Finally defeated her nemesis - 3/26/2011

Date: 3/26/2011
Result: Miami R3, Samantha Stosur def. Lucie Safarova 6-0 7-6
Why it matters:
- Stosur had never beaten Safarova before, and she started out like she was going to destroy the Czech.  But Sam really regrouped when she let her large lead in the 2nd set start to slip.  Stosur's fight has been suspect, and when the going gets tough, she can crack (this year, she's 4-6 in sets that finish 7-5 or 7-6).  So to maintain focus, and really run away with the 2nd set tiebreak, might get the ball rolling in the right direction for Stosur, who gets to return to her beloved clay very soon.
- Related to that last note, it really mystifies me that Stosur struggles so much on hard courts.  I understand that she needs time to run around her backhand to dictate with the forehand - time that she gets on clay - but shouldn't her other weapons (serve/topspin) still serve her well on a hard court?  Fine, clay can take the spin and make it work more for her, but hard court is hard and the ball bounces well on it.  I think her problems are more mental than a result of the nature of the court surface.
-  I don't have too much to say about Safarova.  This is not a bad loss.  She is about where she should be ranked (31, currently) given her game style.  I think if she used her "leftiness" to make her game a bit more versatile, she could maybe move up another 5-10 spots, but she's done well for herself.  She should have better results on clay than she does, but maybe this year will change things.
Honorable Mentions:
- Miami R2, Pablo Cuevas def. Andy Roddick - 64 76 - Told you so. A South American player came through with a pretty big upset - and if you watched the match you heard how much the crowd was supporting the Uruguayan, despite the fact he was playing an American in the US.  Definitely the biggest win of Cuevas' career. Told you so.  Roddick loses to someone when he lets them dictate and hit their shots.  Roddick out of the top 10 again, and going to be ever harder to make it back in with clay season looming.

-Miami R2, Philipp Petzschner def. Jurgen Melzer - 63 64 - I always think it's fun when doubles partners face off.  And, although its not always the case, I think the less accomplished of the partnership always has a great chance to pull off the upset because they know more about their opponent and also I think the higher ranked partner feels some remorse and might not be as gritty in the fight. (Federer v. Wawrinka is the exception that proves the rule - though they don't actually play doubles that regularly compared to some other notable tandems).  Regarding Melzer, I'm still not entirely sure how his rank is that high.  I know he made the French semifinals last year and took out Rafa in the fall, but his lofty rank with results that can best be qualified as solid further proves that the top guys are really stingy about leaving ranking points on the table for everyone else.