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MIAMI: World number two Roger Federer cruised into the fourth round of the WTA and ATP hardcourt tournament on Sunday while women's number two Dinara Safina went crashing out.
Swiss star Federer, a Miami champion in 2005 and 2006, advanced by beating German 28th seed Nicolas Kiefer 6-4, 6-1 while Australia's Samantha Stosur stunned Russian second seed Safina 6-1, 6-4.
Federer booked a match-up in the round of 16 against American Taylor Dent, who ousted Spanish 15th seed Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-3.
Stosur, ranked 42nd in the world, advanced to the round of 16 with the upset, booking a date with the winner of a later match between Italy's Flavia Pennetta and France's Amelie Mauresmo.
A day before her 25th birthday, the Brisbane native won what she called the biggest victory of her career.
"I've been trying to get a win like this for a long time. I was happy I was able to do it and hopefully there will be more to come," Stosur said. "When I started playing well again I thought it was possible. Now I'm going to really enjoy it."
It was Stosur's first victory over a top-10 opponent since she missed much of the 2007 and 2008 season with Lyme disease.
"I'm really happy," Stosur said, "I played really well. I executed exactly what I wanted to do. It was a little bit testing with a little rain delay at 5-4 but I came out and played a really good game.
"I came close a few times. Today I got over the line and I'm just really pleased. I knew I could do it. It was just a matter of when it was going to happen. It's a great feeling to beat a top-10 player again."
Safina praised Stosur but blamed herself mostly for the "disaster" defeat.
"Just a bad match for me. It was just a disaster match," Safina said. "I started to play a little better at 6-1, 3-0 but it was too late. I put everything in her hands.
"She's a great player. She played very good, but from my side, I just can say it was sad the way I played. No excuse from my side. Just basically I wasn't playing."
Safina missed a chance to become the women's world number one by winning the tournament.
"Of course it's very disappointing," Safina said. "That's what I'm playing for. I want to be there. Suddenly I go to the court and I don't even fight for it. It's just bad behaviour from my side. The champions, they don't do this.
"It's a good punishment for me. I have to get smarter."
Safina also said she needed to have some time off after a heavy load of matches and travel for months, having left her best tennis on practice courts.
"It's strange. I feel pretty good practising," she said. "Once I step on the court it changes. I'm very passive. It's disappointing. I'm not playing my tennis. I'm pushing myself and practising hard.
"I will have some time off now. I just want to get back the hunger for tennis."
Serbia's seventh seed Ana Ivanovic, a finalist one week ago at Indian Wells, also was ousted from the nine million-dollar event, falling to Hungary's Agnes Szavay 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
"I'm really disappointed," Ivanovic said. "I hardly did anything well. I couldn't really hold my serve. I had so many chances early on. I always was missing by a little bit, and got really down on myself. It was kind of hard to pick up from there."
US fifth seed Venus Williams, the reigning Wimbledon champion, continued on a path to a potential semi-final showdown against her top-ranked sister Serena by defeating Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 7-5, 6-3.
Reigning Australian Open champion Serena Williams will face China's Peng Shuai in a later match.
Szavay, seeded 25th, will next meet 11th seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who ousted Russia's Anna Chakvetadze 6-1, 6-4.
Russian seeds Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced. Dementieva, the fourth seed, defeated Spain's Carla Suarez 6-1, 6-2 while eighth seed Kuznetsova beat Czech Nicole Vaidisova 6-1, 6-4.
Former world number one Andy Roddick powered into the fourth round by defeating Russia's Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 (11/9), 6-2.
The fifth-seeded American, who won the title here in 2004, will face either French ninth seed Gael Monfils of Russia's Marat Safin in the round of 16 after withstanding ill winds blowing throughout the match.
"The wind was gusting but it wasn't consistent, so it was tough to really commit to any shot," Roddick said. "From one end it was basically like playing downhill.
"I was trying to mix up paces a little bit... on the bigger points, that helped me out a little bit."
Later matches will feature Serena and Venus Williams, the star sisters who could meet in a Miami semi-final. - AFP/de
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