Watson on Road to Recovery

Heather Watson is set for a return to action next week after a two month lay-off with a shoulder injury.

The British number three will compete in this weeks Cagnes-Sur-Mer 100k Tournament held in France as she seeks to get some competitive action under her belt before qualification for this month's French Open. In France she will be joined by British number two Johanna Konta.

Watson will be seeking to win her second title of the year after a marvelous victory in the Dow Corning Classic in Midland. She also won the doubles title in Midland to cap off a successful week.

The Guernsey-born star's last competitive fixture was a first round loss to Virginie Razzano 6-4 6-0 at the Sony Open in Miami. Despite the last two months on the sidelines she still sits well inside the top 100 in the Road to Singapore rankings.

With the Wimbledon rankings deadline fast approaching, she will be hoping for a successful week in order to get inside the top 110 and guarantee a spot in the main draw after a lengthy lay-off last year with glandular fever meant she tumbled out of the top 100 and currently sits 122nd.

Williams Beats Li For Miami Title

Serena Williams retained her Sony Open title with a 7-5 6-1 victory over world number two Li Na.

Williams recovered from a double break in the first set at 5-2 to win eleven of the next twelve games on her way to her second title of 2014 after victory at Brisbane in January.

The victory ensured Williams moves ahead of Agassi in titles won in Miami after claiming her seventh title, twelve years after her first in 2002.

After her slow start, Williams was quick to praise her opponent, telling BBC Sport, "It was a really important victory, especially against Li Na. She started so well and if it hadn't been for the fans I don't think I could have pulled through."

"At 5-2 down in the first set, I felt I had nothing to lose. I started to relax and, when I relax, I play my best tennis."

Williams was unusually sluggish in the opening stages of the final, being broken in the first game by a fearless looking Li. However, the Chinese second seed was not done there, breaking again to find herself 5-2 up.

At this point Williams relaxed, swinging freely and taking the next five consecutive games to claim the opening set 7-5.

In the second set Williams raised her game significantly, completely shutting out Li and racing to a 5-1 lead. It was representative of her second set display that it took the world number one just one match point to claim victory.

This continued her run of fifteen consecutive victories against top-10 ranked opponents as she now turns her attention to the Family Circle Cup in Charleston this week.

As with the women's final the world one and two will contest the men's final later today after both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic received walkovers in their semi-finals.

Published on SEaT Capital.

Djokovic, Nadal Into Miami Semi's

Rafael Nadal's hard-fought three set victory over big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic completed Friday's semi-final line-up at the 2014 Sony Open in Miami.

Victory for the world number one means he will face seventh seed Tomas Berdych whilst the other semi-final sees Novak Djokovic do battle with rising star Kei Nishikori.

Nadal advanced to the semi-final with a narrow 4-6 6-2 6-4 victory over Milos Raonic as he seeks to claim his first Miami Masters title. The Spaniard has reached the final three times but is yet to win the title.

His opponent Berdych is also a beaten finalist in Miami, succumbing to the now-retired Andy Roddick in 2010. The Czech has not beaten Nadal in any of his last seventeen attempts but will take solace knowing that the man he beat in the quarter-finals, Alexandr Dolgopolov, beat Nadal in Indian Wells earlier this month.

On the other side of the draw Kei Nishikori provided the upset of the quarter-finals, toppling a resurgent Roger Federer 3-6 7-5 6-4. The tenacious twentieth seed won his second consecutive match over Federer after also beating him last year in Madrid.

Nishikori will face Novak Djokovic after the Serb controversially defeated defending Miami champion Andy Murray. The two former champions were battling toe-to-toe until a controversial net infringement was missed by the umpire, causing a slip in concentration from Murray and ultimately a 7-5 6-3 loss.

Elsewhere in the women's side of the draw, the tournament final will conform with seedings as the top two seeds Serena Williams and Li Na will meet for the first time this year.

Serena Williams continued her decade-long unbeaten run against Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals, toppling her 6-4 6-3 for her fifteenth consecutive victory against the Russian.

Li Na met with Dominika Cibulkova for the third time already this year as she reached her first ever final in Miami after claiming a 7-5 2-6 6-3 victory, extending her unbeaten run over the veteran.

The pair will meet in Saturday's final as Na seeks to claim her first victory over the dominant American since her walkover in Rome 2012, whilst Williams will be looking to win her seventh Miami title.

Published on SEaT Capital.

Murray Progresses Despite Poor Start

Andy Murray began his attempt to retain the Sony Open in Miami with a flustering three-set victory against the Australian Matthew Ebden in the Second Round in his first match after splitting with coach Ivan Lendl.

Murray continued his recent trend of sluggish first sets, conceding the first 6-3 before fighting back to win the next two 6-0 and 6-1.

It was another disappointing start from Murray who has failed to beat a top twenty ranked player since his Wimbledon title last year. The Scot seems yet to have fully recovered from the back surgery that kepy him out during the end of the 2013 season.

As is customary in recent months, Murray started slowly, quickly finding himself a break down as he began his Miami defence. The Scot was unable to hit back and found himself a set down as Ebden claimed the first set 6-3.

This sparked a despondent Murray into life, flying out of the traps in the second set to quickly claim a double break and lead 4-0. Ebden had no reply to a resurgent Murray and found himself suffering a beagel in the second set as Murray drew level at one set of piece.

Yet Murray was broken in the first game of the third set to supposedly snatch the momentum from his grasp. However the Scot refused to give in without a fight, breaking back instantly before breaking again to claim a 3-1 lead.

From there the match was never in doubt, the current Wimbledon Champion romping home 6-1 in the third set to advance to the third round. However, Murray's celebrations lacked any sort of joy as he seemed more relieved to have got over the line in a match he made more difficult than it should have been..

In the next round Murray will clash with 32nd seed Feliciano Lopez, after the left-handed Spaniard overcame rising star Jiri Vesely 6-2 7-6.

Published on SEaT Capital.