アメリカ・マイアミで行われているNASDAQ-100オープンで女子シングルス4回戦8試合が行われ、
マリア・シャラポワはマリア・キリレンコに3-6, 6-4, 6-1で逆転勝ちしてベスト8入りした。
シャラポワは立ち上がりからミスが多く、ダブルフォルトも8つを数えたが、尻上がりに調子を上げ、第3セットはミスがほとんどなかった。
一方、キリレンコはシャラポワにベースラインで振り回され、最後はバテてしまったようだ。
シャラポワのコメント
「今日もベストの出来だったとは思えない。2週続けてのトーナメントだし、これで3日連続の試合だし、風も難しかった。
とにかく粘ろうと心がけた。第3セットにやっと調子が出たわ。」
シャラポワはこれで9連勝。2006年の成績を19勝3敗とした。
またベスト8がそろい、準々決勝の組合せが決まった。
シャラポワはミスキナと対戦する。この試合は明後日の予定。
日本の杉山愛も勝ち残っている。
準々決勝組合せ ()はシード順位
(1) Amelie Mauresmo vs.(5) Nadia Petrova
(12) Svetlana Kuznetsova vs.(21) Ai Sugiyama
(4) Maria Sharapova vs.(10) Anastasia Myskina
(22) Tatiana Golovin vs.Zheng Jie
人気blogランキング（テニス）
ショットがはずれ、天を仰ぐキリレンコ
----------------------------
Miami Heraldの記事
Posted on Tue, Mar. 28, 2006
NASDAQ-100 OPEN
Sharapova labors to get past pal
Maria Sharapova, playing her third match in three days, had to fight hard to beat her friend, Maria Kirilenko.
BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN
mkaufman@MiamiHerald.com
When Maria Sharapova plays tennis, photographers tend to ignore her opponent and keep their camera lenses focused on the sport's glamour girl. But it's a different story when Sharapova plays Maria Kirilenko.
Both Russian Marias have Barbie-blonde ponytails poking through their visors, legs the Rockettes would envy, and potent groundstrokes that leave both of them squealing and drenched in sweat. They also happen to be close friends, adding spice to the matchup, which is why fans deserted the food court at lunchtime Monday to see them play in the fourth round of the NASDAQ-100 Open.
Even James Blake's brother, Thomas, watched Sharapova and Kirilenko rather than root for his kid brother, who was winning his third-round match against Jarkko Nieminen at the same time on the Grandstand Court.
''They've got shorter skirts. I probably would have, too,'' James Blake joked, asked about his brother's allegiances. ``No, it's good to have him in the crowd, but I know where he's getting his paycheck from this week.''
Turns out Blake's brother, a former All-American at Harvard, has been working as Kirilenko's hitting partner for the past month, and it looked like the grueling practice sessions are paying off for the 22nd-ranked player.
Kirilenko, a more compact version of the 6-2 Sharapova, led the world's fourth-ranked player after one set and forced her to play more defense than usual. But Kirilenko ran out of energy, Sharapova got stronger, and converted her fifth match point to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
''I definitely don't feel like I'm playing great tennis,'' Sharapova said. ``It might be the fact that it's the second tournament in a row, three matches in three days, and the conditions. The wind has been a little bit of a struggle for me.''
It was Sharapova's ninth straight victory, and improved her record this year to 19-3. She has reached the quarterfinals or better in all five tournaments she has played. Next up: another Russian, Anastasia Myskina.
Joining them in the quarters are top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo, Ai Sugiyama, Tatiana Golovin, Svetlana Kuznetsova (she won by walkover when Patty Schnyder withdrew with an ankle injury), Nadia Petrova and Jie Zheng, a three-set winner over Jill Craybas, who was the lone American left.
Craybas, the former Florida Gator, breezed through the first set, but wound up losing 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
''Even though I won the first set, I never really felt comfortable out there,'' Craybas said. ``I think I was just really nervous.''
The American men fared much better. Andy Roddick knocked off Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4 in just more than an hour. Blake recovered from a sloppy second set to beat speedy Nieminen 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. The final set took just 22 minutes.
Roddick has struggled this year, and said he is finally feeling like himself again, launching 130 mph serves and keeping balls in play.
''Progress is being made,'' Roddick said. ``. . . I've done a better job of not getting so worked up, just chilling out a little bit and not driving myself crazy.''
Blake continued on his roll, improving his record this year to 21-5. He plays Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in tonight's late match, and is looking forward to using the instant replay system, which is being used only on Stadium Court. He argued a few line calls with the chair umpire Monday, and said Nieminen approached him in the locker room after the match and told him he got a few lucky calls.
''It will be fun to challenge and see how I do,'' Blake said. ``I think I might be a little nervous to challenge. Maybe we'll be humbled a little bit [by instant replay]. I think a lot of us need that, so maybe we'll stop arguing with the umpire. Maybe we'll realize that the linespeople are getting it right.''
Blake is on course to meet top-ranked Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. Federer needed just 68 minutes to eliminate 28th-ranked Tommy Haas 6-1, 6-3 in the night match. Haas pushed Federer to five sets in the Australian Open and entered Monday's match with a 20-4 record this year.
''Not much to say. I played good from the start, wasn't missing much. All in all, it was excellent,'' Federer said.
-------------------------------------
AP通信の記事
Sharapova in Key Biscayne Quarterfinals By STEVEN WINE, AP Sports Writer
Mon Mar 27, 4:48 PM ET
Maria Sharapova overcame a slow start and eight double faults Monday, earning a berth in the quarterfinals of the Nasdaq-100 Open by beating fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Seeded fourth, Sharapova committed 43 unforced errors, but only five in the final set against the 20th-seeded Kirilenko.
"I basically just tried to hang in there," Sharapova said. "I wasn't playing my best tennis, for sure, but I started to pick it up in the third."
Sharapova won her first title of the year March 18 at Indian Wells. She was the runner-up at Key Biscayne last year to Kim Clijsters, who was upset Saturday in the second round.
The last American in the women's draw, unseeded Jill Craybas, lost to Zheng Jie 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. The unseeded Zheng became the first Chinese woman to reach the Key Biscayne quarterfinals.
No. 6-seeded Elena Dementieva, runner-up to Sharapova at Indian Wells, was upset by No. 22 Tatiana Golovin 6-2, 6-1. Dementieva lost 13 of 17 second-serve points, including seven with double faults.
Also earning quarterfinal berths were No. 12 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 21 Ai Sugiyama.
In men's third-round play, qualifier Simon Greul won only four points in the first set, then rallied to beat Tim Henman 0-6, 6-1, 7-5.
James Blake hit 41 winners and beat No. 23 Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Seeded ninth, Blake broke serve six times and needed only 22 minutes to take the final set.
While Blake played in the grandstand, his brother, Thomas, watched the Sharapova-Kirilenko match in the stadium.
"What does that say about men's tennis these days?" James Blake said with a laugh. "They're two pretty cute girls. I don't blame him."
Off to the best start of his career, Blake improved to 21-5 this year. He cracked the top 10 in the rankings for the first time last week and needs one more win to earn his first Key Biscayne quarterfinal berth.
Unseeded Dmitry Tursunov, who was born in Russia and lives in California, reached the fourth round at an ATP Masters Series event for the first time by defeating No. 24 Igor Andreev of Russia, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
Greul, a 24-year-old German ranked 130th, came into the tournament with one career ATP Tour victory. Battling nerves playing the day's opening match on stadium court, he lost the first seven games.
"At the beginning I said, 'Stay calm and play my game and focus on each point,'" Greul said. "It didn't work that well in the first set."
But Greul settled down and broke Henman's serve five times in the final two sets, including the last game. The upset came after the unseeded Henman beat former world No. 1 Marat Safin and No. 13-seeded Lleyton Hewitt in the first two rounds.
Greul's comeback left Henman shaking his head after the match.
"No doubt the most bizarre I've ever played. I'm shocked, really," Henman said. "His level went from nonexistent to playing some pretty good stuff in the space of a game."
Greul neutralized Henman's serve-and-volley tactics, coming forward himself and winning 19 of 25 points at the net.
"I wanted to keep the pressure on him," Greul said. "If he's putting the pressure on me coming to the net, it's difficult for me. So I tried to come to the net, force him to make some mistakes, and it worked. Normally I'm a baseliner, but I'm trying to go to the net more often."
Kuznetsova received a walkover when No. 7-seeded Patty Schnyder withdrew before their fourth-round match. Schnyder was unable to play because she injured her ankle during her third-round victory, but said she expects to be sidelined only a few days.
Sugiyama beat No. 32 Sofia Arvidsson 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
マリア・シャラポワはマリア・キリレンコに3-6, 6-4, 6-1で逆転勝ちしてベスト8入りした。
シャラポワは立ち上がりからミスが多く、ダブルフォルトも8つを数えたが、尻上がりに調子を上げ、第3セットはミスがほとんどなかった。
一方、キリレンコはシャラポワにベースラインで振り回され、最後はバテてしまったようだ。
シャラポワのコメント
「今日もベストの出来だったとは思えない。2週続けてのトーナメントだし、これで3日連続の試合だし、風も難しかった。
とにかく粘ろうと心がけた。第3セットにやっと調子が出たわ。」
シャラポワはこれで9連勝。2006年の成績を19勝3敗とした。
またベスト8がそろい、準々決勝の組合せが決まった。
シャラポワはミスキナと対戦する。この試合は明後日の予定。
日本の杉山愛も勝ち残っている。
準々決勝組合せ ()はシード順位
(1) Amelie Mauresmo vs.(5) Nadia Petrova
(12) Svetlana Kuznetsova vs.(21) Ai Sugiyama
(4) Maria Sharapova vs.(10) Anastasia Myskina
(22) Tatiana Golovin vs.Zheng Jie
人気blogランキング（テニス）
ショットがはずれ、天を仰ぐキリレンコ
----------------------------
Miami Heraldの記事
Posted on Tue, Mar. 28, 2006
NASDAQ-100 OPEN
Sharapova labors to get past pal
Maria Sharapova, playing her third match in three days, had to fight hard to beat her friend, Maria Kirilenko.
BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN
mkaufman@MiamiHerald.com
When Maria Sharapova plays tennis, photographers tend to ignore her opponent and keep their camera lenses focused on the sport's glamour girl. But it's a different story when Sharapova plays Maria Kirilenko.
Both Russian Marias have Barbie-blonde ponytails poking through their visors, legs the Rockettes would envy, and potent groundstrokes that leave both of them squealing and drenched in sweat. They also happen to be close friends, adding spice to the matchup, which is why fans deserted the food court at lunchtime Monday to see them play in the fourth round of the NASDAQ-100 Open.
Even James Blake's brother, Thomas, watched Sharapova and Kirilenko rather than root for his kid brother, who was winning his third-round match against Jarkko Nieminen at the same time on the Grandstand Court.
''They've got shorter skirts. I probably would have, too,'' James Blake joked, asked about his brother's allegiances. ``No, it's good to have him in the crowd, but I know where he's getting his paycheck from this week.''
Turns out Blake's brother, a former All-American at Harvard, has been working as Kirilenko's hitting partner for the past month, and it looked like the grueling practice sessions are paying off for the 22nd-ranked player.
Kirilenko, a more compact version of the 6-2 Sharapova, led the world's fourth-ranked player after one set and forced her to play more defense than usual. But Kirilenko ran out of energy, Sharapova got stronger, and converted her fifth match point to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
''I definitely don't feel like I'm playing great tennis,'' Sharapova said. ``It might be the fact that it's the second tournament in a row, three matches in three days, and the conditions. The wind has been a little bit of a struggle for me.''
It was Sharapova's ninth straight victory, and improved her record this year to 19-3. She has reached the quarterfinals or better in all five tournaments she has played. Next up: another Russian, Anastasia Myskina.
Joining them in the quarters are top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo, Ai Sugiyama, Tatiana Golovin, Svetlana Kuznetsova (she won by walkover when Patty Schnyder withdrew with an ankle injury), Nadia Petrova and Jie Zheng, a three-set winner over Jill Craybas, who was the lone American left.
Craybas, the former Florida Gator, breezed through the first set, but wound up losing 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
''Even though I won the first set, I never really felt comfortable out there,'' Craybas said. ``I think I was just really nervous.''
The American men fared much better. Andy Roddick knocked off Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4 in just more than an hour. Blake recovered from a sloppy second set to beat speedy Nieminen 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. The final set took just 22 minutes.
Roddick has struggled this year, and said he is finally feeling like himself again, launching 130 mph serves and keeping balls in play.
''Progress is being made,'' Roddick said. ``. . . I've done a better job of not getting so worked up, just chilling out a little bit and not driving myself crazy.''
Blake continued on his roll, improving his record this year to 21-5. He plays Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in tonight's late match, and is looking forward to using the instant replay system, which is being used only on Stadium Court. He argued a few line calls with the chair umpire Monday, and said Nieminen approached him in the locker room after the match and told him he got a few lucky calls.
''It will be fun to challenge and see how I do,'' Blake said. ``I think I might be a little nervous to challenge. Maybe we'll be humbled a little bit [by instant replay]. I think a lot of us need that, so maybe we'll stop arguing with the umpire. Maybe we'll realize that the linespeople are getting it right.''
Blake is on course to meet top-ranked Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. Federer needed just 68 minutes to eliminate 28th-ranked Tommy Haas 6-1, 6-3 in the night match. Haas pushed Federer to five sets in the Australian Open and entered Monday's match with a 20-4 record this year.
''Not much to say. I played good from the start, wasn't missing much. All in all, it was excellent,'' Federer said.
-------------------------------------
AP通信の記事
Sharapova in Key Biscayne Quarterfinals By STEVEN WINE, AP Sports Writer
Mon Mar 27, 4:48 PM ET
Maria Sharapova overcame a slow start and eight double faults Monday, earning a berth in the quarterfinals of the Nasdaq-100 Open by beating fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Seeded fourth, Sharapova committed 43 unforced errors, but only five in the final set against the 20th-seeded Kirilenko.
"I basically just tried to hang in there," Sharapova said. "I wasn't playing my best tennis, for sure, but I started to pick it up in the third."
Sharapova won her first title of the year March 18 at Indian Wells. She was the runner-up at Key Biscayne last year to Kim Clijsters, who was upset Saturday in the second round.
The last American in the women's draw, unseeded Jill Craybas, lost to Zheng Jie 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. The unseeded Zheng became the first Chinese woman to reach the Key Biscayne quarterfinals.
No. 6-seeded Elena Dementieva, runner-up to Sharapova at Indian Wells, was upset by No. 22 Tatiana Golovin 6-2, 6-1. Dementieva lost 13 of 17 second-serve points, including seven with double faults.
Also earning quarterfinal berths were No. 12 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 21 Ai Sugiyama.
In men's third-round play, qualifier Simon Greul won only four points in the first set, then rallied to beat Tim Henman 0-6, 6-1, 7-5.
James Blake hit 41 winners and beat No. 23 Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Seeded ninth, Blake broke serve six times and needed only 22 minutes to take the final set.
While Blake played in the grandstand, his brother, Thomas, watched the Sharapova-Kirilenko match in the stadium.
"What does that say about men's tennis these days?" James Blake said with a laugh. "They're two pretty cute girls. I don't blame him."
Off to the best start of his career, Blake improved to 21-5 this year. He cracked the top 10 in the rankings for the first time last week and needs one more win to earn his first Key Biscayne quarterfinal berth.
Unseeded Dmitry Tursunov, who was born in Russia and lives in California, reached the fourth round at an ATP Masters Series event for the first time by defeating No. 24 Igor Andreev of Russia, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
Greul, a 24-year-old German ranked 130th, came into the tournament with one career ATP Tour victory. Battling nerves playing the day's opening match on stadium court, he lost the first seven games.
"At the beginning I said, 'Stay calm and play my game and focus on each point,'" Greul said. "It didn't work that well in the first set."
But Greul settled down and broke Henman's serve five times in the final two sets, including the last game. The upset came after the unseeded Henman beat former world No. 1 Marat Safin and No. 13-seeded Lleyton Hewitt in the first two rounds.
Greul's comeback left Henman shaking his head after the match.
"No doubt the most bizarre I've ever played. I'm shocked, really," Henman said. "His level went from nonexistent to playing some pretty good stuff in the space of a game."
Greul neutralized Henman's serve-and-volley tactics, coming forward himself and winning 19 of 25 points at the net.
"I wanted to keep the pressure on him," Greul said. "If he's putting the pressure on me coming to the net, it's difficult for me. So I tried to come to the net, force him to make some mistakes, and it worked. Normally I'm a baseliner, but I'm trying to go to the net more often."
Kuznetsova received a walkover when No. 7-seeded Patty Schnyder withdrew before their fourth-round match. Schnyder was unable to play because she injured her ankle during her third-round victory, but said she expects to be sidelined only a few days.
Sugiyama beat No. 32 Sofia Arvidsson 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
