Maria Sharapova cruises into WTA Championships semis

By Magdalena Stanislav

Maria Sharapova keeps her cool to stay in the hunt.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 25, 2012: Maria Sharapova of Russia stayed upright in a nerve-wrecking match against Agnieszka Radwanska to storm her way into semi-finals of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul on Wednesday.

-->

In the second consecutive WTA Championships match which lasted for over three hours, Maria Sharapova battled hard to eventually defeat Agnieszka Radwanska by 5-7 7-5 7-5.

The marathon match, which ended at 2:12am local time, lasted for three hours and 12 minutes.

Agnieszka Radwanska used her subtle style of tennis and made variety and redirection of pace at work in the first set and eventually won it by 7-5.

She raced to a 4-2 lead in the second set as Maria Sharapova started running out of options but to play more aggressive brand of tennis and went on the offense.

Maria Sharapova told reporters, "I was a little bit frustrated early on. I wasn't doing the right things and she was doing all the right things, and making me make mistakes. I was just trying to hang in there."

Maria Sharapova clawed her way back in the second set and as she got accustomed to her aggression and Radwanska’s subtle play she got better and won the second and third set by identical margin of 7-5.

The aggression of Maria Sharapova was evident by the statistics which stated her to hit 66 winners to 64 errors while on the other hand Agnieszka Radwanska could manage 18 winners to 19 errors.

Talking about her energy levels, the Russian former world number one said, "It was a very physical match with so many ups and downs - I wasn't playing my best tennis, but I kept fighting. And when you win when you're not at your best, it gives you extra motivation to do better in the next one."

The workaholic display of aggressive Sharapova made her win praise of Agnieszka Radwanska who told reporters, "It was a great match, and all the sets were very tight. I had my chance in the second set, but when you don't use your chances against a top player, a great player, it's hard to come back and win."

Sharapova also had praise for her opponent when she said, “There's a reason why she's No.4 in the world. Her capability of anticipating where the ball goes and getting it back - and no matter if it's a hard shot or a low slice with no pace, she makes you work for it. She did until the end. I found a way to get through the points, which isn't easy."

Talking about her semi-final qualification, Maria Sharapova said, "I'm happy to get to that stage - the goal is always to get out of your group. I was injured last year and didn't play very well, so to be in the semifinals this year makes me very proud, and especially given the way I fought tonight."

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have now qualified for the Semi-Finals of the WTA Championships. Serena Williams entered the last-four by dint of Victoria Azarenka taking three sets to beat Angelique Kerber.

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams are the only players to have won the WTA Championships title previously after Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic, defending champion, pulled out of the tournament owing to viral illness.

Maria Sharapova has won the WTA Championships title once in 2004 while Serena Williams has won it twice in 2001 and 2009.