Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens lead women into third round of the Sony Open

Li Na marked her return to the tour with a 6-3 6-1 victory against Kiki Berten of Netherlands during their second round match at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 21, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida.  Radwanska,seeded fourth, defeated Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3, 6-2 in the second round."Just very happy to have a quick match," Radwanska said. "The first match is always a little bit tough and tricky."Stephens returns a shot to Olga Govortsova of Belarus  during the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 21, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida. View the list »
Serena Williams routed Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-1, 6-1 Thursday in the second round of the Sony Open. Williams is playing her first tournament since she regained the No. 1 ranking I don't think it was too much rust," Williams said. "I think I missed a

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Serena Williams is wasting no time getting into top form as she mowed down Flavia Pennetta 6-1,6-1 in second round of the Sony Open in Miami.

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In her first tournament since regaining the number one ranking, Williams is trying to win her sixth Sony Open which would break the five titles she shares with Steffi Graf.

"I don't think it was too much rust," Williams said. "I think I missed a few shots, but only because I was off footwork-wise. It's always just good to win a match and stay in the tournament and keep going."

Sloane Stephens came back from a devastating slow start to overcome Olga Govortsova of Belarus 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. Stephens, ranked 16th, is the second highest ranked American after Williams.

"I wasn't playing that great," Stephens said. "I was asleep out there. I definitely just needed to wake up and start playing. A lot just battling and just hanging in there."

Others moving onto the third round of the Sony Open include defending champion Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska,Former French Open champion Li Na and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

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  • Stephens returns a shot to Olga Govortsova of Belarus  during the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 21, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida. 
  • Radwanska,seeded fourth, defeated Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3, 6-2 in the second round."Just very happy to have a quick match," Radwanska said. "The first match is always a little bit tough and tricky."
  • Li Na marked her return to the tour with a 6-3 6-1 victory against Kiki Berten of Netherlands during their second round match at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 21, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida.  
  • Wozniacki needed a rally, coming from behind to defeat Karolina Pliskova 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 of Czech Republic during their second round match at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 21, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida. 
View the list

, Tennis Examiner

Mike Milazzo has been observing and playing tennis for over thirty years. During that time Mike has seen the equipment, players and game itself evolve to the sport it is today. Mike is active in several USTA leagues and is a frequent visitor to tennis tournaments. Contact Mike with your comments...

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