to Del Potro."

Serb Djokovic has won 31 consecutive matches going back to December's Davis Cup final and equaled the third-best start to the season when he secured his 29th victory of the year by beating Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Thursday.

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Djokovic's shadow hangs over subdued Nadal in Monte Carlo

(Reuters) - In-form Novak Djokovic is not even competing at this week's Monte Carlo Masters yet Rafael Nadal can still sense the Serb lurking in the shadows as the claycourt season begins in stifling sunshine.

For a man who won every clay tournament he entered last year and who at Monte Carlo is bidding to be the first player in the open era to win the same event seven times in a row, the Spanish world number one was remarkably subdued on Monday.

Two straight final defeats to Djokovic on the hard courts at Indian Wells and Miami have left their mark despite the switch to clay and the Serb's absence from Monte Carlo to rest a knee injury.

"I feel very beatable when I go on court. The last six years on clay, I could never have imagined what I did. It's almost impossible to repeat a season like last year," Nadal told reporters at the Country Club, perched above the shimmering sea.

"It's almost a year since I've played on clay. As usual, I try to watch videos (of myself) to remember what I have to do. Last year I started to play and felt fantastic from the beginning. Every year is different. You need matches."

World number two Djokovic, whose injury is expected to clear up in the next few days, has won 24 straight matches in 2011 and nine-times Grand Slam champion Nadal reckons that form can be transferred onto clay despite the Serb skipping this week.

"I'm sure on clay he's going to be good," Nadal said, muscles bulging out of his shirt sleeves.

"This year Novak has a lot of advantages. He is in a perfect situation to be number one. I'm sure he'll be number one next month. He started the season playing unbelievably. In my opinion he didn't even play his top level in Indian Wells and Miami."

Nadal, who fought to keep the glamorous but small scale Monte Carlo tournament a Masters event, has such an attachment to Monaco that he had a special audience with Prince Albert on Sunday.

"I played my best tennis ever on clay I think here last year," added Nadal, due to play his first match on Wednesday. "This place is one of my favorites in the world."

World number three Roger Federer was keen to point out he is no mug on clay as the build up to next's month's French Open begins.

"I feel very strong on the surface. It's the surface I grew up on. Everybody knows that by now. I can make a huge step forward," the Swiss said.

If Federer's recent form is patchy, Andy Murray's has been downright dreadful since his Australian Open final defeat to Djokovic and the Briton is no nearer to finding a new coach.

"I'm not any closer. I'm trying to concentrate on playing," the world number four said.

"I feel better this year, I just haven't been playing well in the matches. I'm sure this week there will be a few upsets."

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Patrombon survives Mexican

MANILA, Philippines – Top seed Jeson Patrombon recovered from an opening set down and outplayed 14th pick Luis Patino of Mexico, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, Thursday to storm into the quarterfinals of the 22nd Mitsubishi-Lancer International Juniors Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Patrombon, the last Filipino standing in the Grade 1 event after 12 local wildcard bets crashed early in the first round, rose quickly in the second frame and took advantage of a cramping Mexican rival to nail the victory in a little over two hours.

The victory arranged the country’s top junior player a date with the winner between unseeded Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Roberto Cid of the United States, who were playing at presstime.

“Masyado akong nag-kumpiyansa sa first set kaya naunahan ako. Nag-focus ako na makabawi kaagad at hindi manggigil,” said the world No. 9 Patrombon, who is looking for his first singles title this year.

Patrombon saw his 4-1 opening-set lead vanish after Patino, ranked No. 54 in the world, took the next three games with his aggressive baseline attacks.

The Filipino briefly picked up his rhythm and won the ninth game, but the Mexican was even more persistent at the baseline as he took the first set.

Patrombon regained his composure by holding his serves in the second set as Patino started cramping.  The Mexican called for a medical timeout prior to the decider, going back to court limping in every shot.

The Filipino pounced on the opportunity although he dropped the first and the seventh game due to unforced errors.

“Natutunan ko sa match na ito na kapag nakalamang na ako, kailangan ko nang kapitan, hindi na dapat ako mag-relax,” said Patrombon, who is also bidding to win the doubles crown.

Patrombon and Kiwi partner Jaden Grinter were playing the Canadian pair of Samuel Monnette and Filip Peliwo in the second round doubles.  The fourth-seeded Filipino-Kiwi tandem earned an opening round bye.

Jurence Mendoza and Thai partner Warit Sornbutnark were battling third seed Vasile-Alexandru Ghilea and Teodor Marin of Romania at presstime after thumping Australian Luke Saville and Joey Swaysland, 6-4, 7-6 (9), late Wednesday.

Clarice Patrimonio and Katherine Ip of Hong Kong were also playing No. 7 Basak Eraydin of Turkey and Elizaveta Kulichkova of Russia at presstime after winning by default over Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina and Ukraine’s Yuliya Lysa. (MB)

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Patrombon provides relief to embattled PH tennis

(MB) MANILA, Philippines – Jeson Patrombon provided a measure of relief for the embattled Filipino tennisters as he overpowered German Patrick Elias, 6-3, 6-3 to barge into the third round of the 22nd Mitsubishi-Lancer International Juniors Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Patrombon, who enjoys the rare accolade of being the top seed in this tournament which is in its 22nd year without missing a break, wasted five match points before nailing the victory on the sixth with forehand down-the-line shot which Elias returned to the net.

“Atat na akong manalo nun kaya nanggigil ako. Pero nakapag-adjust naman ako kaagad,” said Patrombon, a quarterfinalist of the Australian Open last January, who was up 40-0 in the eighth game but was forced to two deuces before prevailing.

“Magaling ang kalaban ko, puro baseline yung atake nya,” said Patrombon of his rival.

He was broken twice but his forehands winners saved him most of the time. He broke his rival four times.

Patrombon next faces the winner between Jordan Thompson of Australia and No. 14 Luis Patino of Mexico, who are playing at presstime.

He must keep his hot form to keep the country’s bid alive after six other local wildcard berths were eliminated by their foreign rivals.

In all, 12 Filipinos have been booted out of the tournament in the first round – a development that mirrored the sad plight of the sport in the country.

In the first day, Tamitha Nguyen, Clarice Patrimonio, Marinel Rudas, Anne Rene Castillo, Calvin Canlas and Marian Jade Capadocia suffered crushing defeats at the hands of their unseeded foreign rivals.

They were joined Wednesday by Jurence Mendoza, Enrique Ferrer and Andrew Joshua Cano.

Mendoza surrendered to Taiwanese Jao Chi-Shan, 6-3, 7-6 (6), Ferrer bowed to Canadian qualifier Edward Nguyen, 6-0, 6-0 and Cano yielded to Chinese Cao Zhaoyi, 6-1, 6-0.

Also eliminated were Juan Alfonso Opulencia, who absorbed a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing from Australian Nick Kyrgios, Kyle Parpan, who lost to Japanese qualifier Soichiro Moritani, 6-2, 6-1; and Maika Tanpoco, who dropped a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 decision to Belgian Klaartje Liebens.

Australian qualifier Joey Swaysland produced the day’s biggest win by downing No. 5 Jannick Lupescu, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Also posting big wins were Australian Nick Kyrgios, who surprised Stefan Lindmark of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-3; and qualifier Edward Nguyen of Canada who beat No. 11 Teodor Marin of Romania, 6-3, 6-4.

Australian Open finalist and fourth seed Luke Saville cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over American Emmett Egger, while Belgian eighth pick Kimmer Coppejans beat Mexican Juan Pablo Murra, 6-4, 6-4

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Pinoy netters fall like dominoes

MANILA, Philippines — Six Filipino wildcard bets, including Clarice Patrimonio, proved no match to their foreign rivals and crashed out right in the first round of the 22nd Mitsubishi Lancer International Juniors Championships Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Though their rivals were unseeded, Patrimonio, Tamitha Nguyen, Marinel Rudas, Marian Jade Capadocia, Anne Rene Castillo and Calvin Canlas still could not summon the skill to overcome their rivals.

Patrimonio, daughter of four-time PBA MVP winner Alvin, suffered a 6-2, 6-2 defeat against Indonesian Nadia Ravita.

Nguyen lost to Sweden’s Susanne Celik, 6-2, 6-1; Rudas to Belgian Elike Lemmens, 6-0, 7-5; and Castillo to Canadian Kimberley-Ann Surin, 6-0, 6-0.

Capadocia, who last year reached the third round, yielded to Romanian Patricia Maria Tig, 6-4, 6-3, while Canlas was blanked by Mexican Juan Pablo Murra, 6-0, 6-0.

Other Filipino wildcard entries Jurence Mendoza, Enrique Ferrer, Andrew Joshua Cano, Juan Alfonso Opulencia, Kyle Parpan and Maika Tanpoco are still playing at presstime.

Mendoza is playing against Taiwanese Jao Chi-Shan, Ferrer against Canadian Edward Nguyen, Cano against Chinese Cao Zhaoyi, Opulencia against Australian Nick Kyrgios, Parpan against Japanese Soichiro Moritani and Tanpoco against Belgian Klaartje Liebens.

Boys’ top seed Jeson Patrombon, who is determined to win his first singles title this year, earned an opening-round bye. (MB)

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Wozniacki wins Indian Wells tennis title

INDIAN WELLS, California (AP) – World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki claimed her 14th career title, outlasting France's Marion Bartoli 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in the WTA Indian Wells final on Sunday.

Denmark's Wozniacki captured her second title of 2011 and becomes the eighth different women's champion in eight years at the $4.5 million WTA hardcourt tournament.

"It's a huge tournament, so I'm very pleased about the way I have been playing this week and my result today," Wozniacki said.

"Once again I showed that I can play great tennis and I've beaten some really good players this week."

Wozniacki broke Bartoli's serve three times in the final set and clinched the victory on the second match point when the Frenchwoman hit a two-handed backhand long.

The 20-year-old Wozniacki has been playing some of the best tennis of her career the past few months, having taken two of her past three tournaments after winning last month in Dubai. She also reached the final in Doha.

The victory was one of the biggest in Wozniacki's career. She picked up $605,500 in first-place prize money Sunday after finishing runner-up in Indian Wells last year to Serbia's Jelena Jankovic. Bartoli took $298,000.

Wozniacki said the tournament trophy will look nice in her home but she joked she is not sure how she is going to get it there.

"It's so heavy. I think it's very beautiful," she said. "I just hope that they will ship it home to me, because to have it in my luggage will be just extra kilos and extra overweight. I already have too much."

Wozniacki paid tribute to Bartoli on the court immediately after the match.

"Marion, you had an amazing tournament," Wozniacki said. "I am sorry I had to beat you in the final. It is not like football where you can have a draw."

At 26 years and five months old, Bartoli was seeking to become the oldest winner since Steffi Graf in 1996. Bartoli is the first Frenchwoman to reach the Indian Wells final.

A tearful Bartoli thanked her coach and father, Walter, who watched the match by himself in the players box. By contrast, Wozniacki's players box was full as she had a number of family and friends viewing the match.

"Sorry I am a bit in tears but tears of tiredness," Bartoli told the crowd at center court. "You make me cry today.

"I would like to thank my dad who is the only one in the box. He was there when I hit my first tennis ball and I hope he will be there when I hit my last one."

Bartoli, whose previous best showing at Indian Wells was reaching the fourth round, paid tribute to the champion.

"I would like to congratulate (Caroline). You can be proud of yourself. I know your big goal is to get a Grand Slam (title) and I am sure you will get it soon."

She told reporters later, "I really take a lot of positives out of this match.

"When we played in Doha a couple weeks ago it was an easy win for Caroline, and today I think it was a lot tougher.

"I'm just gonna look on a positive and try to build from it.

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Djokovic defeats Nadal to win Indian Wells crown

INDIAN WELLS, California (AP) – Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic won the ATP Indian Wells title, rallying to beat world No. 1 Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and improve his record this season to 18-0.

Djokovic, who took over the No. 2 world ranking by beating Roger Federer in the semi-finals, on Sunday avenged a loss to Nadal in the 2007 Indian Wells final.

The 23-year-old Serbian has looked invincible this season and Sunday's victory in the California desert underlined that.

Djokovic fired four aces, including two key ones to hold serve in the second set, in the two-hour, 25-minute match to capture his second Indian Wells crown.

"I am having the best period of my life on the tennis court," Djokovic said. "I am playing with a lot of confidence. I'm feeling the ball well on the court. I'm very dedicated and I have a big will to win each match.

"So it will not stop here."

Djokovic took the second set in dramatic style, winning a marathon ninth game on the sixth set point after Nadal had saved five. The game, which lasted over 10 minutes, ended when Nadal hit a backhand wide in front of a near-capacity crowd of about 15,000.

It was part of a six-game win streak for Djokovic that stretched from the end of the second and into the third set and proved to be the turning point.

"I managed to hold that very important game and then I was on a roll," Djokovic said. "I felt that this is the time when I had to use my opportunity and step in and be more aggressive and take it to him, and that's what I did.

"It was just couple of points in the end of the second set that kind of turned the match around."

Nadal hit another sliding forehand into the net on match point, sparking a celebration from Djokovic, who clenched both fists, threw his head back and screamed at the top of his lungs.

Djokovic broke Nadal in the first game of the third set and cruised to victory from there. He hammered aces on the final points to hold serve in the fourth and sixth games.

Djokovic has compiled an incredible 18-match win streak this season and is 20-0 dating to the Davis Cup final in December. Besides winning the Australian Open this season, he captured his 20th career title last month in Dubai.

"I am extremely happy with the way I'm playing and with the success that I'm having," Djokovic said. "But I know that the season is very long and I don't want to be too euphoric about the win. I need to celebrate a little bit and then move on."

Nadal had his serve broken five times in the match, including twice at the beginning of the final set.

Nadal had a dreadful time controlling his serve, especially in the second set when he won just two points off his first serve the entire set.

"I was just thinking, 'Please put one in,'" Nadal said. "The serve was the difference today."

Two-time Indian Wells winner Nadal was on a blistering pace of his own this week as he came into the final having dropped just one set in the tournament.

But Sunday's loss leaves Nadal without an ATP title this season. His last victory came in Tokyo in October.

Nadal said he sees Djokovic as the main threat to his world No. 1 ranking.

"Djokovic is in the best position," Nadal said. "We will see what's going on during the clay season. After the first six months of the season we start to see what are the chances of everybody.

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Nadal, Wozniacki reach semis at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, California (AP) – World number one Rafael Nadal battled back from losing the first set against 239th-ranked Ivo Karlovic to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells.

The Spanish top seed on Thursday clinched a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (9/7) win on his third match point in the third set tiebreak when the Croatian smacked a forehand long to end the match lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours.

"It was a very tight, difficult match," said Nadal, a two-time former winner of the tournament. "If you lose a set against Karlovic then you are under pressure for the rest of the match.

"In the third set his serve was unstoppable. In the tiebreaker I was really nervous. For sure it is a big day for me to be in the semi-final."

Nadal, who will be playing in his sixth consecutive semi-final at the tournament, will play Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro next, who progressed without even taking to the court after Tommy Robredo withdrew with an injury.

Del Potro said he was glad to be in the semi-finals and looked forward to locking horns with Nadal again.

"We make very good matches before, so I have two days to be better, in good form, and hopefully I can play 100 percent."

Robredo's surprise exit came after the Spaniard injured his left abductor muscle during his fourth-round match against Sam Querrey.

Del Potro, the 2009 US Open winner, has been one of the in-form players on the tour this year going into his first Indian Wells semi-final.

Nadal has a 4-3 edge over del Potro in career matches but the Argentinian has won the last three times they have met.

On women's side, top seed Caroline Wozniacki, whose opponent pulled out with a painful injury, eased into the semi-finals where she was joined by Maria Sharapova.

Wozniacki, of Denmark, was ahead 3-0 when Victoria Azarenka packed it in after taking a lengthy medical timeout to receive treatment for an injury to the left side of her hip.

The eighth seed Azarenka suffered the setback just 10 minutes into the match on the second point of the third game while stretching to try and return a shot.

World number one Wozniacki, who is good friends with Azarenka, said she was sorry to have to win that way.

"Victoria is one of my best friends on the tour, and to see her in pain on the court and to see her get injured was not nice for sure," Wozniacki said. "I would like to have won it in another way, but I'm through to the semi-finals."

Wozniacki moves on to play three-time grand slam champion Sharapova who defeated China's Peng Shuai 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in a two-hour, 22-minute marathon quarter-final.

Wozniacki beat Azarenka for the fourth time in six career meetings and has now reached the semi-finals in her last four tournaments.

Sharapova won her quarter-final despite committing 13 double faults and winning just 27 percent of her second-serve points.

Neither player could hold serve at the start of the deciding set but then Sharapova found a spark in the sixth game to hold serve for the first time in the set and level the score at 3-3. Sharapova also won the next three games to take the match.

Sharapova, who called for her coach to come down to the court several times, broke Peng's serve four times in the third set, including the final game of the match to earn her ninth match win of the season to go with three losses.

"I played well in the first set and a half and then my level dropped," Sharapova said. "It was important to stay tough out there because you know the match isn't over until the last point."

Sharapova, who is the lone former Indian Wells champion left in the women's draw, now holds a 2-1 edge over Peng in career matches.

"Was really happy to into the quarterfinal here, but Maria is a tough match," Peng said. "In the third set I have chance, but she play well."

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Patrombon bows to US bet in final

ANILA, Philippines - Top seed Jeson Patrombon’s hot streak came into a crashing halt after he fell to seventh pick Sean Berman of the US, 0-6, 6-2, to wind up a losing finalist in the ITF/LTAT Junior Tennis Championship in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

After surviving three nerve-wracking three-setters going into the finale, the 17-year-old Patrombon appeared spent against his American foe to drop a surprisingly lopsided championship match.

Patrombon, a quarterfinalist in last January’s Australian Juniors Open where Berman finished in the round-of-16, however, gained 100 ITF ranking points for just making it that far.

It also boosted the Iligan City pride’s chance of improving on his current World Juniors No. 9 ranking last year on the Tour.

Patrombon also picked up 50 ranking points in the doubles event after he and Kiwi Jaden Grinter made it as far as the semis before running into Pedja Krstin of Serbia and Maxim Lunkin of Russia, 6-4, 4-6, 10-8. 

Patrombon hopes to get some more points and perhaps clinch another title when he joins the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup – a tournament ranked just one level behind the Grand Slam – in Kuching, Malaysia next week.

The country’s top junior netter will then return to Manila after the Malaysia trip to participate in a strong ITF-sanctioned tournament here.

Patrombon had a grueling week as he needed to survive Pedja Krstin of Serbia, Paul Monteban of the Netherlands and Teodor Nicolae Marin of Romania needing a third and deciding set to escape the upset axe.

Against Berman, he didn’t have enough energy left to pull off another squeaker.

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Injury-free Nadal to play in Belgium Davis Cup

CHARLEROI, Belgium – Top-ranked Rafael Nadal will play Ruben Bemelmans in Friday's Davis Cup series between Spain and Belgium in his first match since injuring his thigh at the Australian Open.

Nadal injured his left thigh in the loss to David Ferrer in the Australian Open quarterfinals. After practice on Thursday, Nadal said he's "perfect."

Bemelmans is ranked 144th and lost in straight sets to Nadal last year in Bangkok.

Sixth-ranked Ferrer will play the opening match against Xavier Malisse on the hard court of the 6,500-capacity arena in Charleroi, Belgium.

The 51st-ranked Malisse is the only Belgian player ranked in the top 100, while Spain has three in the top 10, including No. 9 Fernando Verdasco. (AP)

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Connors the Greatest tennis player of all time

LONDON (Reuters) - A scientist from Northwestern University in Illinois has claimed to have solved the debate over who is the best male tennis player of all time.

The disappointing news for disciples of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, however, is that Filippo Radicchi's painstaking number-crunching of 133,261 matches played since 1968 suggests that American Jimmy Connors is the greatest of them all.

Collecting ATP data from the past 43 years, Radicchi believes his system using a "diffusion algorithm" outperforms other methods used to try and end the "greatest of all time" or GOAT debate that splits tennis fans.

"We performed a complete analysis by determining the best players on specific surfaces as well as the best ones in each of the years covered by the data set," Radicchi said.

"In this particular ranking system, it's more important to win a single match against a very good player than many matches against not-so-good players."

BEST PLAYER

Explaining Connors' position as the best player, Radicchi said his system rewarded the American's longevity which enabled him to continue playing until well into his 40s.

"Among all top players in the history of tennis, Jimmy Connors has been undoubtedly the one with the longest and most regular trend, being in the top 10 of the ATP year-end ranking for 16 consecutive years," Radicchi said.

While Nadal has dominated on claycourts for the past six years, Argentina's Guillermo Vilas is ranked as the best of all time on the surface, according to the study, while Connors, surprisingly, tops the grasscourt list with Federer third.

American Andre Agassi is ranked the greatest player on hard courts, with Federer down in fifth behind Connors, Lendl and Pete Sampras.

For those crying foul about the absence of Rod Laver, the last player to win the calendar grand slam, the Australian was identified as the best between 1968-71, when the ATP rankings system

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