SONY ERICSSON OPEN – Men Daily Update 04/01/12

Written by: Staff on 1st April 2012

Doubles – Final: (7) Paes/Stepanek def. (2) Mirnyi/Nestor 3-6 6-1 10-8 (Match TB)

There was a rain delay late in the second set of this match. It didn’t affect the second set; Paes/Stepanek were already in a dominant position. They stumbled to start the tiebreak, then again came back strong.

It is “only” the second title for Paes/Stepanek this year, but the two have been the two biggest events, the Australian Open and Miami. And it’s worth remembering that the Bryans have only one title this year (Sydney), and while Mirnyi/Nestor have two, they’re both smaller (Brisbane and Memphis). Llodra/Zimonjic have only one title, at Rotterdam. The rankings near the top are for the moment unchanged; we show the Top Seven as follows:

1..(1) Bryan…………..9480

3..(3) Mirnyi………….8670

3..(3) Nestor………….8670

5..(5) Llodra………….7560

6..(6) Zimonjic………..7440

7..(7) Paes……………6015

But Paes, and Stepanek below him, are carrying mostly new points; the others have mostly old points. Paes/Stepanek appear effectively certain to make the year-end championships, and if they keep this up, they’ll likely go there as the #1 seeds….

©”DAILY TENNIS NEWS WIRE”

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SONY ERICSSON OPEN

Miami, FL, USA

March 20-31, 2012

$4,828,050/Premier

Hard/Outdoors

Results – Saturday, March 31, 2012

Singles – Final

(5) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) 75 64

Order Of Play – Sunday, April 1, 2012

Stadium (from 13.00hrs)

1. ATP: Djokovic vs. Murray

2. Doubles Final: Kirilenko/Petrova vs. Errani/Vinci

Final Facts

– Radwanska does not lose a set all fortnight en route to her ninth WTA title (two of them coming this year and five since last August) and is now 9-2 in WTA finals; it is her sixth Premier-level title (after Eastbourne in 2008, Carlsbad, Tokyo and Beijing in 2011 and Dubai this year).

– Radwanska improves to 26-4 on the year, with all four losses coming to Victoria Azarenka, whom she is tied with for most match wins in 2012.

– Radwanska improves to 2-7 all-time against Sharapova and snaps a six-match losing streak to the Russian.

– Radwanska, the first Polish champion in Miami history, passes the $8 million career prize money mark with her result here.

– Sharapova falls to 24-16 in finals, including 0-4 in Miami finals, having also been Sony Ericsson Open runner-up to Kim Clijsters in 2005, Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2006 and Victoria Azarenka in 2011.

– Sharapova is now 18-4 on the year, having reached at least the quarterfinals in all four events she has played.

Final Quotes

Agnieszka Radwanska: “I lost against her the last few times, but today was a very tight match too, and I think I was better for just a couple of points each set. Maria is a really good player – a top player, second in the world right now. So I had pretty much nothing to lose. I was focusing on my serve, and I’m very happy I didn’t lose my serve – I think it was actually the biggest key in this match.

“It’s a great feeling to beat these kinds of players, especially in a final.”

Maria Sharapova: “You do a really good job to get there, but it’s the toughest round. These last two tournaments are always tough because they’re so close together, and you’re playing six matches in an event – but I’m happy I got to play all six. I would have loved to be the winner, but that’s just the way it goes.”