BARCELONA – Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal said Tuesday he was skipping the Barcelona Open, where he is the defending champion, because he “wants to keep playing the best possible for the longest time possible” and to avoid the heavy schedule that took a toll on his body in previous seasons.

“I am perfect, I am very well, but I don’t want to have a repeat of last year,” Nadal said in a press conference.

Many feared that Nadal, a five-time champion here who has battled knee problems in recent years, might reveal some new injury at the press conference, but he put his fans at ease.

Nadal said it would be “madness” to think he was injured after the way he dominated countryman Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-1 on Sunday to win his sixth consecutive title at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.

The win in Monte Carlo ended an 11-month stretch without a title for the former world No. 1 dating back to last year’s Italian Open. That title drought included the first loss in his career at the French Open and his withdrawal from Wimbledon with a knee injury.

“For the tennis to be good, I have to be well physically and that’s the main goal,” Nadal said.

Nadal, who has been critical of the ATP tour schedule, especially the European clay-court season, in the past, made it clear that he had not planned to skip Barcelona.

“I had not planned it, let’s make that clear. Tennis is not like soccer. You don’t know the matches you’re going to play, and you plan the calendar based on the matches and not the tournaments. If I’d arrived in Monte Carlo and lost on Wednesday, the normal thing would’ve been to play here tomorrow,” Nadal said.

The world No. 3 said he won Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome last year, wearing himself out physically.

He lost at the French Open and spent more than two months off the tour, ending up unable to defend his title at Wimblendon.

Nadal said the taste of victory he got in Monte Carlo after 350 days without a win made him focus on “being careful” so he could “maintain the level.”

“It’s not an act, far from it. For me, not playing here is a hard blow. It’s my club, it’s Barcelona, I’m in my house and I’ve won here five years. But, you know, with the years you learn more, you start getting more experience, last year was an unpleasant experience and I think playing three weeks straight is not the best thing for me,” Nadal said.

Last year, Nadal defeated countryman David Ferrer 6-2, 7-5 in the final of the Barcelona Open.

“Next year, the schedule is going to be much more favorable, and I’ll play here,” Nadal said, referring to the fact that there will be a week off between Barcelona and Rome in 2011.

Nadal has won six Grand Slams, including four French Open titles, one Wimbledon championship and one Australian Open title.

After dominating in the early part of the 2009 tour, the 23-year-old Nadal did not win a singles event over the final six months of the year.

His most crushing loss came at the French Open against Sweden’s Robin Soderling, who handed the Spaniard his first-ever defeat at that Grand Slam tournament in five appearances.

Nadal subsequently withdrew from Wimbledon due to a knee injury and then struggled against the top players after returning to action late in the summer.

The Spanish star, considered by many the best clay-court player in the history of tennis, is now gearing up for the Italian Open, which begins next week, but he said he would play in the Masters 1000 event in Madrid, another mandatory tournament, before trying to regain his title in Paris. 

MONTE CARLO — Rafael Nadal moved closer to perfection for a second day in succession on Thursday, with the five-time champion completing a 6-0, 6-1 rout over German Michael Berrer to roar into the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Top seed and 2009 finalist Novak Djokovic also stayed in the race as the Serb defeated Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4.

The comprehensive win was only the tip of the iceberg for Iberia's clay powerhouse players as four other Spanish seeds followed the world number three into the last eight at the seaside Country Club.

Only number 12 Tommy Robredo, put out 6-3, 6-4 by Argentine David Nalbandian, failed to follow the winning script.

Alberto Montanes' 6-4, 6-4 upset of fourth seed Marin Cilic lead the way on another sunny, chilly afternoon.

Sixth seed Fernando Verdasco played through his continuing back problems to put out Miami finalist Tomas Berdych, the tenth seed, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 and 2003 champion and seeded ninth, rolled back to the glory years as he denied fifth-seeded French hero Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 as the home player saved two match points,

Number 11 Iberian sparkplug David Ferrer ended the hopes of local resident Ivan Ljubicic, the eighth-seeded Croatian and Indian Wells champion last month, 6-0, 7-6 (7/4).

Top seeded Serb Novak Djokovic was playing Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka to conclude a showcase day.

Nadal, whose only loss in the principality came in 2003 (he did not play in 2004), now stands 31-1 at the event.

Nadal was in superb touch during his win, which came less than 24 hours after crushing Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker by the identical score.

"I played better, yes, better than yesterday," said the satisfied Spaniard.

"I played close to the lines, and my feeling is I had more control on the ball than yesterday.

"I had good backhands, very good forehands down the line. I played very well."

Nadal polished his record at the event which he has owned as champion for the last five years to an overwhelming 29 straight victories as the four-time Roland Garros champion continues a bid for history and a sixth consecutive title.

Berrer, ranked 51st, stood zero chance in the onslaught. The German could do little more than watch as Nadal sent over 28 winners, converted on five of six break point chances and made a mere eight unforced errors in 53 minutes.

CHARLESTON , South Carolina — Former world number one Jelena Jankovic survived a scare by rallying to beat unseeded Edina Gallovits 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the WTA Family Circle Cup.

The Serbian had to go the distance, needing two hours to beat Edina Gallovits of Romania at the 700,000 dollar clay court event on Tuesday.

The former winner and second seed received a bye into the round of 16.

"She (Gallovits) didn't have anything to lose. She can just play freely and go after her shots," said Jankovic, who won the tournament in 2007, and along with Nadia Petrova are the only lone ex-champions in the field.

It was first match on clay this season for Jankovic who is ranked seventh in the world.

"I think it's a good thing I played a tough match like that because it gives you confidence and you get fitter and fitter for the next rounds," said Jankovic.

World number 127 Gallovits started to fall apart in the third set.

"I feel like I pushed too much when I shouldn't have and I didn't go for it when I had it," Gallovits said. "It was hard to find the median in the third set."

There were two surprises Tuesday as No. 11 Virginie Razzano of France lost to Monique Adamczak 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, while 15th seeded Melinda Czink of Hungary was ousted by Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 7-6 (11/9), 6-3.

No. 4 seed Samantha Stosur, No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva, No. 10 seed Elena Vesnina and No. 14 seed Vera Dushevina all advanced in straight set wins, while No. 12 seed Aleksandra Wozniak needed three sets to advance.

The evolution of Andy Roddick has been in progress for a while now.

Much has been written about the fitter Roddick, the Roddick that still has an effective first serve though he doesn't rely simply on pure heat; the Roddick with more variety off the ground.

All of that was clearly evident in Key Biscayne, Fla., where Roddick on Sunday won the Sony Ericsson Open for the second time. It was his second title of the year — he's also an ATP World Tour best 26-4 on the season — his fifth Masters 1000 title and the 29th ATP title of his career, third among active players.

To get there, Roddick beat Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and Tomas Berdych in the final, showing the versatility in his game that we now have come to expect.

Against Nadal, Roddick turned up the aggression after falling behind, charging the net against the Spaniard — "It's kind of like driving into head-on traffic," Roddick said — and pulling out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Momentum turned when he won the last 11 points of the second set, including a 143-mph serve — the fastest by any player in the tournament — for a winner on the final point to even the match.

Roddick kept coming, winning 12 points at the net in the final set. He also put more oomph into his forehand, especially on returns.

"I took a lot of risks there in the last two sets," he said. "I rolled the dice a lot and came up Yahtzee a couple times."

Nadal noticed.

"He started to play more aggressive," Nadal said. "It was a surprise for me."

In the 7-5, 6-4 victory against Berdych in the final, Roddick used delicate backhands, loopy forehands and changeup first serves to shake up his opponent's rhythm. (Click here to read what Tennis.com's Peter Bodo had to say about the Sony Ericsson final.)

It's been well-documented that since hiring Larry Stefanki as his coach in late 2008, Roddick has lost at least 10 pounds, improved his foot speed and developed a more well-rounded game.

What isn't as well-documented perhaps is Roddick's work ethic.

"He works as hard or harder than anybody else on this tour," Stefanki said. "He could be similar to Andre Agassi, where his best years are from 27 on."

The serve clearly is still a weapon — Roddick faced no break points against Berdych and dropped his serve only twice in the tournament — but it is much more nuanced.

A year-by-year review of Roddick's statistics shows that over the last decade the 6-2 Texan has upped his first-serve percentage by about 10%, including an ATP Tour-leading 70% in 2009. At the same time, he has consistently held serve nine out of 10 times.

In other words, sacrificing power for accuracy has not hurt his ability to dominate on serve and might help preserve his arm over time.

"The last month has been real good for me," said Roddick, ranked No. 7 in the world. "I've played well on the big moments. I've been able to have a game plan and execute it, regardless of what kind of shots it takes. So it's all good. It's all encouraging."

Clay-court season is up next, not Roddick's best surface. Does he think he can add a title?

"To be honest, I haven't thought about it for two seconds," Roddick said. "Four weeks from now I'm going to be feeling a lot different than I am in this moment. It's going be a process over the next month to get there. I know that's redundant and boring for you all. That's the reality of the situation. We'll see how I'm feeling then. I'll be able to give you some more insight."

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- John Isner's clay-court season, which begins this week in Houston, stretches ahead of him like a wide, inviting red-brick road to the near horizon.

He played just half a dozen matches on the surface last year before he was diagnosed with mononucleosis and had to shut things down until the summer hard-court swing. In the interim, the 6-foot-9 North Carolina native has made gargantuan strides in his game and now lurks menacingly on the edge of the top 20 with very few rankings points to defend for the next couple of months.

Isner, who will turn 25 later this month, recently proved he could hold his own on clay in the most challenging of circumstances, an away Davis Cup tie with thousands of Serbians rooting for his competitive demise. Pressed into service for doubles at the last minute when Mike Bryan fell ill, Isner teamed with Mike's twin, Bob, to win the doubles point and keep the U.S. team alive, then pushed Novak Djokovic to the limit in a thrilling five-setter.

"He showed to the world that he can play as well on clay courts as well as he plays on hard courts,'' said Djokovic, who needed more than four hours to put Isner away. "He gave me a very hard time. … He played like somebody that has longer experience in Davis Cup and not as somebody that just had the debut for his nation.'' Djokovic added that he and others think it's probably just a matter of time before Isner cracks the top 10.

That Davis Cup initiation was one hot crucible. Yet Isner doesn't regard the experience as a turning point so much as a direct result of getting well, getting into the gym and getting his mind around being a professional. "I went into that match expecting to win,'' he said two weeks ago during an off-day at the Sony Ericsson Open. "In college, I was in a lot of situations where the match came down to me and everyone was riding on it.''

Isner's real passage came when he beat Andy Roddick in the third round at the 2009 U.S. Open, overcoming both one of the world's top hard-court players and the intangible psychological edge held by a figurative older brother. As those five sets unfolded, it became clear that Isner's placid exterior concealed a deceivingly fierce drive.

"That's when for me, mentally, I knew my game was top-20 caliber at least,'' Isner said, sitting on the outdoor patio of the players' lounge in Key Biscayne, his legs extending well into the space between tables. "With the type of game I'm playing, and the way I'm playing it right now, I'm going to have a fighter's chance no matter who I'm playing.

"It's hard to explain. It's not like something that I sit down and think about at night. I'm just more comfortable out there. And another thing -- I know that nobody really wants to play me. They don't like seeing my name next to theirs in the draw. That's something I can use to my advantage.''

Fifty-two weeks ago, that wasn't the case. Isner was No. 127 in the world and many were inclined to see him as somewhat of a novelty act. He'd spent four years playing at the University of Georgia -- what serious pro does that nowadays? -- and admiration of his huge offensive weaponry was tempered, as it would be for any guy with his build, by questions about his stamina and movement.

He'd just begun working with Craig Boynton, the coaching director at Saddlebrook Academy in Tampa, who viewed Isner as a tall glass that was half full, not half empty. Better fitness bred confidence, which in turn bred more varied tactics, and the rest is recent history. Isner still relies on his serve, but he is by no means one-dimensional, showing touch at the net and winning points from the baseline as well.

In a first for him, Isner will be a seeded player at the prestigious clay-court events in Rome and Madrid this spring. He'll also make a return trip to Belgrade for the tournament owned by Djokovic's family and compete for the United States in the world team event in Germany. He's much more jazzed about playing on clay, which actually could complement aspects of his game, than grass, where the low bounce can be a tough reach from his altitude.

"He's going to be a better clay player than some people think,'' Boynton said. "The ball comes up high and it slows everything down. He can get behind the ball and set up for shots.

"My expectations are that he's really going to do well [this spring]. He's got a big hole in [rankings] points and it's a great opportunity. The goal is to be a top-16 seed at the French Open. He's five slots away.''

It would be easy to take Isner's bazooka of a serve for granted, but he doesn't. "There's been plenty of matches where I'm disappointed with my serving,'' he said. Power and angle notwithstanding, top players can still get a read on it if he doesn't take care to mix up his targets and his patterns.

"My kick serve is a lot of times more effective than my fastball,'' Isner said. "Down break point, the scouting report on me is that I'm going to try to and go fastball ace on some people. I can mix up a slower 110 [mph] kick, get it up high and then serve and volley off it and kind of throw some people off. I think some people are sitting on some serves because they think they know where it's going to go. When I'm up in games 40-0, I'll hit ridiculous aces off 110 mile an hour serves. I need to do it when I'm down, too.''

Isner opened the year by winning his first ATP-level tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, reached his second straight round of 16 at a major in Melbourne, then lost the Memphis final to his pal and doubles partner, Sam Querrey. (A fan has started a "Quisner" Twitter feed in their honor.) After Isner's impressive display in Serbia, he avenged the loss to Querrey at Indian Wells before losing to Rafael Nadal.

The shift to Miami's tropical weather proved difficult. Isner struggled during stretches of an intense second-round match against terrier-like fellow American Michael Russell, eventually winning in a third-set tiebreaker before a rowdy crowd supporting the former University of Miami standout. Between points, Isner moved as deliberately as a human being can, ambling around behind the baseline in the thick humidity, his shirt drenched and his face impassive whether he'd just smacked a winner or committed an error.

"He's good mentally; he doesn't let things bother him,'' Russell told a trio of reporters as he cooled down on a stationary bike afterward.

Admittedly biased because of his own, briefer college experience, Russell contends that the time Isner spent ripening at Georgia, where he put on 50 pounds and helped win an NCAA championship, likely contributed to his ability to keep his emotions in check at crucial junctures.

"College helps you mature as a human being,'' Russell said. "You're traveling all over the world, usually by yourself. It's courts-hotel, courts-hotel. It's pretty tough mentally to travel 30 weeks out of the year and not self-destruct.''

Things didn't end as well in the next round against Juan Carlos Ferrero, the former world No. 1 from Spain. Isner smashed a racket to smithereens after being broken early in the match and lost in three sets. He and Boynton returned to Tampa, where Isner actually allowed himself a rare day off, and then got to work sliding on the green clay courts at Saddlebrook Academy.

Boynton said Isner doesn't need much pushing at this point: "He understands that 'This is what makes me successful; this is where I'm deriving my confidence, so I'm going to continue on the program.'''

Isner's idea of a perfect day away from the court involves a boat, some beer and fishing for largemouth bass. He appears to be capable of reeling in some big ones on dry land as well.

You wouldn't want to have been a tennis ball getting clobbered about court in this high velocity encounter Tuesday that sent Rafael Nadal through to the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Ouch! The balls used for this match that saw Nadal emerge as a 7-6, 6-4 winner over David Ferrer will go back into their cans for re-sale battered and bruised. Is it possible to hit a ball harder with a tennis racket? Probably not. A large, often stunned, but always noisy crowd basking in the Miami sunshine gasped time and again as 15-, 16-, 20-stroke rallies sent the ball flashing back and forth across the net at speeds that defied the eye.

It's talent and timing that allows players of this caliber to produce such amazing tennis, of course, but it is also the Big Banger strings which have transformed the game over the past decade. They take so much spin that baseliners like Nadal and Ferrer can take mighty swings at the ball, safe in the knowledge that, if their timing is right, it will stay in court.

There was one instance in the second set when the pro-Nadal crowd let out sighs of dismay as a huge, lofted forehand seemed to be sailing long. But Rafa had imparted so much spin on his shot that it dipped at the last moment and landed smack on the baseline.

Slugfests between these two Spaniards are nothing new. They were meeting for the 12th time and now Nadal has won nine of their encounters. But the muscular, 17th-ranked Ferrer is rarely easy to beat. In fact, for a typical clay-courter, he has a remarkable record on hard courts, having reached the semifinals here in successive years (2005-06) and the U.S. Open semifinal the following year when he beat Nadal in four sets in the Round of 16.

Today, the first set could have gone either way, and for much of it Nadal was just hanging in there, trying to make sure that he could get on the end of Ferrer's raking drives. Another huge rally developed on set point at 6-5 in the breaker, which Rafa eventually won by forcing his opponent to put a forehand wide.

After that Nadal always looked the likely winner and showed his class by ending one of the most superlative rallies you will ever see by suddenly moving forward into his backhand and undercutting a high-bouncing ball, turning it into a winning drop shot with sweet precision. The place went nuts.

Mardy Fish had a sad day. His suffered a leg spasm out on the Grandstand Court and, and after a long period of courtside treatment, he was unable to continue, defaulting to Mikhail Youzhny of Russia after the first set.

"A little bit of bad luck, obviously," said Fish, who has been feeling great recently as a result of a strict diet. "I lost the feeling in my leg for a couple of minutes," he explained. "Then I got it back at the changeover. Just excruciating pain. I mean, I was doubled over. I could hardly breathe. I thought maybe in two games I would get it back. But it never loosened up. Just tightened up so much I could hardly walk."

Meanwhile, Mardy's pal Andy Roddick was extricating himself from a 1-4, 0-40 situation against the German Benjamin Becker (no relation to Boris). Roddick managed to come through to win 7-6, 6-3 by improving his first service ratio and staying positive.

"He came out aggressive and ready to play from the first ball," said Roddick. "I was maybe looking to work my way into the match a little bit more than he afforded me. But then my serve slowly started inching its way up. At 0-30 it's nice to be able to make some first serves."

Roddick, who will now meet Spain's Nicolas Almagro, will be playing an exhibition doubles with Jim Courier here on Friday night to raise money for the Chilean earthquake fund. Roddick played down his willingness to help good causes but he is never slow to step up when he feels something needs to be done.

"Even if things go great and I'm in the final here, I'll still play because it's necessary and what needs to be done. It's above what we do. It's bigger than a tennis match."

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Before her self-imposed, non-negotiable annual Indian Wells hiatus, Venus Williams had more momentum than anyone else on the women's tour. She's 14-1 this season going into the Sony Ericsson Open, with two titles and a fat check from an exhibition in Madison Square Garden.

Williams' sole loss thus far has come in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, and she had to beat only one top-10 player en route to defending her titles in Dubai and Acapulco, but this has been an auspicious start for a player who would like to add to her haul of seven Grand Slam singles trophies.

"Win, win, win, win,'' she sang pleasantly when a reporter asked her about her 2010 goals. She'll try to pick up where she left off Thursday, when she takes the court for the night's featured match -- a slot originally occupied by her injured sister, whose knee problem has sidelined her since she stormed to another Australian Open championship.

This event used to be Venus' cup of tea, starting back when Lipton sponsored it. She won three championships and reeled off 22 straight wins in Key Biscayne between 1998 and 2002 but hasn't been back to the final since 2001. The years since haven't exactly been fallow, especially on the lawns of Wimbledon, but it does seem puzzling that Williams hasn't made more of an impact recently in a venue that's a quick drive down I-95 from her own backyard. Just don't suggest that the world No. 5 has a better chance in this edition because the world No. 1 and five-time champion, Serena Williams, happens to be missing.

"I don't base my confidence on who's in the draw,'' Venus said. She wouldn't be baited into discussing her sister's plight, either: "I don't answer questions about my own injuries, let alone someone else's. Hopefully you'll be able to track her down in one of these hallways if you can see her, spy her out.''

Venus radiated good humor in her pre-tournament sit-down with reporters, and why not? She may not always win-win-win, but she's managed over the long haul to conquer perhaps the most insidious opponent of all: burnout.

"Serena and I have done some great career planning, and we're playing really at the peak of our tennis right now,'' the 29-year-old Venus said, echoing what her parents were predicting when her hair was still in braids. "I think tennis has been a sport where people play this insane schedule from 14 years old, so of course at 26, it's over. We've really paced ourselves in order to play great tennis as long as we want and as long as we're healthy and obviously we still have the talent in our bodies. … It's working out well for us.''

The sisters have the key to yet another exclusive club as minority owners of the Miami Dolphins. "I don't think it really set in until we went to one of the owners' meetings at the Super Bowl and were like, 'OK, hey, we're in the door,''' Venus said.

But their off-court paths continue to diverge in interesting ways. "No TV, no acting for me,'' she said. "I'm kind of a more behind-the-scenes kind of woman even though what I do is very public. I'm really low-key and I don't need to be the center of attention.''

She's hosting, rather than hitting in, a high-firepower exhibition in Atlantic City, N.J., next month that features Ivan Lendl versus Mats Wilander in Lendl's first match of any kind since his retirement, along with appearances by Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and James Blake.

And rather than bare her own soul, as Serena did in an autobiography last year, Venus turned to USA Today's Kelly Carter to help her conduct and compile interviews with famous people about how sports shaped them. The resulting book, "Come to Win,'' will be released in June -- the same month Williams turns 30 -- and includes chats with former President Bill Clinton, ex-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Nike chief Phil Knight, designer Vera Wang and actor Denzel Washington. Serena didn't make the list. "She wants to know why she's not in it,'' Venus said, tongue-in-cheek. "I said, 'People know your story already.'"

The process put Venus on the other side of the microphone. She admitted it was daunting at times, making her feel "Like you guys,'' she said, looking at the reporters clustered around her. "Am I going to get in all the questions I need? I hope we can get through the material. Are they going to hang up after five minutes?"

Williams' willingness to keep learning, breaking up the tedium of tour play, may be the key factor in what has kept her in the game long enough to play opponents who are a decade younger. "I grew up with Venus,'' said Romania's Sorana Cirstea, who will play Williams for the first time. In some ways, watching the well-rounded, supremely grown-up Williams play kids now is more interesting than watching her beat older players when she was a kid herself.

Canada's top player, who suffered from back problems, hasn't competed since August

Frank Dancevic hopped in his old Jeep and made the long drive from his hometown of Niagara Falls, Ont., to Montreal last week, the first step on a journey he hopes will resurrect a tennis career that once held so much promise, only to end up very much in jeopardy.

"I'm feeling alive. I'm alive again," Dancevic said. "I've been dead to the tennis world for six months."

The country's top male player, 25, hasn't competed since a first-round loss in the qualifying at the U.S. Open last August - the last straw in a year of pain caused by a nerve problem in his back.

He tried therapy for three months in an attempt to avoid surgery. It was unsuccessful. So Dancevic had a microdiscectomy performed Dec. 8, which shaved part of the disc that was hitting the nerve in his back and causing all the pain.

"Everything went through my head. It was so painful I thought

I wasn't going to play again. For months, I was thinking it was over," Dancevic said. "It's definitely one of those intermissions in my career,

I can say. You hear a lot of horror stories, about how after surgery it's never the same, that sort of thing. But when you have no choice, you have no choice."

After spending the last month strengthening his core, with Pilates and yoga to keep the area loose and flexible, he finally returned to the courts last week at the national training centre at Uniprix Stadium.

"Oh God, all I've been dreaming about is competing the last six months - especially lately, since I've been feeling better," he said. "When I was hurting, I always had it in my head. It was tough to get going, and every time I'd play, I'd play in pain."

Dancevic spent the week doing rehab, sweating in the gym and hitting tennis balls for about an hour a day. It went well - far beyond what anyone expected, given his six-month absence. He has decided to rent an apartment for a month and stay in Montreal, where there are training partners and fitness and physio facilities available.

The hope is he'll return for the clay-court season at the ATP Tour event in Belgrade, Serbia, at the beginning of May. Then would come a small Challenger event in Zagreb, Croatia, and the French Open qualifying.

He has to get going. Unlike many jobs, a tennis player's income is directly related to how many tennis matches he wins. Dancevic is a long way from Rafael Nadal territory; the Spanish star can miss a few months with injury, but then he'll sign a multimillion-dollar watch endorsement and end up even farther ahead.

"I'm looking forward to getting back and start making money again," Dancevic said. "It's tough when there are a lot of expenses - medical bills, therapists and that sort of thing - with no income coming in."

When he stopped, Dancevic's ranking was No. 104; it's currently at No. 153 and will fall even further after next week's event in Miami, where Dancevic qualified and reached the second round a year ago before losing to Novak Djokovic.

He gets a break with the ATP Tour's protected injury ranking system. For those purposes, he is at No. 119, and can enter a certain number of events based on that ranking.

All of that is a far cry from his best moments in 2007, when he upset Andy Roddick in Indianapolis, beat Fernando Verdasco (who has since gone on to the top 10) at the Rogers Cup in Montreal and took Nadal to three stirring sets before a delirious full house at Uniprix Stadium.

He was at No. 65 in the world and rising, and his smooth all-court game had some experts calling him the poor man's Roger Federer.

If you're going to be the "poor man's" anyone, it might as well be arguably the best player ever.

But his dedication always seemed in question. It sometimes seemed he'd rather be home fishing than out there grinding it out week after week. The talent, many thought, was being wasted.

Dancevic doesn't exactly deny it.

"Looking back, this is sort of a wakeup call. All the little things, maybe I could have avoided that. Not that this is why I got hurt, but thinking back," he said. "I'm going to change it going forward, doing all the little stuff right, not taking things for granted.

"I have a lot of years ahead of me, and you learn a lot from your accomplishments, what you've done wrong in the past, and move forward," he added. "As bad as it was that I got hurt, it could be a blessing in disguise. It let me reflect on my career and everything. I believe in fate, and everything's meant to be."

World number one Roger Federer has crashed out of the Masters 1000 tournament at Indian Wells despite holding three match points against his Cypriot opponent Marcos Baghdatis.

The Tuesday night match in California proved a two hours 22 minutes classic with 27th-seeded Baghdatis trailing by a set and then saving the first two match points at 4-5 down in the second set on his own service.

The 24-year-old saved both and then broke the Swiss maestro in the next game before serving out for the second set.

Baghdatis, who reached the Australian Open final in 2008 losing to Novak Djokovic, also trailed 4-1 in the deciding set and after breaking back faced his third and final match point at 6-5, but Federer netted a backhand to see his chances disappear.

Baghdatis took advantage and secured a mini-break in the tiebreaker which he claimed 7-4 to wrap up a 5-7 7-5 7-6 victory to reach the last 16 of the prestigious $4.5 million hard court tournament.

"It was the best win of my career," Baghdatis told the official ATP Tour Web site. "I think that says everything. I cannot say I'm not happy."

Australian Open champion Federer, who had struggled to beat Romanian Victor Hanescu in his opening match after his layoff, said his lack of match practice had counted against him on the crucial points.

"It was a decent match, but maybe the wrong choices at the wrong time for me. That's not something you can really work on. That comes from playing matches and that's what I need."

With Federer out, the path on their side of the draw appears clear for Britain's Andy Murray, who eased past Michael Russell of the United States 6-3 7-5 in their third round match.

Fourth seed Murray was beaten by Federer in the final of the opening grand slam of the season in Melbourne.

Home hopes were boosted by an easy straight sets win for seventh seed Andy Roddick over Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands while in-form Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France was taken to three sets before beating Albert Montanes of Spain, 4-6 6-3 6-3.

Justine Henin goes down in straight sets in her second-round match! Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova loses her opening salvo! Feisty Chinese player Jie Zheng clobbers favored Maria Sharapova!

Kim Clijsters is sent packing by Alisa Kleybanova in a third-round thriller! Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ousts No. 3 seed Victoria Azarenka!

It is like watching the air burst from a balloon, allowing the deflating latex to spiral around the room once in a final spurt of glory before coming to land limp and lifeless on the turf.

So goes the WTA’s top seeds as well as those “comeback” players expected to win at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

To set the proper mood for this much-anticipated Masters Series event, Venus and top-ranked Serena Williams boycotted the tournament for the ninth consecutive year. Dinara Safina pulled out early with a persistent back injury. That propelled world No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova into the top spot as the No. 1 seed as action got under way.

 

Svetlana Kuznetsova’s Quarter

After earning a first-round bye, Kuznetsova met Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round—a match Kuznetsova lost, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. The Russian was unable to fight back against the Spaniard, even after winning the second set in compelling fashion.

Kuznetsova lacked match fitness in facing Navarro who seemed much sharper and moved much better. Kuznetsova could not find the mental edge she needed as the No. 1 seed in this major tournament.

That should have opened things up for Clijsters in the upper half of the Kuznetsova quarter as the Belgian faced Russian Kleybanova in the third round. It was the Russian who edged Clijsters, however, at the finish line, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6, to advance. Now Navarro faces Kleybanova for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Sitting in the bottom half of this quarter is Jelena Jankovic, who hung on to defeat Sara Errani of Italy; now she must get through Shahar Peer to make it to the quarterfinal matchup. Peer has been playing fine tennis of late. This quarter is wide open!

 

Victoria Azarenka’s Quarter

Seeded No. 3 overall, Azarenka had a real shot at going deep, perhaps even winning at Indian Wells. But like so many seeds before her, Azarenka lost early to Martinez Sanchez during a third-round encounter.

Lurking in the wings, however, is another youngster, German Yanina Wickmayer, seeded No. 13 at Indian Wells. Wickmayer has shot up in the rankings since the U.S. Open and is on the rise.

In the bottom half of Azarenka’s quarter is the 2009 defending champion, Vera Zvonareva. The anticipated match from a year ago between Ana Ivanovic and Zvonareva will not happen because the floundering Serb Ivanovic was dismissed during her first match against Latvian Anastasia Sevastova.

Expect Zvonareva to take out Samantha Stosur and make it through to meet Wickmayer in the quarterfinal match.

 

Elena Dementieva’s Quarter

Justin Henin, the favorite of many to win this tournament, was sent packing in her second-round match against Gisela Dulko. This was a huge surprise and letdown for those assembled to watch the Belgian climb back up the rankings. But Dulko had Henin’s number during the match and gave nothing away to the Belgian who struggled to find her game over the course of the night.

Subsequently, Dulko fell to Agnieszka Radwanska. Seeded No. 5, Radwanska is another newcomer to watch carefully. She will meet Marion Bartoli in the fourth round.

But the player who was especially pleased to see Henin dismissed is Russian Elena Dementieva, who was dismissed prematurely from the Australian Open by Henin. Seeded No. 4 here, expect Dementievia to meet Radwanska in the quarterfinal match.

 

Caroline Wozniacki’s Quarter

The big disappointment for Maria Sharapova’s fans in this quarter was Jie Zheng’s dismissal of the Russian beauty in round three.

It happened in large measure because Sharapova’s errant serve caused innumerable double faults and unforced errors. The Russian continues to struggle with her wayward game since returning to the tour after shoulder surgery.

Zheng will next face wild-card entry Alicia Molik of Australia in the fourth round while Caroline Wozniacki will face veteran Nadia Petrova.

The Russian Petrova should prove to be Wozniacki’s biggest stumbling block in her quarter. Ultimately, expect Wozniacki to win that match and continue to the quarterfinals. The question is will the No. 2 seed hold on to play another day?

 

The results?

As the tour heads to the next big event in Miami, where Azarenka won her first big tournament last year, you have to wonder who will come out of Indian Wells with the advantage and the big ranking points.

Will the wily veteran and favorite Dementieva finally get a win here after making it to the semifinals in 2000 and 2005 and the finals in 2006, when she lost to Sharapova?

Or will the No. 2 seed, Wozniacki, who made it to the quarterfinals in 2009, losing to eventual champion Zvonareva, finally take this tournament title as her own?

Perhaps someone else will take the trophy, including the defending champion Zvonareva? Maybe it will mark a significant comeback for former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic.

The only thing we know for certain is that seeds have been dropping like dead weights and there is no one who seems to be destined to win. Stay tuned...