Kuznetsova Tops Sharapova, Rios Challenges McEnroe

Federer has advanced to the final in his past 11 tournaments, the longest streak since John McEnroe made 12 consecutive finals in 1984.

"We've played on many occasions, and he's been the in-form player lately," Federer said of Ljubicic, who stomped world No. 3 David Nalbandian in the semifinals, the second straight match in which Ljubicic lost just one point on his first serve. The Croat is unbroken in his last 25 service games.

By reaching the final, Ljubicic will match his career-high No. 5 ranking on Monday, and if he beats Federer, the Croat will move to No. 4, knocking Andy Roddick to No. 5.

Kuznetsova Tops Sharapova for Miami Title

The confidence is back for Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has struggled mentally to come to terms with seeing herself as a top player since her surprising run to the US Open title in 2004.

On Monday Kuznetsova will reappear in the Top 10 on the WTA Rankings after her Saturday win in the championship match at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami. The No. 12 seed utilized her forehand-heavy game to perfection in breaking down No. 4-seeded favorite Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3.

During the week Sharapova was more notable for the debut of her "Nike Speed Corset" outfit, a form-fitting two-piece with a short black skirt and tight corseted top, than her struggling play against non-Top 20-seeded players in Miami.

Kuznetsova on the other hand rode into the final on a confidence-building wave of wins over former No. 1 Martina Hingis, and current world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo.

The crowd warmed more toward Kuznetsova than the "global brand" Sharapova, who drew boos during her semifinal match with Tatiana Golovin when she requested a bathroom break at a critical time in the match, and showed no remorse when her opponent lay crying on the court with torn ligaments in her ankle.

Kuznetsova went up a break early in both sets during a final where the compact tank-like figure of Kuznetsova dominantly roamed the baseline. Sharapova made a brief comeback in the opening set from 2-5 to 4-5, but Kuznetsova ended the comeback with some sterling baseline play and some Sharapova unforced errors on the forehand.

"I don't know what went wrong," an irritated Sharapova said after the match. "What did go wrong?...She probably forced the errors, she made me go for bigger shots."

The loss meant Sharapova failed to join an elite two-person club comprised of Steffi Graf and Kim Clijsters, players who have won the Indian Wells and Miami events back-to-back in the same year.

"Obviously, I felt a little tired but that's normal after playing four straight weeks," Sharapova said. "I mean, I'm not gonna feel great. My body's not gonna feel great. That's absolutely normal. But I just have to give it all I had, and I tried. But, you know, at the end of the day, just come up short. That's all right."

Kuznetsova also became the first Russian player to hold aloft the Miami singles trophy, and says she is excited to be over the hump.

"I was just working with psychologists, I was working on myself, with many doctors, with people," Kuznetsova said. "I was just playing my matches, and I see if I play the right game I can make it. I'm just very excited about that. I hope to improve every match in more tournaments."

Bjorkman-Beast Beat Bryans for Miami Title

No. 2 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi successfully defended their Miami title Saturday at the NASDAQ-100 Open, defeating the top-seeded Bryan brothers 6-4, 6-4 for their second title of the year.

The loss dropped the Bryans to 3-7 career in Masters Series finals. Bjorkman-Mirnyi are the first team to defend their title in Miami since Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde won three consecutive titles from 1995-97.

The Bryans looked like they would take the match to a decisive match tiebreak after going up a break in the second, but the Swedish/Belarussian tandem broke back to take the match in straights.

The Bryans were appearing in their third consecutive ATP Masters Series title match after Paris and Indian Wells.

"We could have been 5-1 (career vs. Bjorkman-Mirnyi) if we would have won a couple of those 3-all points," Mike Bryan said. "They played more clutch today. You know, we had chances. It's not like we got blown out, you know. We broke twice and had maybe five other breakpoints."

Rios Wins Doha, Calls Out McEnroe

Marcelo Rios added a dash of spice to the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions senior tour this week, on Saturday mowing down Cedric Pioline 6-2, 6-2 to claim his first senior title in his first event, then "calling out" senior tour stand-out John McEnroe.

"I'm looking forward to playing McEnroe," Rios said after collecting his first senior trophy. "That's one of my goals. He has been talking a lot so I'm waiting for him to come to play me."

The Chilean did not drop a set in Doha, with his remarkably-easy run sending a message to his fellow senior players.

"It's a great feeling to come to your first tournament and to play the way I played," Rios said. "I think I played better in every match and today I served really good and hit the ball really well. It was worth the month of preparation I had to go through to play this well."

Pioline was likewise impressed.

"He just kind of killed me today, playing very good," Pioline said. "He had the response to everything I tried. He was playing too good for me today."

Richard Krajicek defeated Thomas Muster 6-3, 6-4 to finish third in the event.

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