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    Busted Racquet
    • (Getty Images)

      Love -- It wasn't pretty*. No, that's being too kind. It wasn't watchable. Regardless, Venus Williams survived a match point and a third-set tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) over Alexsandra Wozniak on Sunday to advance to the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. There were unforced errors, choked points and so much time between serves that Rafael Nadal was probably all, "these ladies are taking forever." None of that matters though. Venus Williams advanced in a three-hour match and showed that she could be a force at Wimbledon and the Olympics.

      * Nor were those shorts.

      15 -- Ho, hum. Victoria Azarenka won her 25th match in a row. Next up is Dominika Cibulkova, then the winner of Marion Bartoli and Maria Kirilenko. Anyone else getting the feeling Vika will enter the clay court season like Novak Djokovic did last year?

      30 -- John Isner follows up his finals appearance at Indian Wells with a lethargic 6-4, 6-2 loss to Florian Mayer. The American has few points to defend

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    • All through the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, CBS hyped its Novak Djokovic segment on Sunday's "60 Minutes." It was worth the wait. Though the 15-minute feature breaks little new ground for tennis fans, Bob Simon's piece has some good quotes, old videos and touching stories of Djokovic's life in Serbia.

      1. "Where did this clown come from?"

      2. The Wimbledon replica trophy is tiny. He looks like a giant holding a can of soda.

      3. Young Novak appears on Serbian TV and looks like a Serbian Fred Savage.

      4. Umbros!

      5. In public, Djokovic always carries a brave, detached attitude about the bombings of Serbia. I'd imagine that's what you have to do when answering questions about such a frightening time. When he goes back to the apartment building that served as his home during the bombing campaign and visits the basement's bomb shelter, you see some rare vulnerability from Nole. It's affecting stuff.

      6. The Sharapova/Nadal imitations at the '07 US Open: Still funny. On why he stopped

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    • (Getty)

      Remember that unfunny parody a French television program did of a steroid-aided Rafael Nadal? The world No. 2 certainly does.

      Nadal was asked about the 60-second sketch on "Les Guignols" that showed him using a steroid needle as a pen and using his urine as gasoline. He was upset with the portrayal and used harsh, uncharacteristic wording to describe his anger with the French.

      The translation is via tennis.com via an English-language translation of a Spanish newspaper. As we learned with some translations of Roger Federer quotes after the Davis Cup, this can be a slippery slope.

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    • (AP)

      Game Point is Busted Racquet's roundup of news, stats and links from around the web.

      Love -- Venus Williams stepped onto the court and served a 121 mph serve down the T in her return to tennis, then easily won her first match since announcing she had Sjogren's syndrome last September. The 31-year-old Williams defeated Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-0, 6-3 and showed little effects from the extended layoff or the autoimmune disease that sidelined her for those five months.

      15 -- Kim Clijsters was a little more rusty in her comeback from an ankle injury, but came back from a set down to defeat Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. "It's always tough to get that first match rhythm under your belt," Clijsters said after the match. "When it comes down to my game I felt I wasn't quite going through my shots as I should have. I was just trying to find that rhythm, but on the other hand maybe forgetting to still play aggressive tennis.

      30 -- We interviewed Clijsters ahead of her return. If you missed the interview, you can read it here.

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    • (USANA)

      Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters makes her return to tennis on Wednesday in Key Biscayne. She has missed the last two months while recovering from an ankle injury. Busted Racquet caught up with her this weekend to talk about her comeback, Olympic plans and the challenges that face the No. 1 player in the sport.

      Busted Racquet: How are you feeling?

      Kim Clijsters: My rehab since the Australian is going well. I've had some tests done on my ankle and I feel like I'm ready to go. I'm still going to be playing with my ankle taped probably until the end of the season as a precuation, but I've been in the States for a good week now. First we were in New Jersey visiting my family-in-laws and we came to Miami a couple of days ago. The weather is nice and I've been able to have some good practice days.

      Busted Racquet: You've said you're working with your sights set on tournaments in July. Is it hard to prepare for tournaments now when you have a long-term goal?

      Kim Clijsters: With a tough summer ahead, I was going to change up the intensity of the practice and preparations. It was going to be a bigger buildup for the summer. There are a few things that have changed a little bit and will change as compared to last year.

      Busted Racquet: Do you have your year planned out or are you going to see how your ankle holds up?

      Kim Clijsters: My calendar is set and I'm going to finish the whole season, whether it's playing at the US Open or if I make it back to the top 10 or top 8 and being a part of the championships, we'll see where it ends. I'm going to play it by ear and then I'll see how I feel and how I'm doing and how my body feels. For now, everything is set for the Olympics and then we'll see afterwards.

      Busted Racquet: Ever since you've come back to the sport, there's been speculation about when you'll leave. Now that the Olympics is almost here, how strange is it that the build-up is nearing an end? And does it ever get strange having to talk about your retirement and family planning with the media?

      Kim Clijsters: It doesn't really feel strange because I've always been very open and honest in press conferences or talking to the people. I speak with my heart. There have been moments where I've felt like it's hard -- talking about the Olympics -- but in the past year, I've been able to have a good balance with my home life and being an athlete and a mom and trying to be the best that I can be. The rhythm that we have now is good and I'm happy with where I'm at.

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    • Wearing a dress for the first time in 20 years, Martina Navratilova took to the parquet floor of "Dancing With The Stars" on Monday night. The former tennis star danced a foxtrot with Tony Dovolani and -- I'll stop right there. Given my dancing ability, there are no stones to throw. Let's just say that nobody will be forgetting her nine Wimbledons titles anytime soon.

      The bar for receiving a standing ovation on "DWTS" must be low.

      Navratilova and partner Tony Dovolani were among the worst scorers on opening night. Their foxtrot earned 20 points (out of 30) from judges, well behind the 26 points scored by Jaleel White, who did not do the Urkel Dance.

      "I am extremely shy and can get embarrassed easily," Navratilova said afterward. "And dancing in front of millions was a huge challenge for me."

      In a taped segment that aired before her dance, the 55-year-old cancer survivor said she hadn't worn a dress in more than 20 years. The dance steps may have been apprehensive, but Martina looked

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    • There was a split second when it looked like John Isner would get the upper hand on Roger Federer in Sunday's Masters 1000 final at Indian Wells. The American had saved three points in the first-set tiebreak and appeared to be ahead on a service point at 7-7.

      Federer hit his second-serve return short and his next shot even shorter, bringing Isner into the net. The world No. 3 stabbed at a backhand and sent it over his 6-foot-9 opponent. Isner had a quick decision: Try to hit the smash volley or let the ball sail long.

      Popular sentiment was that Isner could have hit Federer's return for a winner. I say the angle and quickness could have forced him to sail it wide.

      Regardless, the ball floated in and Federer won the next point. He cruised to a straight-set victory, giving him his fourth title of the young 2012 season.

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    • (Getty Images)Victoria Azarenka is undefeated through 23 straight in 2012. She easily dispatched Maria Sharapova in Sunday's final at Indian Wells to take her fourth tournament of the season and start the parlor game, "how long can she go?"

      The tennis world played this last year when Novak Djokovic made it all the way to the French Open semifinal before dropping a match. Though the two streaks are different, each is equally surprising and has its own merits.

      Similarities

      Expected unexpectedness: Djokovic and Azarenka were always believed to be players on the verge of breaking out. Yetr fifteen months ago, nobody would have assumed Djokovic would take over men's tennis. His talent was undeniable, but he had a habit of failing to live up to the moment of big matches. It was the same thing with Azarenka. She didn't have a Grand Slam under her belt like Djokovic, but it was thought to be a matter of time. Once she played in the moment and kept her confidence level high, she'd be able to break through.

      Difficulty: It goes without saying that winning four tournaments to start the year is impressive. Djokovic had to go through a stacked men's field (see below). Azarenka had to deal with a decade of women's tennis parity. The WTA doesn't have a "big four." The top is constantly changing. In any given tournament, a semifinalist might come from the ranks of the unseeded or any one of the top 15 could hoist the trophy. Azarenka has consolidated power in a way not seen since Serena Williams played a regular schedule.

      Differences

      Versatility: This is no fault of Azarenka's: The tennis calendar has yet to get to the European clay court season. In theory, Azarenka should slip up once the surface turns slower. Of course, we said the same thing last year about Djokovic and he beat Rafael Nadal twice times on clay before finally losing to Roger Federer.

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    • Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova meet on Sunday in the Indian Wells finals in a matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 players in women's tennis. Below is a table listing all such matchups in women's tennis since over the past four years.

      And here are the No. 1 vs. No2 matchups in men's tennis during the same time period.

      There's a story to be told here about the differences in the recent histories of men's and women's tennis, but that's for another day. Let's enjoy watching Azarenka and Sharapova and giving our mute button a healthy workout.


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    • (AP)

      John Isner upset world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (5) in a semifinal match at the BNP Parbias Open.

      The victory will move Isner into the top 10 of the next ATP rankings. He'll have a chance to add to his point total on Sunday, when he'll face either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in his first-ever Masters 1000 final.

      Isner utilized his game plan to perfection. With his powerful serve, the 6-foot-9 American was able to hold serve with ease and extend both his winning sets to tiebreaks. Isner is 10-4 in such sets this season, a record that's not unexpected when you're hitting 144-mph third-set serves, as he did on Saturday.

      "It's a lot of pressure knowing that somebody serves that well," Djokovic told reporters after the match.

      The 26-year-old Isner also used a deft touch at the net in the victory. He's surprisingly nimble when coming in for volleys and the angle at which he hits those shots makes them difficult to return.

      Djokovic was the defending champion at Indian Wells.

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