Sharapova up to 2nd in world rankings, Nadal to 4th

PARIS:

Maria Sharapova's tournament win at Indian Wells on Saturday has moved her up to second place in the WTA world rankings, behind only Serena Williams.

The Russian edged ahead of Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the Australian Open winner who was the title-holder in California, but who had to pull out at the quarter-final stage due to an ankle injury.

Sharapova, who has twice been world No.1 during her career, will have a chance to top the rankings once again when she plays in the Miami Masters starting later this week, but this time she will have Serena Williams in opposition. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal's tournament win at Indian Wells on Sunday has thrust him back into the top four in the ATP world rankings. The Spaniard dropped out of the elite bracket of players, comprising Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray earlier this year as he took seven months out to deal with a recurring knee injury. Compatriot David Ferrer moved up to fourth place, but Nadal won two claycourt tournaments in South America as he launched his comeback last month and the win at Indian Wells brought him a big haul of points as it is one of the Masters Series events. Nadal is back to fourth, nudging ahead of Ferrer with Djokovic, Federer and Murray still ahead of him. He has withdrawn from the Miami Masters starting this week and will return to action for the European claycourt season.