Los Angeles quarterfinals feature a bit of everything

It wasn't pretty, but Flavia Pennetta found a way to win her quarterfinal match against Sybille Bammer. A clay specialist, Pennetta must have thought she was on clay during the first set--Bammer, too--they continually broke each other until a tiebreak was forced. At that point, Pennetta became aggressive and took control. But Bammer pulled herself together and took the second set. The heat was intense, and both players appeared to suffer from its effects. The third set was Pennetta's, however, as she again became aggressive and set the pace. Pennetta'a serve was broken seven times; Bammer's was broken eight times.

Dinara Safina had an easier time of it, practicing her new-found patience with Victoria Azarenka, and keeping a cool head, even after she double-faulted four times in a row in the second set. Azarenka took a medical time-out because of an abdominal strain, and it was hard to tell to what extent the injury hampered her because--throughout the match--it was quite obvious that her opponent's savvy hampered her.

Bethanie Mattek took her first set against Yuan Meng fairly easily, but was down 1-5 in the second. I did not get to see this match, but obviously, some switch turned on in Mattek, and the next thing I knew, it was 5-all, and then Mattek won the match.

Pennetta def. Bammer, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1
Safina def. Azarenka, 6-3, 6-1
Mattek def. Yuan, 6-2, 7-5