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UPDATE 2-Tennis-Azarenka, Stosur and Kerber advance

* Azarenka wins 11 of last 12 games against Hantuchova * Stosur eases past teenager Keys in straight sets (Adds Azarenka quotes) By Mark Lamport-Stokes INDIAN WELLS, California, March 9 (Reuters) - Australian Open champion and top seed Victoria Azarenka recovered from a sluggish start to beat Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 6-4 6-1 in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday.

Tennis: Sharapova reaches Indian Wells third round

Second-seeded Maria Sharapova launched her Indian Wells campaign on Friday with a crisp 6-2, 6-1 second-round WTA victory over Francesca Schiavone. Russia's Sharapova, who won the title in 2006 and was runner-up to Victoria Azarenka last year, needed just 61 minutes to get past the former French Open champion from Italy and set up a third-round match against Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro -- a 6-1, 6-1 winner over compatriot Silvia Soler-Espinosa. bb/js

Tennis-Azarenka driven by new memories, not past glories

By Mark Lamport-Stokes INDIAN WELLS, California, March 6 (Reuters) - For a second successive year, Victoria Azarenka brings red-hot form to Indian Wells for the BNP Paribas Open but the confident Belarusian has no desire to reflect on past glories. Rather than look for motivation in a perfect 14-0 record in 2013 as she prepares to defend her title at a venue where she feels extremely comfortable, Azarenka prefers to focus on the present in her bid to create even better memories.

Tennis: Azarenka aims for Indian Wells repeat

Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka arrives for her title defense at Indian Wells seeking another victory to take her closer to regaining the world No. 1 ranking. A title repeat on the hard courts of the California desert won't send Azarenka back to the top of the heap, but it could set the stage for a showdown with current No. 1 Serena Williams later in March in Miami. Once again, Williams and her sister Venus are skipping the BNP Paribas Open, where other notable absentees include China's Li Na.

Tennis: Latest ATP and WTA world rankings

Here are the latest ATP and WTA tennis world rankings, published on Monday: ATP world rankings as of March 4, 2013: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 13,280 pts 2. Roger Federer (SUI) 9,535 3. Andy Murray (GBR) 8,180 4. David Ferrer (ESP) 6,665 5. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 6,105 6. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 4,740 7. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 4,410 8. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 3,660 9. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 3,125 10. Richard Gasquet (FRA) 2,880 WTA world rankings:

Tennis: Breakthrough win for Niculescu in Brazil

Romania's Monica Niculescu captured her first career singles title with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Olga Puchkova of Russia in the final of the Brazil Cup at Florianopolis on Saturday. The world No. 75 unsettled the hard-hitting Puchkova, who defeated Venus Williams in the semi-finals, with a range of slices, angles and drop shots.

Tennis: Li Na's ankle recovery slower than hoped

China's Li Na will miss an exhibition match in Hong Kong after an ankle injury she sustained in last month's Australian Open final failed to respond well enough to treatment, organisers said Wednesday. The announcement comes weeks after the world number five also withdrew from the $2.3 million Qatar Open. The 31-year-old twisted her ankle twice during her three-set loss to Victoria Azarenka in Melbourne just over one month ago and "has not responded enough to intense treatment", said a spokesman for the exhibition match.

Tennis: Venus Williams makes top 20 return

Former world no.1 Venus Williams has returned to the top 20 in the latest WTA rankings published on Monday that sees her sister Serena stay on top ahead of Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. Venus, 32, climbed to 20th spot, despite not winning more points, as Germany's Julia Goerges dropped to 24th. In other movements, former world no.1 Jelena Jankovic, of Serbia, rose three places to 21st after winning the Bogota Open on Sunday -- her first victory since 2010 and the 13th of her career.

UPDATE 1-Tennis-Kvitova claims 10th tour title with Dubai victory

(Adds player quotes, details, context) By Matt Smith DUBAI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova claimed her 10th singles title after defeating Sara Errani 6-2 1-6 6-1 in the final of the Dubai Championships on Saturday. The Czech started as favourite after winning her previous three meetings with the world number seven and the 22-year-old sought to assert her dominance from the off.

Tennis: Anger drives Wozniacki into Dubai semi-finals

Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki reached the Dubai Open semi-finals on Thursday with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Marion Bartoli, shrugging off a code violation in the process. Wozniacki was warned for illegal coaching as the match boiled up to a thrilling finish, apparently because she was talking to her father Piotr. "I'm not sure if it's coaching if I talk to the coach, but apparently that's new rules, so I guess that I can't say anything nowadays," commented Wozniacki.
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