Safina, Ivanovic get demolished; Sharapova succeeds in winning on Day 4 in L.A

There were some upsetting results on Day 4 in L.A, as well as some impressive results, as top seed Dinara Safina was stunned by her Chinese opponent in three sets at night, while Maria Sharapova again came back from losing the first set to win the match.

Safina's run was ended by No. 14 seed Jie Zheng, as Zheng lead the match at 75 31. But then, the Russian didn't give up, and ended up winning the second set. In the third set, Safina managed to take a 4-2 lead, but that wasn't enough for her, as Zheng breezed through to win the set and the match, losing only two points on the way. The final score was 75 46 64.

"It's amazing for me, because I lost to her all four times we had played," Zheng said. "I just tried my best. You could tell I was 110% on every point. I tried to be aggressive. I tried to attack her forehand and get her moving. Before the start of the match I knew it would be tough, and I'm so happy I won."

"I don't know what happened in the first set, but I started to play much better in the second set. In the third set, I just didn't use my opportunities," Safina said. "It's disappointing for me, but she's a good player. It's tough to play her. She took her chances and beat me. In this match, I didn't do the right things."

No. 6 seed Ana Ivanovic also didn't make it to the quarterfinals, losing to Samantha Stosur, 63 62.

Sharapova trailed past Alona Bondarenko to get to the quarterfinals of the event, with a score of 46 60 63.

"It was good to get revenge," said Sharapova, who had lost to Bondarenko in the first event of her 2009 comeback, at Warsaw in May. "It's tough playing players that play the majority of the season. My last two opponents have been some of the most physically fit girls on the Tour. It gives me confidence I can step it up when I need to, especially after losing to her a few months ago."

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Singles - Third Round

(14) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (1) Dinara Safina (RUS) 75 46 64

(2) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 76(5) 46 64

(10) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. (5) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 63 63

(13) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (6) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 63 62

(8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 63 62

Urszula Radwanska (POL) d. (12) Li Na (CHN) w/o (right knee injury)

Sorana Cirstea (ROU) d. (17) Sabine Lisicki (GER) 63 10 ret. (shoulder injury)

Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 46 60 63