Safin Ousted, Tennis Channel Signs Comcast Aboard

"She was really stepping into the court and she was the one who was always dominating all the time," Clijsters said. "She didn't really miss. I think today I just had to make sure that I mixed my game up a little bit, not hit with her all the time, just mix it up, hit a few slices, a few dropshots. I think I did that pretty well today."

Also into the quarters were (7) Nathalie Dechy (d. (WC) Kirkland), (20) Mary Pierce with the upset (d. (6) Petrova, dropping four games), and (23) Conchita Martinez (d. (Q) Kirilenko).

Scheduled for Wednesday in IW are (5) Kuznetsova vs. (4) Dementieva in an all-Russian, and (23) Martinez vs. Clijsters.

Federer, Hewitt, Moya Win, Safin Confidence Dented at ATP Indian Wells

While the other top seeds rolled Tuesday against unseeded players at Indian Wells, Australian Open winner Marat Safin found himself on the losing end against hot-handed No. 30 seed Taylor Dent, ousted in a shocker by the American 7-5, 6-4. 

"Just the worst match I ever played probably in my career," said Safin, who double faulted on match point. "I didn't feel so bad on the court ever in my life. No matter what I would do, it just would not go my way. It's a terrible feeling."

Dent, with a reputation for getting injured while toweling off between points, says he is looking to put his injury-ridden days behind him for a move into the rankings elite.

"I've learned how to compete a little bit better, learned how to hold myself together," Dent said. "My aspirations are to climb the rankings and compete for some of the biggest tournaments in the world."

Other seeded winners Tuesday were (1) Roger Federer (d. Muller), (2) Lleyton Hewitt (d. Llodra), (7) Carlos Moya (d. Spanish countryman Ferrer), (13) Ivan Ljubicic (d. Berdych), and (14) Guillermo Canas (d. Argentine countryman (22) Chela in three).

Two un-seeds also advanced into the fourth round in Frenchmen Fabrice Santoro (d. (24) Lopez) and Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. Hernych 7-6 in the third).

On Wednesday's IW schedule are (10) Nalbandian vs. (29) Kiefer, (17) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. (3) Roddick (Gonzo won their meeting last year at the Athens Olympics), (5) Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria vs. (9) Agassi, (1) Federer vs. (13) Ljubicic in their fourth meeting of the year, (12) Robredo vs. (6) Henman, (7) Moya vs. Fabrice "The Original Wizard" Santoro, Mathieu vs. (2) Hewitt, and (30) Dent vs. (14) Canas.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Instead of the Serena Plan of coming back from injury and playing five tournaments in a row, Kim Clijsters says she will be taking it easy in her return from wrist surgery: "I'm not really thinking about, you know, planning like four or five tournaments in a row. I know that that's going to be tough. Especially in the first few months coming up, you know, I'm playing here, then in Miami, then I'm going home to prepare for the claycourt season because I think that's, you know, probably the surface where my wrist is going to be under a lot of pressure. And I want to take my time to prepare it and take it easy and not just -- like work my way into and play a few tournaments, than rush my way into trying to play a lot of spin, just putting too much stress on that wrist. I don't want to go through that, so I'm going to take my time to sort of progress eventually, I think."...The Tennis Channel put out a release saying it has finally signed the contract with Comcast, but gives no dates: "The Tennis Channel, a cable television network devoted to tennis and other racquet sports, has signed a multi-year affiliation agreement with Comcast Cable, the leading cable operator in the United States. The arrangement provides for carriage opportunities for the traditional, linear network, as well as video on demand (VOD) content. "We're excited to have the opportunity to work with Comcast to bring The Tennis Channel's programming to more customers," said David Meister, CEO and chairman, The Tennis Channel. "It's great to be offering viewers Tennis Channel video-on-demand content, taking fullest advantage of rapidly evolving distribution technology."...Serena Williams says she does not understand her problem with injuries of late and may skip the WTA Toronto event: "I don't understand what it is. I just think it's so weird, every time something happens. Last year I pulled out of Canada and the Olympics so it wasn't like I was just pulling out. I felt so bad. I don't think I'm entered in that tournament because I've had back luck around that time of the year and I refuse to put my fans through that again. If I do play it will be a last-minute thing. I would love to play and I would enjoy it but I don't want to (withdraw) and have my fans disappointed that I'm not able to come...I would love to go there because I do well. Maybe it will be this year. I'll just show up and start winning." Meanwhile, Serena's fan wait worriedly on the edge of their collective seat...Serena on skipping Indian Wells since being booed by the crowd in 2001: "I've never felt like that before in my career, and I hope never to feel like that again. It would be really hard for me to walk back on that court and be out there. I am not upset about it. I am not bitter. I hope everyone the best there. If anyone could be in my shoes, to be 19 years old and have a whole crowd jeer -- I can't explain that feeling. That was one place where apparently a lot of people didn't want to see me play."