New chapter in Dinara Safina renaissance

INDIAN WELLS – A jubilant Dinara Safina added another chapter to her on-court renaissance by upsetting fourth-seeded Samantha Stosur 7-6 6-4 in the third round of the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Monday.

The Russian former world number one swept through the first set tiebreaker 7-2 and charged 4-2 up in the second before holding off a late fightback by the Australian.Despite being broken twice herself in the second set and serving up a staggering total of 16 double faults in an error-strewn match, Safina held her nerve to seal victory in just under two hours at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.Stosur, trailing 4-5 and 15-40 down on her own serve, struck an overhead smash long after a protracted rally to give an emotional Safina a place in the fourth round.’I am so excited and so happy,’ the Russian said courtside after thrusting both arms skywards in a mixture of relief and celebration. ‘The emotions are pouring out.’Safina, who has slipped to 108th in the rankings after being troubled by a back injury last year, will next meet compatriot Maria Sharapova, a 6-2 6-2 winner against 20th-seeded Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai.’It’s another tough match, another tough challenge,’ Safina said of her next encounter with the 2006 champion at Indian Wells. ‘I hope it’s going to be another great match.’Sharapova, who needed almost three hours on court to win her first match here against Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues, recovered from losing her opening service game to complete a commanding victory in 73 minutes.Rafael Nadal booked a fourth round spot by steamrolling unseeded Ryan Sweeting, while World number four Robin Soderling became another seeded casualty as he suffered a rare loss this season with his fourth defeat in five career meetings against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (10/8), 6-4.Spaniard Nadal advances to the next round where he will face India’s Somdev Devvarman who beat Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3). Kohlschreiber will play Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina who eased past 20th seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in a third round match.In other men’s matches, Spain’s Tommy Robredo crushed young American Donald Young 6-0, 6-4, hard-serving Ivo Karlovic hammered 11 aces in his 6-3, 6-3 win over Gilles Simon of France and Sam Querrey surprised Spanish ninth seed Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-4 in the night match.On the women’s side, top seed Caroline Wozniacki stepped up her bid to win her first Indian Wells title by snapping a spell of bad luck against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. – Nampa-Reuters

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