Sara Errani keeps SF battle alive at WTA Championships

By Magdalena Stanislav

Sara Errani keeps the competition warm at WTA Championships

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 25, 2012: Sara Errani of Italy kept her hopes of making it into WTA Championships Semi-Finals alive on Thursday when she outlasted Samantha Stosur of Australia in three sets by 6-3 2-6 6-0 in Istanbul.

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Samantha Stosur, who replaced Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic after she had to pull out of the season-ending TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships due to viral illness, couldn’t stand the challenge posed by her Italian opponent, especially in the third set where she could never offer a fight.

The victory for Sara Errani has added colors to the final day of the round-robin matches on Friday when two matches will decide the two semi-finalists as Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have already qualified into last-four stage.

Sara Errani showed good control on her game in the opening set and raced to victory by 6-3 but Sam Stosur responded really well to the situation and won the second set 6-2 with an aggressive game plan which woke the Italian up in the third set and she made no further mistakes and won the penultimate set by 6-0.

Sara Errani told reporters after her impressive victory, "In the beginning she was making a lot of unforced errors, but in the second set she was playing amazing. I was just trying to stay focused and aggressive today and I think the third set was better for me."

Sam Stosur could never face the pressure against Sara Errani as she committed seven double faults as well as 49 unforced errors in the match.

Sam Stosur told reporters, “I really wanted to try and play a good match tonight and be at least one match up, but obviously the result wasn't quite that way. It was a little bit up and down - in the second set I got off to a good lead and then was able to hold onto that and win the set, and then I had a break point in the first game of the third and missed a return, and then it was like all the energy went out of me. I certainly dug myself into too much of a hole to try and get out."

Sara Errani had praise for her Australian opponent when she stated, “Sam is a great player but I was ready today. I'm happy I won and that I'm still in the tournament - I hope I can play well tomorrow too and maybe win, I don't know, we'll see how it goes."

Sara Errani will take on world number five Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in her final round-robin match at the WTA Championships which is very much a quarter-final for both the players as the winner of this match will proceed into knockout stage.

Sara said of Agnieszka Radwanska, "She's a very strong player. I know her and we have played before. It will be a tough match and we will see what happens."

In another mouth-watering showdown on Friday, Victoria Azarenka and Li Na will battle it out for a place in the last-four.

The first match on Friday is a dead-rubber between Maria Sharapova and Sam Stosur because the result will have no effect on the standings in the White Group. 

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Sam Stosur puts a lid on Alize Cornet in Kremlin Cup

By Alexia Krause

Samantha Stosur survives scare at Kremlin Cup

MOSCOW, Russia (TheSportsNEXT) October 19, 2012: Top-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia backed her abilities and talent to stave off a massive scare against Alize Cornet of France and defeated her by 7-6 7-5 to book her a place in quarter-finals of the Kremlin Cup on Thursday.

The victory came for Sam Stosur not really because of her great tennis skills but an inability of Alize Cornet to execute crucial points as the Frenchwoman lost the first set by 7-6 after losing the tiebreak 8-6.

Alize Cornet, who is 43^rd ranked in the WTA Tour Rankings, was once again in a position of advantage in the second set when she was leading by 5-4 but only then she wasted three set points which ate up all the remaining confidence in her. At the same time, Alize’s inability to close the deal gave Sam Stosur enough breathing space to execute a hard-fought victory just before midnight.

In another match, fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia continued her return to top draw with a comfortable 6-1 6-4 victory over Russian qualifier Valeria Solovieva to storm into quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup.

Ana Ivanovic, who will be up against 158^th-ranked Vesna Dolonc of Russia, told reporters, "I think she looked nervous, especially in the first set, because it was probably her first big match.

Her opponent Vesna Dolonc, who took Serbian citizenship last year, thrashed Simona Halep of Romania in virtually no contest by 6-1 6-0 to advance into her first quarterfinal on the WTA Tour this season.

In the men’s Kremlin Cup, top-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine didn’t enjoy the luck as good as Sam Stosur and crashed out of the tournament after 116^th-ranked Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France saved four match points to win the match by 6-3 5-7 7-6.

The 28-year-old Edouard Roger Vasselin has entered third quarterfinal this season where he will take on Ivo Karlovic of Croatia who got the better of Alex Bogomolov Jr. by 7-6 6-4 with the help of 16 aces.

Edouard Roger Vasselin told reporters after his triumph, "Dolgopolov just didn't play well on those match points. He looked a bit tense out there”.

Carlos Berlocq of Argentina, who was seventh seeded in the tournament, also was knocked out of the Kremlin Cup second seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy and fourth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil advanced further.

Andreas Seppi edged out Igor Sijsling of Netherlands by 7-5 6-2 while Thomaz Bellucci kicked out Flavio Cipolla of Italy by 6-4 6-1.

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Stosur exits Japan Open; Heather enters first WTA final

By Alexia Krause

Kai-chen Chang vs Heather Watson for WTA Japan Open title on Sunday

OSAKA, Japan (TheSportsNEXT) October 13, 2012: Kai-chen Chang of Taiwan stunned former world number one Samantha Stosur of Australia in an epic semi-final encounter at WTA Japan Open on Saturday.

In the second semi-final played later on Saturday evening, Heather Watson of Great Britain stormed her way into first WTA Final of a promising career when she outlasted local favorite Misaki Doi by 7-6(2) 7-5 after a two hours long battle.

Samantha Stosur was clearly a title favorite at the Japan Open 2012 but her resilience came to a fag end with world number 134 Kai-chen Chang continuing her dream run in the tournament after a 143-minute long epic battle.

It is merit mentioning here that Kai-chen Chang has defeated players like Christina McHale, Casey Dellacqua and Laura Robson on her way to the Japan Open Semi-Finals.

Chang came up with two breaks in the first set and won 21 out of 28 points on serve in the second set before forcing a decider which she eventually prevailed.

Heather Watson, who is currently ranked 71 in the WTA Tour Rankings, presented her appetite for big victories against Misaki Doi of Japan as she did a world of good to her rankings which are scheduled to be updated on Monday.

This is the second time in last three weeks that a British teenager has surged into final of a WTA event after Laura Robson played final of the Guangzhou International but on that occasion she failed to win the penultimate encounter.

However, Heather Watson will enter into Japan Open final as favorite despite of Kai-chen Chang’s giant-killing run as she is yet to meet a bad day in the office in the tournament.

No matter what happens in Sunday’s final, the only guaranteed thing is a new winner for the WTA Japan Open title.

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Victoria Azarenka storms into US Open Semifinals

By Raleigh McPherson

NEW YORK (TheSportsNext) September 5, 2012: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus proved why she is the world number one tennis player on Tuesday when she kicked out the US Open defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia, who was seventh seeded in the event, with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) victory that earned her semifinals berth in the US Open 2012.

With this victory, Victoria Azarenka, 23, has made sure that she will remain as they world number one even if she faces defeat in the semifinal of the US Open 2012 at the Flushing Meadows.

Victoria Azarenka showed she had the appetite for success as she never lost her confidence and composure and ousted the seventh seeded defending champion in a hard-fought encounter.

The current Australian Open champion now awaits winner of the quarterfinal match between Marion Bartoli of France, 11^thseeded, and Maria Sharapova of Russia, third seeded in the semifinal clash.

It is important to mention here that Maria Sharapova completed her career Grand Slam this year by winning the French Open title and is looking in great touch at the US Open.

With rains hitting the tennis action on Tuesday most of the matches were put off for Wednesday but Victoria Azarenka completed her victory on Tuesday despite of a 75-minute delay in the first set.

Samantha Stosur is yet to find a solution to her Azarenka problems as the Australian tennis player is yet to defeat her Belarusian opponent in their six meetings at the top level.

Talking about her attitude and appetite for victory, Victoria Azarenka told reporters, "I don't want to stop yet”.

When asked about her opponent, Azarenka stated, "She played amazing. The level was so much harder today. She made me play my best."

Admitting to the pressure of the match, Azarenka said, “We both showed some excellent tennis. You could feel the pressure all the time. We really both gave it all. We fought really hard, making each other run like crazy."

With this triumph, Victoria Azarenka also avoided becoming the first US Open women's top seed to crash out before the semis since Dinara Safina's third-round exit in 2009. However, another interesting point is that no women’s top seed has gone on to win a Grand Slam title since 2010 when Serena Williams won the Wimbledon title while no women’s top seed has won the US Open title since 2007 when Justine Henin achieved the feat.

However, Victoria Azarenka enjoys psychological advantage against both of her potential semi-final opponents as she leads Maria Sharapova 5-4 and Mario Bartoli 8-3.

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Stosur, Djokovic, Roddick stay alive in US Open

By Raleigh McPherson

Maria Sharapova of Russia

NEW YORK (TheSportsNext) September 3, 2012: Women’s defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia ended a dream run of giant-killer Laura Robson of England with a hard-earned 6-4 6-4 victory to book her a place in quarterfinals of the US Open 2012 on early Monday.

Samantha Stosur of Australia

Men’s defending champions Novak Djokovic of Serbia also lived up to expectations when he made short work of Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 at the Ashe Arthur Stadium to storm into fourth round for the sixth consecutive year.

In a marathon encounter, David Ferrer tamed down 2001 US Open champion Lleyton Hewitt in Armstrong Stadium by 7-6 (9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 to book a berth in fourth round of the competition.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia

Maria Sharapova survived a scare against fellow Russian Nadia Petrova before defeating her by 6-1 4-6 6-4 to set up clash against Marion Bartoli of France who stunned fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic by 1-6 6-2 6-0.

In another top class match, local player Andy Roddick extended his stay at the US Open by beating Fabio Fognini of Italy by 7-5, 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 in his third round match.

It is merit mentioning here that Andy Roddick has already announced that the US Open 2012 is final assignment of his international tennis career.

Andy Roddick of United States

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Samantha Stosur races into US Open 2012 3rd round

By Raleigh McPherson

NEW YORK (TheSportsNext) August 30, 2012: Samantha Stosur of Australia remained on course to defend her US Open title on Wednesday when she steamrolled Edina Gallovits-Hall of Romania by 6-3 6-0 in Ashe Arthur Stadium.

 

The defending champion needed only 60 minutes to sweep aside her Romanian opponent and book her place in the third round of the US Open 2012.

Samantha Stosur won her maiden grand slam title last year in the Flushing Meadows and looking in good touch ahead of bigger contests in penultimate stages of the tournament.

The world number 135 Gallovits-Hallas had little credentials to offer against one of the best tennis players in WTA Tour and could never stand the power of Samantha Stosur who was oozing with confidence.

Samantha Stosur will be next up against American Varvara Lepchenko in the third round of the US Open 2012.

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