Tennis: Serena and Sharapova reach Miami quarters

Williams, bidding for a record sixth Key Biscayne title, avenged a loss to Stosur when they last met in the US Open final in September.

Seeded tenth, Williams is playing in her first tournament since January after being sidelined by a left ankle injury and is seeking her first tournament championship since August. She hit 20 aces and lost only six points on her first serve, but she had to rally after being broken in the first game of each set against the No 6 seed Stosur.

Williams started slowly, failing to convert her first seven break-point chances, but once she pulled even, her serve repeatedly got her out of trouble.

She hit three aces during a marathon game to hold for 3-2 in the second set. After falling behind love-40 in the final game, she smacked her last two aces and then a tricky second serve that kicked six feet high to handcuff Stosur and give Williams the final point.

“I’m really trying so hard,” she told the crowd. “My mom gave me the ultimate pep talk last night, so thanks, Mom.”

Also reaching the quarter-finals yesterday was No 2 seed Maria Sharapova, who overcame 11 double-faults to beat Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 7-6 (3). Sharapova won despite committing 52 unforced errors and losing her serve four times. She seeks her first Key Biscayne title after losing in the final three times.

Sharapova, who could face Serena in the semi-finals and Venus Williams in the final, said the return of the sisters is good for the women’s tour.

“They’ve obviously achieved so much in tennis around the world and contribute so much to the sport,” Sharapova said. “To have these two great athletes playing in your sport, it’s always really good to see, not just for the fans, but for the game of tennis around the world.”

Venus, playing in her first tournament since withdrawing from the US Open last August after being diagnosed with a fatigue-causing autoimmune disease, was due to face Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round late last night.

“Venus has been so motivating, doing so well,” Serena said.

On the men’s side, meanwhile, No 8 seed Mardy Fish assured he’ll remain the top-ranked American by beating Kevin Anderson in the third round, 6-4, 6-3.

Earlier, Rafael Nadal was a convincing third-round winner as he raced past Czech player Radek Stepanek.

The Spanish second seed was hardly troubled as he won 6-2 6-2 to set up a last-16 tussle with Japan’s 16th seed Kei Nishikori, who came through 6-4 6-2 against Czech Lukas Rosol.

It was a particularly poor day for the Czech players. Seventh seed Tomas Berdych was another casualty among their number as he lost 6-3 2-6 6-4 to rising Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov.

Ninth seed Janko Tipsarevic is next for Dimitrov, after edging past Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4 5-7 6-2.

Gilles Simon, the 13th seed, defeated Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 and is expected on court against Andy Murray at some point today. World No 4 Murray had already moved into the fourth round without hitting a ball after scheduled opponent Milos Raonic pulled out with an ankle injury.