Los Angeles endured its best field this year, with 11 of the top 20 competing. But Ana Ivanovic stood her ground, as she captured title No 4. Defending champion Elena Dementieva crashed out, Maria Sharapova bowed out with injury, and Jelena Jankovic couldn't convert match points. 

Ivanovic extended her head-head to 4-2 against Nadia Petrova in the final, their  last meeting being at Wimbledon, where Ivanovic was victorious 6-1 2-6 6-4. Both Ivanovic and Petrova's best showings were the quarter-finals where Ivanovic was guaranteed a career high of No 4, while Petrova was battling to make it back to No 8 in the world rankings. 

Both  traded breaks in the first set with the match at 5-5. But Ivanovic grasped the vital break and held her own service to take the opening set 7-5. Petrova's coach told her to employ a shock technique, telling her to use her backhand and then switch to her lethal forehand. He also told her to add spin to her second serve, if she is still worried out double faults. But the changes didn't change the flow of the match and Ivanovic sealed the second set 6-4.

'Despite pulling out her semi-final match against Petrova with a leg strain, Maria Sharapova has had a good week'


But Invanovic's hardest match was her semi-final against fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic. They traded the first two sets but the real drama came in the third set, where Jankovic lead 4-1 only to be caught up by Ivanovic at 5-4. Jankovic had two match points, but Ivanovic put her aggressive play to the test and saved both match points. Ivanovic then wrapped it all up in a superb 4-6 6-3,7-5 victory, Avenging her quater-final defeat last year.

Despite pulling out her semi-final match against Petrova with a leg strain, Maria Sharapova has had a good week. She avenged her only defeat of last summer by beating Elena Dementieva 6-3 6-4,  extending Sharapova's head-head to 7-2.

Defending champion Elena Dementieva took a fall in the rankings, from 13 to 17. But she did lead Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 4-1 before Daniela retired with injury, in the third round. The ever popular and elegant Russian still continues her long North American schedule in the hopes of securing her second title this year on the North American hard courts.

The star-studded field really did shine this year. Even players outside the top 20 gave us a lot to talk about, namely Michaella Krajicek and Maria Kirilenko.