Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal Headed for Semifinals, Caroline Wozniacki Heads Home

Today was a mixed day at the Sony Ericsson Open, with Federer and Nadal being their dominant selves, against a slightly turbulent backdrop of the women's results.

For one thing, Caroline Wozniacki, who had fairly dominated the tournament at Indian Wells last week, lost for the first time in a while—so it seems—to Andrea Petkovic. If anything, this was hardly a major disappointment. For the Dane's upward-looking career, this will probably just turn out to be a blip in an otherwise very fine two weeks for her.

Petkovic was strong, but one would certainly bet on Wozniacki in a less weary mood. Apart from the fact that she didn't go down without a fight—it was a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 defeat—Wozniacki would take some heart from the fact that she managed to consolidate her hold on the number one ranking, at least for a few more weeks, in winning her first two rounds.

More stunning was Maria Sharapova's dismantling of Sam Stosur, an Aussie who, while having some troubles with her game of late, should have certainly provided much more resistance than her woeful 6-4, 6-1 defeat.

What this loss might mean for the defending French Open finalist we can only wait and see, but for Sharapova, this was one out of her golden age. It was a performance exemplary of the sort of power and hitting ability that she possesses. At the same time, advancing to the quarterfinals must be heartening for Sharapova at the least.

So while the world number one lost, and a former world number one surprised with a vintage win, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal steadied the ship on the men's side. Not that men's tennis has been anywhere as erratic as the women's game, only that it gave to the world a characteristic sense of tennis statemanship.

Federer had a slightly tougher time against Juan Monaco, winning 7-6, 6-4, while Nadal fairly cruised past Feliciano Lopez. It was quite clear throughout the matches that the two were going to be better than their opponents. They won today, not in classic matches, but in encounters that simply affirmed their existence as the unofficial two best players on the planet.

That gauntlet seems to be shifting nowadays, with Novak Djokovic making some serious progress in toppling the two. More could happen this weekend, too, as Federer seems to be on an unstoppable march to the semifinals, where he surely expects his great Spanish rival to be waiting. That is still potentially a few days away, but the prospects are indeed there.