Sony Ericsson Open - Quarterfinal (Wednesday)

Quarterfinal
[1] Serena Williams (USA) vs Na Li (CHN)
Head-to-Head 1-1

Stadium Court / Not before 1:00pm

Serena defeats Zheng; Advances to Quarterfinal

Serena Williams has defeated Jie Zheng, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, in 4th Round action at the Sony Ericsson Open. A win is a win but my goodness, Serena gave me a fourth round scare. Twice she lost five games in a row. And as if she needed to (yet again) show what champions are made, after falling behind 0-2, 15-40 serving in the third set, she rallied to take the lead and then swept the final eight points.

Talk about winning ugly, Serena won despite being broken six times and committing 43 unforced errors. No one FIGHTS like Serena Williams! She is the ULTIMATE CLUTCH / PRESSURE PLAYER! Serena's got much game! She advances to the quarterfinals. Congratulations on your hard-fought victory.

Serena spends 70th week at #1

(As of March 30, 2009)

Women's Singles Rankings: # 1 (9432 points)
WTA Points Race: # 1 (2750)
WTA Money Leaders: # 1 ($1,666,697)

* This is Serena's 70th (non-consecutive) week at #1 *

Sony Ericsson Open - 4th Round (Monday)

4th Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA) vs [17] Jie Zheng (CHN)

Serena leads Head-to-Head 3-0
Stadium Court / Not before 4:30pm

Serena sweats but advances to 4th Round

The impression that you may get from this image is that Serena is trying to calm down or gain her composure. Well that is exactly what she HAD to do in the highly contested first set of her 3rd round match. Shuai Peng was leading 3-1 in the 1st set before Serena could get a handle on the situation. One problem was the unusually high number of double faults, 6 to be exact, coupled with a string of errors. Serena was great with her break point conversion (86%). Serena found her groove in the second set and when it was all said and done, Serena struck back and won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2. Serena advances to the 4th Round where she will meet her 2nd Chinese opponent, 17th seeded Jie Zheng.

Sony Ericsson Open: 3rd Round (Sunday)

3rd Round
[1] Serena Williams (USA) vs [32] Shuai Peng (CHN)
Serena leads Head-to-Head 1-0

Stadium Court / Not before 7:00pm
Fox Sports Channel (FSC) 4pm - 8pm (Delayed)

Serena wins opener at Key Biscayne

Serena has taken the first step (in the right direction) towards grabbing the Miami title for a record 6th time. Earlier today, Serena defeated fellow American, Alexa Glatch, 6-2, 6-3. For the match, Serena served at 64% and scored one ace. Serena is even rocking a rather eye-catching orange two piece ensemble. She won 67% of her first serves and 60% of her second serves. Serena's 3rd round opponent will be Shuai Peng, whom she defeated at this year's Australian Open. I'm excited for Serena. She appears to be very committed to tennis and her fitness. With that being said, who'd be foolish enough to bet against her?

Sony Ericsson Open: 2nd Round (Saturday)

2nd Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA) vs [WC] Alexa Glatch (USA)

Head-to-Head 0-0
2nd Match of the day on Stadium Court

Not Before 1:00pm on Fox Sports Net (FSN)

Fox Sports Channel (FSC) at 12am (Sunday) / (Delayed)

Serena wins WTA Player of the Year Award

Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Serena Williams has been voted the 2008 WTA Tour Player of the Year. This is the second time Williams has been chosen by her peers as winner. She also captured the award in 2002 and last year reclaimed the throne as the No. 1 ranked player in the world. "Winning the Player of the Year award for the second time in my career is a great personal achievement," she said. "Last year was a very special year on the Tour for me, winning an Olympic Gold medal with Venus, the U.S. Open title and becoming the World No. 1 player again. I feel great about my game and hope to win many more Player of the Year titles in the years to come." Serena has won every major title during her career. Last year she won the U.S. Open crown, reached the title match at Wimbledon, won the Wimbledon Doubles crown (w/ Venus) and won three other championships.

Serena welcomes Kim's return

LONDON (Reuters) - Former world number one Kim Clijsters's return to the WTA Tour later this year will be great for women's tennis, according to Serena Williams. The 25-year-old Belgian retired from the sport two years ago to get married and have a baby but has opted to make her comeback at the Cincinnati Open in August.

"It will be great for the game to have such a great sportswoman back," world number one Williams told Reuters. "She is so nice, it will be good to have her around. She was so fit and she is young so I don't think she will have problems."

Clijsters, the 2005 U.S. Open champion, walked away from tennis while ranked fourth in the world after being plagued by a number of injuries during the latter stages of her career. During her absence the WTA has addressed some of the issues that pushed her into early retirement, including shortening the season and reducing the number of tournaments that top players have to compete in. The changes should help Clijsters to combine her tennis commitments with those of being a mother to 13-month-old Jada.

Serena attends Miami Player Party

Serena arrives on the red carpet of the Sony Ericsson Open players party at the Fountainbleu Hotel in club LIV in Miami, Florida.

Serena on practicing...

Serena Williams said she often let her talent carry her. She admits she was not much for practicing, but all of that has changed in the past two years. And Venus said watching her sister work harder in practice has made her even more competitive.

"I definitely started practicing a little more the past few years," Serena Williams said. "I think that's a level of maturity, realizing that this is my job and I can be even better at it if I practice a little more."

Serena's "Signature Statement" (Video)

Serena speaks to media in Key Biscayne (Photo)

What does SERENA say about Indian Wells?

"I don't play Indian Wells, I haven't played it for forever and I will never play it again. After that bad experience there is no need for me to go back, I've been there and I left in glory."

Serena set to serve fashion on HSN

Serena's collection of accessories and clothing called Signature Statement will debut on HSN on April 30th. “I always want to make a statement, both on and off the court,” Williams said. “One of my dreams has always been to share gorgeous gifts of fashion and luxury with the world. Off the court, my passion is fashion. Signature Statement is my own line of accessories and fashion, complete from jewelry to dresses.”The collection will retail from $29.95 to $100 and includes a fashion-forward range of jewelry, handbags and knits. Williams described the accessories as “feminine, classic, statement pieces.”

Williams joins the ranks of Iman and Paula Abdul, who have developed accessories lines with the $3 billion HSN, which, like its competitor, QVC, is focused on supplying viewers with fresh talent and bold-faced names. “The world has always known Serena to be number one on the tennis court, and now they’ll rediscover her as a fashion icon because she brings the same dedication and expertise to her collection as she does to the court,” said Joy Mangano, HSN president of Ingenious Designs, a wholly owned subsidiary that operates the firm’s celebrity division.

Williams and HSN said they would be open to continuing the partnership in years to come. “HSN is all about building brands for the long term, and that is certainly how we view Serena and her new Signature Statement collection,” said Mindy Grossman, HSN’s chief executive officer. “Her passion for fashion design is boundless and we look forward to her expanding the line with new offerings each visit.”

Sony Ericsson Open TV Schedule

March 28 / Saturday / 1pm - 5pm (LIVE)
March 29 / Sunday / 1pm - 5pm (LIVE)
March 30 / Monday / 1pm - 5pm (LIVE)
March 31 / Tuesday / 1pm - 5pm (LIVE)
April 1 / Wednesday / 1pm - 5pm (LIVE)
7pm - 10pm (LIVE)
April 2 / Thursday / 1pm - 5pm (LIVE)
9pm - 11pm (LIVE)
April 3 / Friday / 1pm - 3pm (LIVE)
7pm - 9pm (LIVE)

**************************************************

April 4 / Saturday / 12:30pm - 3pm (LIVE)
April 5 / Sunday / 1pm – 3pm (LIVE)

Serena: (Current) WTA #1

(As of March 23, 2009)

Women's Singles Rankings: # 1 (9432 points)
WTA Points Race: # 1 (2750)
WTA Money Leaders: # 1 ($1,666,697)

Miami - The Sony Ericsson Open (Draw info)

Who will Serena face in her quest to become the Ultimate Queen of Miami ? The Women's Draw for the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open will be revealed on Monday, March 23rd at 2:00pm EST. Serena is the current two-time defending Champion (and has tied Steffi Graff's record of winning the tournament 5 times). Williams collected the Miami title in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008.