Radwanska Wins Sony Ericsson

Maria Sharapova lost her serve in the final game of each set Saturday and again fell short in a bid for her first Sony Ericsson Open title, losing to Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-4.

Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam champion, fell to 0-4 in Key Biscayne finals. She was also the runner-up in 2005, 2006 and last year.

Radwanska, ranked a career-best No. 4, earned her ninth career title and fourth since last summer. She's 0-4 in 2012 against top-ranked Victoria Azarenka and 26-0 against everyone else.

The match was 72 minutes old before Radwanska hit her first baseline winner. She was content to play steadily and extend rallies until the more aggressive Sharapova would make a mistake.

Sharapova finished with 45 unforced errors, many from the backhand side. Radwanska committed only 10 unforced errors and erased all three break points she faced.

On a sunny, 85-degree afternoon, the South Florida crowd was divided in its support.

"Vamos Maria!" one spectator hollered for the Russian.

"Vamos Agnes!" another shouted for the Pole.

Sharapova draped a rolled-up cold towel around her neck during changeovers, but the heat didn't seem to faze either player. But the pressure to hold serve made Sharapova wobble twice.

Serving at 5-6 in the first set, she committed four unforced errors -- including a blown overhead -- to lose the set.

The pattern was similar in the second set, when Radwanska had only one break point -- the last point of the match. Sharapova sailed a forehand long, and Radwanska lifted her arms in triumph.

Radwanska beat Venus Williams en route to the final and won every set she played. She improved to 2-7 against Sharapova, with her other victory at the 2007 U.S. Open.

Sharapova was trying to extend her streak of winning at least one title for a 10th consecutive year. Instead she settled for her third runner-up trophy in 2012 -- she also lost finals at the Australian Open and Indian Wells, both to Azarenka.

Nadal Gifts Murray Miami Final

Andy Murray has been gifted a place in the final of the Miami Masters after Rafa Nadal pulled out of Friday's semi with a knee injury.

The Spaniard was bothered by the problem in his three-set quarter-final win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and has decided not to take any risks with his long-term fitness.

It is the second time this week that Murray has benefited from a walkover after Milos Raonic withdrew from their third round match.

The news means the world number four will now face the winner of the other semi-final between world number one Novak Djokovic and 21st seed Juan Monaco.

"I am very sorry for my fans, those that are here in Miami and those around the world," Nadal said on his Twitter feed. "I do not feel able to play today because of my knee."

The Spaniard was playing in just his fourth event of the season and he has not won a title since last year's French Open in Paris.

"We are disappointed that Rafa has been forced to withdraw from the tournament but the health of the players always needs to be the number one priority," said Adam Barrett, the tournament director.

"He has played some great tennis and is a tremendous ambassador for the game. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the court soon."

Bartoli Breaks Azarenka Run

Photo: Getty

Victoria Azarenka's 26-match unbeaten start to 2012 came to an end with a quarter-final defeat by Marion Bartoli at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

The 22-year-old's winning streak, which included the Australian Open, was the best on the women's tour since Martina Hingis began 1997 with a 37-0 run.

“To play these tournaments back-to-back is really difficult physically. I'm not really worried about anything else. It was just I wasn't able to do anything physical today”Victoria Azarenka

"I'm a human, not a superwoman," she said. "I wish I could be, but I'm not."

Bartoli of France goes on to face Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals after she beat Venus Williams 6-4 6-1.

But Azarenka's loss to seventh seed Bartoli was the shock result.

Azarenka, world number one and defending champion, fell behind early and was unable to turn the match around as she had on Monday.

Down a set and behind 5-2 against 16th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, Azarenka rallied to win 1-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5, but could not engineer a similar comeback against Bartoli.

"Everybody wanted to be the first one to beat me," said the Belarusian. "I think it's pretty normal.

"When I was going to play against the number one player in the world, I also tried to do the same.

"Two days ago I could turn it around and today I couldn't. But it's not going stop me from working hard and keep going the same way."

Azarenka has now lost two of her last three meetings with Bartoli.

"I'm just tired," she said. "This is expected. But what can you do? That was supposed to happen one day.

"I couldn't keep going all the way. To play these tournaments back-to-back is really difficult physically.

"I'm not really worried about anything else. It was just I wasn't able to do anything physical today."

Murray Makes Masters Progress

Andy Murray secured his place in the last eight of the Miami Masters with a 6-3 6-4 win over Frenchman Gilles Simon.

He got off to an inauspicious start and was forced to save three break points in the first game.

Eventually the fourth seed broke in the fourth game and it was enough to eventually take the first set.

The Scot stayed strong to set up a quarter-final meeting with ninth seedJanko Tipsarevic .

World number one Novak Djokovic is also through to the last eight after beating Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-5 6-3.

The Serb was again forced to work, as he set up a meeting with the winner of Juan Martin Del Potro and David Ferrer , saving six of his seven break points.

He also only managed only 58% of his first serves in, lower than that of his 17th seed opponent.

Second seed Rafael Nadal is also through following a 6-4 6-4 win over Kei Nishikori of Japan.

The Spaniard will now face the winner of the match between sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Florian Mayer before a potential semi-final clash with Murray.

American Mardy Fish joins them in the last eight after beating Nicolas Almagro 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-3.

In the women's draw second seed Maria Sharapova made easy work of beating eighth seed Li Na, winning 6-3 6-0.

The Russian needed just 68 minutes to overcome the 2011 French Open winner, winning 58 of the 88 points played.

Roger's Run Ended by Roddick

Roger Federer's 16-match winning streak came to an end when he was beaten 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-4 by Andy Roddick in the third round of the Miami Masters.

"I came out flat today," the Swiss said. "I was a bit tired, I guess."

World number one Novak Djokovic secured his place in round four with a 6-3 6-4 win over fellow Serbian Victor Troicki.

In the women's draw, top seed Victoria Azarenka progressed to the quarter-final stage by beating Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova 1-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5.

Having lost the second set, Roddick survived three break points in the opening game of the decider and then broke Federer immediately.

It was only the American's third victory in 24 meetings against Federer and ended a losing sequence against top-three players stretching back to 2010.

"That's maybe 30 matches for the season. I am just feeling like it's taken its toll a bit," said Federer, who has won tournaments in Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells this year.

Djokovic needed only 85 minutes to secure victory but had to save seven break points on his way to the last 16.

The Serbian will meet Richard Gasquet for a place in the quarter-finals after the Frenchman's win over Albert Ramos.

Azarenka, who beat Brit Heather Watson in the previous round, edged a marathon match lasting two hours and 49 minutes.

The Belarusian's winning run, which now stretches to 26 games, looked in serious jeopardy after she lost the first set.

"I definitely wasn't thinking about the streak, that's for sure," Azarenka said.

"It felt like she closed her eyes and just went for everything and I couldn't really just open my eyes. I was just blinded a little."

Former world number one Serena Williams - five-time winner of this tournament - beat sixth seed Sam Stosur 7-5 6-3 to set up a quarter-final encounter with fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki, who saw off Yanina Wickmayer 7-6 (8-6) 6-0.

Second seed Maria Sharapova's 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory over Ekaterina Makarova secured a last-eight clash with Li Na , a 3-6 6-4 6-2 winner over Sabine Lasicki.

Marion Bartoli needed only 66 minutes to dispatch Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-2.

Watson Earns Azarenka Meeting

Heather Watson claimed the scalp of a player ranked 104 places above her to reach the third round of the Miami Masters - where she will next face world No.1 Victoria Azarenka.

Watson, 19, followed up her fine comeback victory over Sorana Cirstea in the first round with an even more impressive 6-2 6-1 triumph over world number 25 Lucie Safarova on Friday.

Watson dominated throughout in both defence and attack and her Czech opponent had no answers with the Guernsey player wrapping up her second-round victory in little more than 80 minutes.

Watson won 73 per cent of points on her first serve, in contrast to Safarova's 46 per cent, while serving two aces and staved off six of the seven break points she faced.

Watson opened the match and successfully held before breaking 27th seed Safarova in her first service game and then holding to move into a 3-0 lead.

Safarova held for 3-1 and then moved to break point, which she failed to convert with the Briton taking full advantage.

Azarenka next

Watson then forced three break points in the sixth game but failed to convert them and Safarova eventually held for 4-2.

Watson held and then broke her opponent to take the first set 6-2.

The first game of the second set saw the pair trade break point chances with the Czech player eventually prevailing.

Florida-based Watson though immediately broke back and from then there was no stopping the Guernsey-born player.

She will next face top-seed Azarenka in what will be a repeat of the Australian Open first round meeting earlier this year.

The Belarusian ace was handed one of her toughest tests so far this season before overcoming Holland's Michaella Krajicek 6-3 7-5.

Venus Williams claimed a stunning three-set win over Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova as her comeback gathered momentum.

The 31-year-old has been absent from the WTA Tour since pulling out of the US Open at the end of August, remaining sidelined with Sjogren's syndrome, a disorder of the immune system, until this week. She has fallen to 134th in the world rankings as a result.

Positive

But the seven-time former grand slam winner made a positive return by knocking out Kimiko Date-Krumm in round one - and she rolled back the years in knocking out world No.3 Kvitova.

Williams, a three-time former winner of this tournament, won 6-4 4-6 6-0 in two hours and 18 minutes to march through to the last 32, where Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak awaits her after a 4-6 6-3 6-4 success over Romanian 28th seed Monica Niculescu.

It was a day otherwise full of surprises as Spanish wild card Garbine Muguruza Blanco ousted ninth-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-4 6-3.

The Russian's fellow seeds Angelique Kerber, Monica Niculescu and Kaia Kanepi also bowed out at the hands of Zheng Jie, Aleksandra Wozniak and Silvia Soler-Espinosa respectively.

There were no such troubles for the 15th-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, who won 6-4 7-5 against Vania King of the United States, while Slovakian 16th seed Dominika Cibulkova was a 7-5 6-1 victor against Anna Tatishvili of Georgia.

Murray Masters Falla in Miami

Andy Murray eased into the third round of the Miami Masters courtesy of a straight-sets triumph over Alejandro Falla on Friday.

The British No.1, back in action for the first time since his second round disappointment at Indian Wells, was rarely troubled as he posted a 6-2 6-3 victory over his Columbian opponent.

A victory at this event was long overdue for Murray after he suffered straight-sets losses at the first hurdle against Mardy Fish in 2010 and the unheralded Alex Bogomolov Jr last year.

And his mindset coming into the tournament would not have been helped by his surprise second-round defeat by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at Indian Wells.

However, the presence of coach Ivan Lendl this week has boosted the Scot and the 24-year-old was quickly into his stride against the world number 71.

After holding his opening service game Murray forced an instant break of serve to take a 2-0 lead.

Although Falla hit back in the next, getting back on serve with a break of his own, his respite was brief as Murray broke again to move ahead 4-2 before a third break wrapped up the opening set.

Murray continued to look in sound touch at the start of the second set, moving a break up early on to establish a 3-0 lead. However, as before Falla found a way to get back on level terms as he broke the Scot for a second time to trail 3-4.

Again, though, Murray's response was swift and decisive, breaking to love in the next to leave himself serving for the match, which duly did to set up a third-round clash against either Canadian 26th-seed Milos Raonic or French qualifier Arnaud Clement.

There was a hard-fought 7-5 7-5 win for sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against Xavier Malisse of Belgium, while the ninth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia saw off Argentina's David Nalbandian 7-5 6-3.

Gilles Simon, the 13th seed from France, defeated Spain's Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-4 6-2, 18th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine beat Croatia's Antonio Veic 6-4 7-5, while 22nd-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer was a winner in three sets against Holland's Robin Haase, 7-6 (7/2) 3-6 6-4.

Second seed Rafael Nadal had no trouble in the evening session, tearing to a 6-2 6-0 win against Colombian Santiago Giraldo.

Federer Rediscovers Rookie Years

Roger Federer says he has played some of the best tennis of his career since turning 30 and that he has rediscovered the enthusiasm of his rookie years.

Federer has not won a major since the 2010 Australian Open but is currently on a 15-match winning streak.

The 16-time Grand Slam winner won in Indian Wells on Sunday and competes in the Miami Masters from this weekend.

"I've shown that after 30 you can play your best tennis, which is nice for everyone," Federer told BBC Sport.

"I went from Qatar, last January, all the way to Basel, in November, without a [tournament] win.

"I played great: I made the French Open final, the semis of the US Open, I played some other great matches, but didn't win a title.

"And once you're so spoiled like me and you've won so much, finishing in the semis is nice, but it's not the great feeling you get from winning a title.

"So I feel like I'm going back a couple of years. I'm on this amazing streak [Federer has won 39 of 41 matches since last year's US Open] and it makes me feel very special.

"The press conferences are a whole lot easier: I'm getting easier questions, not always about my age.

"It's nice because I have been asked a lot since I turned 30, 'how long are you going to be playing?' and 'why aren't things so good?'"

Federer, the world number three, received a bye into the second round in Miami and kicks off his campaign against Ryan Harrison of the United States on Saturday.

Venus Returns Victorious in Miami

Venus Williams marked her return to competitive action for the first time in over six months with a straight-sets win over Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Williams, who had not played since being knocked out of the second round of the 2011 US Open by Sabine Lisicki due to illness, required just one hour and 17 minutes to record a 6-0, 6-3 victory over her 41-year-old Japanese opponent.

The five-time Wimbledon champion has been sidelined with Sjogren's syndrome, a disorder of the immune system, and was delighted to be back playing again.

'It was great to be back out there,' the 31-year-old said. 'It was definitely nerve-wracking, especially playing an opponent that I know how talented she is and first match back. But I was able to get a great start and settle in and play well.'

Williams dismissed the suggestion she may have considered retirement due to her condition.

Unseeded Williams will face third seed, and reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the second round.She added: 'I'm not at my worst anymore. So that helps, as well. Someone with an autoimmune disease definitely faces different challenges than other people, but it doesn't mean you can't be successful.'

'I think in some ways we play a very similar game,' Williams said. 'Obviously she's been playing very well in the last 12 months or so. It's just totally a credit to her.

'I have had a lot of experience with playing well. I played all right today. I'm going into this just focused on executing my game and just trying my absolute best, which is the same thing she'll be trying to do.'

Meanwhile in her first match since suffering an ankle injury in the Australian Open, former world No 1 Kim Clijsters was pushed before overcoming Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.

Akleybanova in Comeback Win

Alisa Kleybanova made a winning comeback at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami just 10 months after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The 26-year-old wildcard beat Sweden's Johanna Larsson on Tuesday in the first round of the prestigious tournament.

It was an incredible performance from Kleybanova as she battled back from a set down to win 2-6 6-3 6-2 over the world No.64 in a match lasting more than two hours.

But Kleybanova's fighting spirit has never been questioned since she bravely announced she was to undergo a course of treatment at a hospital in Perugia which specialises in the disease, a form of cancer which affects the white blood cells.

The Russian, who reached a career-high of 20th in the world rankings early in 2011, revealed in a pre-tournament press conference that she was so keen to return to the sport she had started practising again as early as February, just seven months after her initial announcement.

She said: "Since I was a kid I've been used to hard work and discipline, and there are lots of things you have to overcome when you do this. All your life you have to learn to deal with things by yourself.

Motivated

"When you have a huge problem, you're used to it - even though this was completely different to anything I am used to, I was still very mentally motivated to overcome it, which obviously helped a lot.

"It has been almost a year since I've been on the tour and things have probably improved and changed, but I have a huge motivation to live 100 per cent every day of my life."

Kleybanova will now take on fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko in the second round.

Former top-10 player Jelena Dokic bowed out early, the experienced Australian losing 6-1 7-5 to Russia's Ekaterina Makarova.

With the seeds not making their entrance until round two, there were also opening-day wins for Chanelle Scheepers, Anna Tatishvili, Simona Halep, Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Zheng Jie, Mona Barthel, Marina Erakovic and Tsvetana Pironkova.