Azarenka avenges Kerber loss to reach Miami final

In-form Victoria Azarenka battled past an ailing but determined second seed Angelique Kerber to set up a Miami Open final showdown against Svetlana Kuznetsova with a 6-2 7-5 victory on Thursday.

With the victory, the 13th-seeded Belarusian gained revenge for a quarter-final loss to the second-seeded German at the Australian Open, her only defeat of the season, but had to fight tooth and nail to earn it in a 94-minute tussle.

Kerber, who had her upper left leg covered in heavy strapping, looked dead and buried on several occasions in the second set but was able to stay alive with a gutsy break when Azarenka served for the match at 5-4.

Parity was short-lived, however, as Kerber handed back the break in the next game and Azarenka did not waste another opportunity to seal the deal to move one win away from a third Miami title and second straight tournament triumph.

"I am very happy I stayed really strong in the end and actually started really well," Azarenka, who beat Serena Williams to claim the Indian Wells title on March 20, said in a courtside interview.

"I started to dictate (early) and I think the beginning was really important," she added of the victory over the Australian Open champion.

KUZNETSOVA NEXT

"She's such a fighter and an amazing player. I'm glad I kept pushing and kept trying to break her rhythm. Glad I stayed really strong.

"For me it was really painful to watch my match from the Australian Open and I'm really glad that I corrected my errors there and improved my serve. Although there were a lot of breaks, when I needed it, it came strong."

As well as avenging the Melbourne defeat, Azarenka improved to 7-1 in head-to-head meetings against the German and took her 2016 record to an impressive 21-1.

Next up for the 26-year-old is Kuznetsova in the final, after the Russian held off a strong challenge from Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 7-5 6-3 in searing afternoon heat.

The 15th-seed relied on a never-say-die attitude and a powerful baseline game as she improved her career record to 3-0 against the Swiss, ending the match with a crunching backhand crosscourt winner after nearly two hours on court.

"I am happy that I could hang in there and never let my hands down," Kuznetsova, who won the Miami title in 2006, said courtside.

"I have not been feeling my best but I have been fighting every ball and just trying to run as much as I could.

"I was praying to finish it in two sets so I can have a little bit of time to rest," smiled the Russian, referring to Saturday's final.

Kuznetsova, who pulled off a stunning upset when she ousted world number one Williams in the fourth round, won a tight opening set after ending a brilliant baseline slugfest between the two with an overhead smash.

Though she failed to hold serve in the first game of the second set, the Russian broke her 19th-seeded opponent in the second and fourth games to lead 3-1, then fought back from 15-40 down on serve in the ninth to seal victory. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes and Benjamin Everill in Los Angeles; Editing by John O'Brien)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Nadal warns rule changes needed to sustain interest

MIAMI - Rafael Nadal issued a warning to tennis leaders Friday that the sport faces future troubles if equipment evolution makes speed and power dominant over skill and tactics.

On the eve of his opening match at the ATP and WTA Miami Open, the 14-time Grand Slam singles champion said rule changes are needed to allow for taller and stronger players using modern racquet technology to make quick work of points and matches.

"The sport in general needs to improve in all aspects," Nadal said. "The players today are taller than before. The racquets hit the ball harder than before. Same time, it's true that nothing changed in our sport in terms of rules, how high is the net, everything.

"People get emotional when the points are intense, long. If every time we make that happen less often, it's obvious our sport can be in trouble for the future."

The 29-year-old Spanish left-hander, whose 67 career titles include nine on the red clay at Roland Garros, said tennis must adapt for future generations to enjoy it as much as past ones have.

"Tennis has been tremendously successful for a long time. The sport is healthy. But it's obvious at the same time we need to move, to predict the future," Nadal said.

"I'm not talking for my generation but for the next generation. The people like the drama, the rallies. I don't remember amazing matches that was only one serve and one shot.

"The matches that people remember most are matches that are slow matches with unbelievable points and the applause of the people or the emotions of the people are not only with one serve and one shot."

Star power needed as well

Nadal said it's important for tennis to develop stars and rivalries, such as he has enjoyed with once-dominant Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, whose 11 career Grand Slam titles include four of the past five contested.

"In my opinion, it's not good if win a tournament every week a different player. People arrive at the tournament and nobody knows who are the favorites," Nadal said.

"It's difficult because the people need to support one player, so you need the stars. To create the stars you need players that have been there for a long time.

"At the same time it's good to have a combination of styles, different players that fight for the important things and one or another can win. That has happened the last 10 or 12 years.

"It's obvious now it's better for Novak. For last year and a half, two years, one is dominating. Maybe too much. But he deserves."

Nadal, who has struggled with knee injuries for years, went without a Grand Slam title last year for the first time since 2004 but is not looking toward the end just yet.

"I'm happy doing what I'm doing. I enjoy playing my sport," he said. "It's about love for the game, about passion for what I'm doing and I'm going to be here until I'm unhappy doing what I'm doing."

Nadal would like to do a little better at Miami, where he has lost all four finals he has reached -- in 2005 to Federer, 2008 to Nikolay Davydenko and in 2011 and 2014 to Djokovic.

"I think I played well in my career here. Four finals. Another semi-final. So was a positive tournament for me. Only negative thing is I finally never win it," Nadal said.

js/rcw

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com