MOSCOW, March 30 (RIA Novosti) - Siblings Marat and
Dinara Safin led a succession of Russians out of the Sony
Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Miami, although four women
did make Monday's fourth round.
Marat Safin was a game away from a straight-sets victory
against Frenchman Gael Monfils on Sunday, and let two match
points slip by in the third set before losing 7-5, 5-7, 6-7.
His sister, world No. 3 Dinara Safina, never got going against
the unseeded Australian Samanth Stosur, losing 1-6, 4-6.
Monfils will play Andy Roddick in the fourth round after
the American beat another Russian, Dmitry Tursunov, 7-6, 6-2.
The last Russian in the men's draw, Igor Andreev, plays Swiss
Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round later on Monday.
Departing the women's draw along with Safina on Sunday
were Vera Zvonareva and Nadia Petrova, who was beaten by fellow
Russian Ekaterina Makarova 5-7, 1-6, and Anna Chakvetadze,
ousted by Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 4-6. Makarova will
play Li Na of China, who beat Zvonareva 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Flying the Russian flag alongside Makarova in the fourth
round are Alisa Kleybanova, who beat another Belarusian,
Anastasia Yakimova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, Svetlana Kuznetsova, a 6-1,
6-4 winner over Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, and
world No. 4 Elena Dementieva, who eased past Spaniard Carla
Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2.
Kuznetsova, currently eighth in the WTA world rankings,
and 26th-ranked Kleybanova face off in the fourth round on
Monday, while Dementieva meets Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark,
with the winners meeting in the quarterfinals.
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