ATP Farmers Classic:

[1] [WC] A Murray (GBR) d A Falla (COL) 76(3) 61
[2] S Querrey (USA) d R Schuettler (GER) 62 36 76(4)
[6] J Tipsarevic (SRB) d [3] M Baghdatis (CYP) 63 75
[4] F Lopez (ESP) d [WC] J Blake (USA) 36 76(6) 64

Friday saw the the completion of all quarterfinal matches in Los Angeles as seeded players all advanced to the semifinals. The only upset on paper was Tipsarevic taking out Baghdatis in straight sets. This was not a massive surprise however, as Baghdatis has largely struggled since the French Open. Top seed Andy Murray won through in two sets against Alejandro Falla, but he was far from impressive and clearly struggling with a knee injury. Falla himself had a load of chances, but some really erratic and nervy play on the big points really cost him.

The remaining quarterfinals were much more hard fought as both Feliciano Lopez and and Sam Querrey dug in deep to see off James Blake and Rainer Schuettler respectively. Querrey’s serve really deserted him against Schuettler but he dug in deep and reeled of a couple of stunning clutch forehands to take the third set tiebreak.

WTA Bank Of The West Classic:

(1) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (7) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 75 36 63
(5) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (2) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 64 26 63
(3) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 75 60
(8/WC) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (4) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 36 63 63

Stanford was just as fascinating as Los Angeles as 7/8 of the quarterfinalists were top 20 players. The exception was Maria Kirilenko. Picked by Foot Fault to defeat Radwanska, she showed exactly why she isn’t a top 20 player as, after looking impressive at the beginning, she put in an error-strewn performance as Radwanska stayed steady to win the match 7-5 6-0. As always, Radwanska’s shot selection was on point and as Kirilenko fell apart in the second set, she kept her nerve and stayed consistent to move on to the semis. If Kirilenko really wants to make that push back into the top 20 and stay there, she is going to have to get herself off the baseline and volley much more frequently, because her volleys are by far the best part of her game.

The rest of the matches were all decided in three sets. On the day before her 21st birthday, Victoria Azarenka dug in deep to come back from 3-6 1-3 down and see off defending champ Marion Bartoli. Bartoli came out looking mightily impressive but Azarenka stuck in the match and as soon as she had a chance to even the second set, she took it and there was a dramatic momentum shift. The Belarussian really showed why she has the 6th best hardcourt record on tour as she worked Marion off the court with spectacular backhands and really looked to step forward and take whatever she could out of the air. An impressive victory.

In what was widely considered the marquee match, Maria Sharapova defeated Elena Dementieva in three sets. It was scrappy and error strewn of course, but  at the same time it was absorbing and interesting as the thrilling ‘big babe’ rallies raged and the two Russians went pace for pace and blow for blow. The only difference between the two was the way Sharapova played the big points and the 23 year old clinched the match fter 2 hours and 47 minutes on court.