Published: 3 April, 2009, 11:44
Edited: 3 April, 2009, 11:44
It was another case of so near yet so far for Svetlana Kuznetsova on Thursday night, as she missed out on the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami after losing in the semis to 11th seed Victoria Azarenka.
The higher-ranked Russian looked set for a bad day as she stumbled out of the blocks, losing the mediocre opening set 6-3.
In the second, Kuznetsova suddenly sprang into life winning it 6-2, and by this point the famous Kuznetsova nerves seemed to have been calmed.
In the deciding set, the Russian’s opponent raised her game. The Belarusian pulled out all the stops to win the decider 7-5 for a victory that meant a lot.
Azarenka will now play Serena Williams in the final after the top seeded American eliminated her sister Venus in the last four.
As expected the match between the siblings was tight with Serena eventually edging it in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Meanwhile, in the men’s game, there was a surprise defeat for Rafael Nadal. World number one Rafa lost to sixth-seed Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarter-finals.
The Argentine went through 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 to reach the final four of the Masters Event for the first time in his career.
Del Potro’s semi-final opponent will be Andy Murray, after the Scot saw off Fernando Verdasco. Murray took revenge for his loss to the Spaniard at the Australian Open, pasting the eighth seed in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
In the other men's semifinal second seed Roger Federer will take on third seed Novak Djokovic. The Swiss was too good for Andy Roddick, while the Serb breezed past Jo Wilfred Tsonga, beating the Frenchman in straight sets.