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Top American Mardy Fish and teenager Ryan Harrison will meet in the semifinals of Los Angeles, one week after their final four clash in Atlanta, which Fish won 6-2, 6-4. 

”I think he was a little nervous,” Fish told reporters. “He was in a position he’d never been in. Guys either play above what they usually do or way below what they usually do. I think it’s safe to say Ryan was happy with the position he put himself in last week and that he could have and wanted to play better.”

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After falling to Serena Williams 6-1 6-3 in the Stanford quarterfinals, Maria Sharapova says that despite she and her foes accomplishments and high-profile names, that a real rivalry does not exist between the two.

“I think I’ll need to win a couple of more matches before it becomes a true rivalry,” said the fifth-ranked Sharapova, who is now 2-7 against Serena and who hasn’t beaten her since 2004. “It’s not really a rivalry until I win few more matches. She’s experienced enough to know that even if it’s a small or big event you have to go out there and do our job and still go out there and win it.”

Sharapova bested Williams twice in 2004, at Wimbledon and at the WTA Championships, but has now lost to her on six straight occasions and admittedly was sluggish in match that Serena had said she was itching to win. Sharapova came in the contest having won 17 of her last 19 matches, but at times looked mentally overwhelmed. She was remarkably unable to hold serve until the sixth game of the second set and ended the match with seven double faults.

“She goes for [returns] on first and second serves and that’s one of her strengths,” Sharapova said.  “She’s so powerful, she can stay really low and can rip it even if even it’s a good solid first serve… What really makes her dangerous is her ability to hit serves 120 and do that consistently. Of course she’s dangerous.”

Serena was only playing the ninth match of her comeback but looked razor sharp.

“I’m better than I was month ago and I’ve put in a lot of work and I’m hoping it pays off because this is where I want to be,” said Serena, who will face Sabine Lisicki in the semifinals.  “[The win] tells me I can compete in top the top 5. But I’m still climbing. It’s not a Grand Slam but it’s a great win for the hard court season and it is a big tournament.”


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After falling to Serena Williams 6-1 6-3 in the Stanford quarterfinals, Maria Sharapova says that despite she and her foes accomplishments and high-profile names, that a real rivalry does not exist between the two.

“I think I’ll need to win a couple of more matches before it becomes a true rivalry,” said the fifth-ranked Sharapova, who is now 2-7 against Serena and who hasn’t beaten her since 2004. “It’s not really a rivalry until I win few more matches. She’s experienced enough to know that even if it’s a small or big event you have to go out there and do our job and still go out there and win it.”

Sharapova bested Williams twice in 2004, at Wimbledon and at the WTA Championships, but has now lost to her on six straight occasions and admittedly was sluggish in match that Serena had said she was itching to win. Sharapova came in the contest having won 17 of her last 19 matches, but at times looked mentally overwhelmed. She was remarkably unable to hold serve until the sixth game of the second set and ended the match with seven double faults.

“She goes for [returns] on first and second serves and that’s one of her strengths,” Sharapova said.  “She’s so powerful, she can stay really low and can rip it even if even it’s a good solid first serve… What really makes her dangerous is her ability to hit serves 120 and do that consistently. Of course she’s dangerous.”

Serena was only playing the ninth match of her comeback but looked razor sharp.

“I’m better than I was month ago and I’ve put in a lot of work and I’m hoping it pays off because this is where I want to be,” said Serena, who will face Sabine Lisicki in the semifinals.  “[The win] tells me I can compete in top the top 5. But I’m still climbing. It’s not a Grand Slam but it’s a great win for the hard court season and it is a big tournament.”


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STANFORD, California (AP)—Serena Williams stumbled once, unable to plant her right foot. It was one of the few times she looked vulnerable Friday night.

The unseeded Williams put on a clinic with precision serving and a sharp ground game to get the better of second-seeded Maria Sharapova, 6-1, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.

Playing in just her third tournament since winning Wimbledon last year, and her first on American soil since the 2009 U.S. Open, Williams looked as good as she did when she topped the rankings.

The fifth-ranked Sharapova had eight unforced errors before she hit her first winner and the slow start cost her in the battle of former No. 1s.

Williams, currently ranked No. 169, beat Sharapova for the sixth straight time and improved to 7-2 overall against her.

Sharapova last beat Williams at the 2004 WTA championships.

Germany’s Sabine Lisicki knocked off her second straight seeded opponent, beating fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-2. She will meet Williams in the semifinals.

Lisicki was a semifinalist at Wimbledon and has improved her ranking to 26th after being No. 218 in March.

“I’m looking forward to the match,” Lisicki said. “I love competing in the big matches. I have nothing to lose.”

Sharapova beat Lisicki in the semis at Wimbledon.

“Coming from grass to hardcourt is always a challenge,” Lisicki said. “It comes down to who plays the best that given day.”

Last year, Lisicki missed five months with a left ankle injury. She says she has more endurance now than before her injury.

“I’m much better than I was before the injury,” she said. “I’ve had to focus on so many aspects of my game. Last year I couldn’t even walk. Now I feel I can rely on my serve when I need it at crucial moments.”

Lisicki recorded 14 aces to Radwanska’s seven.

The 14th-ranked Radwanska was a semifinalist at Stanford last year. She’s still looking for her first tour title since 2008.

Third-seeded Marion Bartoli of France advanced when Japan’s Ayumi Morita retired after dropping the first set 6-1. Bartoli will meet eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, who beat qualifier Marina Erakovic 6-1, 6-1.

The 20th-ranked Cibulkova, looking for her first tour title, reached her second semifinal of the year.

“I was pretty solid the whole match,” Cibulkova said. “I hope to keep playing at this level.”

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LOS ANGELES (AP)—Mardy Fish moved a step closer to his second straight title, beating No. 8 seed Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semifinals at the Farmers Classic.

The top seed’s next opponent will be 19-year-old Ryan Harrison, who outlasted Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours, 24 minutes.

Harrison became the first American teenager to reach back-to-back semifinals since Andy Roddick in 2002. Fish beat Harrison in the semifinals at Atlanta last week on the way to his first title of the season.

“Winning two tournaments in a row is not easy. Not everyone does that,” Fish said. “That would be special. But it’s a long ways away.”

First, Fish must get past the up-and-coming Harrison, who has been anointed by some as the next American star.

Harrison is building a reputation as a player known for his ability to battle back from early deficits. He managed to do that against Lu with a comeback that has him within a win of his first career singles final.

“Mardy has been playing fantastic,” Harrison said. “I learned some things from that match and would love another shot to play him.”

A strong stretch of play has firmly entrenched Fish into the world’s No. 9 ranking. Prior to the win in Atlanta, the 29-year-old reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, losing to eventual runner-up Rafael Nadal.

Fish and Kunitsyn got their match started in unorthodox fashion, opening with five straight services breaks. Fish was disappointed with his sloppy play but responded in a strong manner.

Although he has been successful at this event, Fish has fallen short in past bids to reach the finals. He is looking forward to his rematch with Harrison, whom he says has a bright future ahead of him.

“I feel like I’m at an advantage because I’m better than him right now,” Fish said. “He has a lot of years left to kick my butt.”

Alex Bogomolov Jr. defeated fourth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 and will play the winner of Friday’s late match between second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina and Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.


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STANFORD, California (AP)—Germany’s Sabine Lisicki knocked off her second straight seeded opponent at the Bank of the West Classic on Friday, beating fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

Lisicki will meet the winner of the late match between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. Lisicki was a semifinalist at Wimbledon and has improved her ranking to 26th after being No. 218 in March.

The 14th-ranked Radwanska was a semifinalist at Stanford last year. She’s still looking for her first tour title since 2008.

Third-seeded Marion Bartoli of France advanced when Japan’s Ayumi Morita retired after dropping the first set 6-1.

Bartoli will meet eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, who beat qualifier Marina Erakovic 6-1, 6-1.

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It was billed as the blockbuster battle of the WTA’s top stars, but Serena Williams brought buzz-kill brilliance to the blue court tonight in transforming a highly-anticipated rematch into a mismatch.

A highly-focused Williams schooled second-seeded Maria Sharapova, 6-1, 6-3, to storm into the Bank of the West Tennis Classic semifinals. It was Serena’s sixth straight win over Sharapova as she seized a 7-2 edge in their head-to-head series with her last loss coming nearly seven years ago.

This was an authoritative annihilation that spanned 69 minutes and looked like a lesson at times in a lopsided first set in which Williams repeatedly ravaged the Sharapova serve. Boldly stepping inside the baseline to pounce on any soft serve, Williams’ aggressive court positioning provoked a skittish Sharapova into committing five of her seven double faults in the opening set. Williams won 16 of 22 points played on the Wimbledon runner-up’s serve and broke four times in bursting out to a 5-0 lead.

“I think I started out fast and that really helped me. I gotta get rid of that slow-start nonsense so that was really good,” Williams told ESPN afterward.

Williams is trying to sculpt her body into peak playing shape with the help of trainer Mackie Shilstone, who has worked with boxers Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins, and she’s fine-tuning her game focusing on serve and return drills in pre-match practices.

“I had to do something different, like actually warm up,” Williams joked of her new commitment to fitness.  “I was really disappointed at Wimbledon…it’s time to get serious not only at the Slams but at every other tournament as well.”

Tonight, the difference between the Sharapova and Williams serves was, to borrow the Mark Twain phrase, as glaring as the difference between lightning bug and lightning. Williams hit six aces and surrendered serve once, Sharapova dumped seven double faults and dropped serve five times.

This match up reminds me a bit of Serena vs. Lindsay Davenport in that Sharapova, like Davenport, is a ferocious flat hitter who is at her best playing unrelenting offense. Sharapova is skilled at opening the court with down the line drives, the competitive quandary she faces with Serena is that Williams has such a faster first step, is more skilled at hitting short-angle shots and is so much more accurate and explosive hitting on the run that even when Sharapova opens the court she sometimes sets herself up for misery in creating angles Williams exploits.

The three-time Grand Slam champion took the court riding a 17-2 record over her last 19 matches. Reality struck Sharapova three games into the match when Williams whipped a forehand return winner crosscourt for break point then unloaded another forehand to break for 3-0.

Sharapova has tried to strengthen her serve this season, but her second serve offers little margin for error and frequently flirts with the top of the tape under pressure. The service box looked as large as a mailbox as Sharapova opened the seventh game with successive double faults and drove a double fault deep to drop the opening set.

Williams broke at love to take a 2-0 second-set lead. Sharapova began to strike her backhand with more authority, but Williams punished the Russian’s forehand on pivotal points, denying a pair of break points in earning an eight-minute hold for 3-0.

Next up for Williams is Wimbledon semifinalist Sabine Lisicki, one of the few women in the world who can match Serena’s first-serve speed, though Lisicki’s second serve is not nearly as imposing as Williams’ second delivery.

She’s listed at No. 169 in the rankings, but if Serena can stay fit and focused and consistently produce this level of tennis over the next four weeks she will arrive in New York as the one to beat in her U.S. Open return.

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by Jackie Roe, TW Social Director

How’s it going, TWibe? Funny story from last night . . . I’m lounging at home and I get this message from one of my co-workers (who knows nothing about tennis): “OMG, watching True Hollywood Story on Anna Kournikova. Your man Pete is on it!” I’m not sure which part of the story I like best—that Pete’s ubiquitous!, that my co-worker recognized him from the tiny headshot here on the blog (which she only frequents to check out my posts), or that he’s apparently “my man.”

So, remember how last week I was so gung-ho about heading to Cincinnati? Now a number of conflicts have cropped up and I’m torn between staying or going. Anyone want to flip a coin for me and help me decide?

On to more important matters, like our All About Me TWiber profiles. Another great one this week, and it comes with a photo, too! (My queue is emptying quickly, so I’m putting out a call for more volunteers to take the quiz! E-mail me here if you’re interested.)

Who am I?

Zodiac sign: Sagittarius

Hair color: Blond

Crushes: As a teenager and young adult, I was crazy about Steve McQueen, Bjorn Borg and Paul Newman

Favorite films: Dr. Zhivago, Shawshank Redemption, Jaws, The Godfather, Silence of the Lambs, Blood Diamond, Ordinary People, Best in Show, Tootsie

Favorite book: Shogun, The Thorn Birds, Seabiscuit

Currently reading: Water for Elephants, Unbroken

Favorite TV shows (current & reruns): The Office, Seinfeld, Survivor, 24

Favorite musicians: The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Paul Simon, Allison Kraus & Union Station, The Eagles, Andrea Bocelli, Ray Charles

Favorite food: Italian

Pets: I have a beautiful, thoroughly entertaining and dysfunctional peach-faced lovebird.

Favorite sport: Duh!

Favorite vacation spot: North Shore Lake Tahoe

Best feeling in the world: Feeling safe enough to trust

Worst feeling in the world: Paranoid anxiety

Love at first sight: Oh, yeah!

Where do you want to live?: Big Sur

Worst fears: Ebola virus, nerve gas, killer bees

Do you believe in heaven and hell?: I choose to believe that I will meet my loved ones in some kind of afterlife. I do not believe in Hell.

Do you believe in aliens?: Sure

Most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done: At a fancy New Years Eve party in 1979, I held up my glass and proposed this drunken toast: “Here’s to the ‘eff-ing’ seventies!” Then I proceeded to fall on my face.

What do you do that makes your friends mad?: I have a sarcastic sense of humor which sometimes crosses the line.

Bad habits: Pistachio nuts and Starbuck’s Caramel Frappuccinos

Hard liquor or beer?: Neither. I had to quit due to bad karaoke singing.

Love or lust?: Both, but love endures.

Favorite love song: “Unchained Melody” –Righteous Brothers, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”—Roberta Flack

Favorite break-up song: “Sixty Ways to Leave Your Lover”—Paul Simon

Favorite kinds of clothes: Winter jammies

Have you ever cried in public?: Yes (in Hallmark stores)

What do you hate: Cruel, small-minded people

What makes you angry: Rudeness

Who would you want to meet?: Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Helen Keller, Teddy Roosevelt

Most memorable experiences: Concerts: (1) The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, L.A., 1965; (2) Neil Diamond, Greek Theatre, L.A., 1972; (3) Elton John at Dodger Stadium, L.A., 1975

Most prized possession: My imagination

Something you want to do before you die: Attend an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

Personal quote: “The secret to having everything is believing you already have it.”          

If you could change one thing that happened in your life, what would it be?: I would have worn sunscreen and learned to speak another language fluently.

First time posting on TW: Late 2005 or early 2006

Favorite TW poster: ptenisnet (I miss him.) [JR: Don’t we all!]

Favorite TW moment: (1) Holiday Party 2008; (2) being here for the creation of the word “Wilanders”; (3) Pete’s genuine expression of delight when my 2007 Hamburg Masters poem was posted on the ESPN main page.

Most defining tennis watching moment: 2008 Wimbledon final (Nadal/Federer); 2009 Australian Open semifinal (Nadal/Verdasco)

Guess away, guys!

Feel free to call tonight’s matches here . . . we’ve got some fun ones on the docket. Enjoy, and have a wonderful weekend.

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