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Federer and Sharapova suffer Miami upsets

Maria Sharapova of Russia reacts during her match against Serena Williams during day seven at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday. PHOTO: AFP

Rematches became repeats for Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova at the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday.

Both lost.

Guillermo Canas upset top-ranked Federer for the second time this month, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (5) in a fourth-round epic.

Serena Williams beat Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 in a rout reminiscent of their Australian Open final two months ago. With that, Key Biscayne's two No. 1-seeded players were eliminated.

Two weeks ago, Canas ended Federer's 41-match winning streak at Indian Wells. The dogged Argentine showed the victory was no fluke, extending points by repeatedly chasing down shots and forcing a frustrated Federer into 51 unforced errors.

"It's one of those matches I never should have lost," Federer said.

The defeat ended his bid for a third successive Key Biscayne title, while Canas improved to 3-0 this year against top-10 players. He was ranked as high as No. 8 before serving a 15-month doping suspension, and he had to qualify for the Key Biscayne draw. He's the first qualifier in nine years to reach the quarter-finals.

Argentina's Guillermo Canas reacts after defeating world No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland in the fourth set in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday. PHOTO: AFP

"I beat No. 1 two times in a row. I don't know what is my secret," Canas said. "I'm just trying to enjoy the moment. For me it's like a dream."

Williams, who defeated Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open final, this time won even more easily. She bristled when asked if she expected such an easy rematch.

"Haven't you learned that I expect the best of myself?" she said. "If I'm playing well, then anything can happen. I believe there could be a similar score if I'm playing well."

While Sharapova and Federer lost, Andy Roddick won his rematch against David Ferrer. The Spaniard was an upset winner when they played at Key Biscayne a year ago, but this time the third-seeded Roddick won 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

No. 2 Rafael Nadal defeated 18-year-old Argentine Juan Martin del Potro 6-0, 6-4.

Sixth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain took nearly three hours to finish off Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-6 (3), and No. 12 Andy Murray of Britain overcame two match points to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 2-6, 7-5, 6-3. Murray faces Roddick next. Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic, last year's runner-up, fired 13 aces in beating Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 7-6 (4), 6-4 and set up a quarter-final with Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela.

Top-ranked Justine Henin reached the Key Biscayne semi-finals for the first time by beating No. 6-seeded Nadia Petrova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4). Henin's opponent on Thursday will be another Russian, No. 9 Anna Chakvetadze, who beat No. 15 Li Na (李娜) of China 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

With a parade of Grand Slam champions on the schedule, Canas won the biggest cheers. South Florida's large Latin population made for a festive stadium atmosphere, with fans singing, waving Argentine flags, and shouting "Willy!" -- Canas' nickname.

"As long as they don't boo my Swiss flag, it's OK," Federer said. "This was a nice atmosphere to play."

Federer may play big points as well as anyone ever, but Canas was better at pivotal moments. The Argentine kept his cool in both tense tiebreakers, while Federer looked shaken at times and converted only four of 16 break-point chances.

The match turned with Canas serving at 0-2 in the final set. Federer had four break points, each a chance to pull away, and he failed to convert them.

The decisive moment in the second tiebreaker came with Federer serving at 4-5. Canas hit a short, high lob, and Federer handled it like a weekend hacker.

"I didn't want to let it bounce," he said. "It's a tough shot to hit. I mean, I guess at 1-0, 15-love in the first set, that's not a problem. But it was tough. It was getting into the night. It kind of made it a bit tricky, and I messed it up."

Canas then closed out the win with a 200kph service winner. That made Federer 0-2 against Canas this year and 14-0 against everyone else.

Next month the tour moves to clay -- Canas' best surface and Federer's worst. How will Federer shake the slump?

"I'm not going to play him every week, so it doesn't matter," Federer said.

Taiwanese surge ahead

Taiwanese tennis players Chan Yung-jan (詹詠然) and Chuang Chia-jung (莊佳容) defeated Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands and Russian Galina Voskoboeva on Tuesday in the women's doubles division at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida.

After handily beating their opponents 6-3, 6-0 in the first round, Tuesday's match went down to a tie-breaking final third set, ending in a 6-3, 4-6, (10-5) victory for the Taiwanese pair.

The win sets them up for a quarter-final match against Chinese duo Li Na (李娜) and Zheng Jie (鄭潔).
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