WTA Championships: Li Na stays alive; Angelique Kerber signs out

By Magdalena Stanislav

Li Na keeps her chances alive at WTA Championships

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 25, 2012:Li Na of China get off the mark in the WTA Championships on Thursday when she outpaced Angelique Kerber of Germany in straight sets by 6-4 6-3 to stay alive in the competition.

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Li Na can still qualify for the semi-finals of the year-ending TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships but she will have to not only win her final round-robin match but also wait for the other results.

End of the Road for
Angelique Kerber at
WTA Championships

After falling miserably to Serena Williams in her first match of the competition, Li Na showed glimpses of her top game which took her to French Open title last year.

After trailing Angelique Kerber 4-2 in the first set, Li Na smashed back into form and won nine of the next 10 games to surge to 6-4 5-1 lead but the German ace still had some energy and fight left in her as she reduced the lead to 5-3 in the second set before the Chinese putting together another perfect service game to seal the deal at 6-3 with the help of a ferocious ace.

The match lasted for an hour and 25 minutes where Li Na hit her fourth love hold in 10 service games.

Talking to reporters after her victory, Li Na said, “I had my first match yesterday but felt much, much better today - I was more focused and concentrated on the court. Angelique is very good in defense. My coach, Carlos, was telling me before the match to use more topspin and open the court - I knew I had to change the space to win today."

With this victory, Li Na has improved her head-to-head record against Angelique Kerber to 6-1. Li Na mostly enjoys playing against the lefties as compared to righties and some of her biggest victories have come against the players who predominantly use left hand.

During last five years, Li Na has won 34 matches against the lefties as against only five defeats which came to Sybille Bammer (Rome in 2009), Petra Kvitova (Madrid in 2011), Kerber (Indian Wells in 2012), Kvitova again (Montréal in 2012) and Laura Robson (US Open in 2012). Moreover, Li Na was able to push three of these five losses down to the wire.

Angelique Kerber, who was featuring in the year-ending event for the first time, signed out of the WTA Championships after her third straight loss but she had some positives to mention when she told reporters, “It was very nice to be here - I really enjoyed my week and also my three matches. I take a lot of experience from here and I think it will bring me to another level next year, so I'm really happy I was part of the WTA Championships. And the organization and the crowd were unbelievable”.

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WTA Championships: Azarenka beats Kerber in 3-hour long battle

By Magdalena Stanislav

Charged-up Victoria Azarenka denies Angelique Kerber

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 25, 2012: World number one Victoria Azarenka kept her nerves to record her first victory at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul on Wednesday.

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In a battle that lasted for over three hours, Victoria Azarenka was pushed to the limits by Angelique Kerber of Germany but failed to execute her authority as the Belarusian made an impressive start to her WTA Championships campaign with 6-7 (11-13) 7-6 (2) 6-4 victory.

With her second defeat at the WTA Championships, the world number 5 Angelique Kerber is out of semi-finals contention.

Needing to win the match to stay alive in the competition, Angelique Kerber showed great intent right from the start and raced to a 3-1 lead before eventually winning it after an historic tie-break where she saved as many as five set points to finally win the first set by 7-6 (13-11). The first set equaled the record of longest tie-break in the history of WTA Championships.

Victoria Azarenka couldn’t get the first set out of her mind when she told reporters, “Honestly, when I was up 6-2 in the tie-break, she played three great points, then I made a stupid mistake. I made a few too many unforced errors today, but it happens, and she was playing really well - she forced me to do those unforced errors."

Victoria Azarenka looked more in control in the second set as she scampered to 4-2 lead before Angelique Kerber won three straight games to take 5-4 lead and reached the double match point and at one stage was leading her opponent 15-40 on her serve. However, she failed to capitalize on the golden opportunity to seal the deal and Azarenka stormed her way back into contention with powerful tennis and won the set eventually by 7-6.

Victoria Azarenka told reporters about the second set, “On the match points I just thought I had to go for it - she wasn't going to miss, and I didn't want to wait for her to make a mistake. I was so determined to make it happen. I wanted to take destiny into my hands - if I missed those shots, it was going to be up to me, not up to my opponent."

Angelique Kerber stated, “Vika played unbelievable in those moments. She played unbelievable on those match points. I really couldn't do anything."

After winning the second set, Victoria Azarenka raced to 5-3 advantage in the third set before ending the over three hours long battle by breaking Kerber.

"I was fighting so hard - at the beginning of the tournament it's quite hard to have a match like that!" Azarenka said adding, “But all the best players are here and you have to show your best tennis. I don't think I did that, but at least I showed my best fight. I'm glad I lived this experience and overcame the challenges today."

Angelique Kerber is yet to beat Victoria Azarenka as she told reporters, “I gave it my best today, but Vika played too well in the important moments. Of course I'm a little bit sad I lost this match but the quality was unbelievable - there's just one winner and one loser, and Vika won today. I was happy to be a part of this great match. The atmosphere was amazing."

Victoria Azarenka next plays Serena Williams, who has already qualified for the semi-finals of the WTA Championships.

Talking about her Thursday’s encounter, Azarenka said, “I have to be ready for anything and give my all. It's the last push here. I'll recover tonight and keep as much energy as possible. The most important thing for me is to have the desire - and I have it."

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