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.

Read More

Sick Petra Kvitova pulls out of WTA Championships

By Magdalena Stanislav

Petra Kvitova pulls out of WTA Championships title defense

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 24, 2012: The WTA Championships will certainly have a new winner crowned this year after defending champion Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic withdrew from the tournament citing a viral illness.

-->

Samantha Stosur of Australia will replace Petra Kvitova at the WTA Championships as the WTA gave no detail of the nature of illness to the defending champion.

Petra Kvitova, who is world number six in WTA Tour Rankings, got off to an embarrassing start to her title defense in Istanbul last night when Agnieszka Radwanska defeated her in straight sets by 6-3 6-2 as the Czech committed a whopping 41 unforced errors.

Later on her Twitter account, Petra Kvitova said, “I am on my way to the airport now to fly home and see my doctor. I am so sad to withdraw from the WTA Champs and to leave Istanbul.

I want to say sorry to the Turkish fans who supported me so much here. I just wasn't able to compete at 100 per cent and need to recover”, she added.

“Will keep fingers crossed for Fed Cup and let you know. Good luck to Sam, hope she can win some matches for me :)”, she stated on social networking website Twitter.

The WTA Championships comprises of the WTA Tour Rankings’ top eight women players and this year the Red Group has Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Serena Williams of United States, Angelique Kerber of Germany, and Li Na of China while the White Group has Maria Sharapova of Russia, Samantha Stosur of Australia, Sara Errani, and Agnieszka Radwanska.

Karel Tejkal  and Petra Kvitova on Day 1 of WTA Championships in Istanbul

Read More

Serena Williams storms past Li Na at WTA Championships

By Magdalena Stanislav

Serena Williams posted 28th win in 29 matches against Li Na at WTA Championships

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 24, 2012: Serena Williams of United States won her second straight match at the WTA Championships 2012 on Wednesday when she edged out Li Na of China by 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 in Istanbul.

-->

Serena Williams, who found her serve erratic right throughout the match, especially in the opening set, found it hard to fight against her faults and Li Na at the same time but the woman with the tough character avoided all the challenges to register a rather easy victory in the end.

Serena Williams hit six double-faults and could only win 51 percent of the points upon first serve and eventually sealed the deal on her third match point.

Li Na also had a struggling outing as there were eight breaks in the first set and three more in the second with both players struggling for rhythm dearly.

With this victory, Serena Williams has now won 28 of her last 29 matches and is enjoying a sound phase in her career where she clinched the Grand Slam titles of Wimbledon and US Open and won London 2012 Women’s Tennis Gold to put icing on the cake.

Despite of her glittering year, the lack of fitness has left her in a position where she can only fight for finishing as world number two in the WTA Tour Rankings, in case she wins at WTA Championships.

In the other matches scheduled for Wednesday, world number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will face off against Angelique Kerber while Maria Sharapova of Russia will take on Agnieszka Radwanska in the final encounter of the night.

Read More

WTA Championships: Sharapova, Williams, Radwanska start with victories

By Magdalena Stanislav

Agnieszka Radwanska stuns defending champion Petra Kvitova at WTA Championships 2012

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 24, 2012: Maria Sharapova of Russia, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Serena Williams of United States won their first matches at the year-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul on Tuesday.

-->

Maria Sharapova defeated Sara Errani by 6-3 6-2 in what was a repeat of the French Open final, Agnieszka Radwanska battered struggling titleholder Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic by 6-3 6-2, whereas Serena Williams made short work of Angelique Kerber by 6-4 6-1.

Serena Williams, who won Wimbledon and US Open titles, is looking in great form but won’t be able to surge towards the WTA world number one ranking as she had to sit out of the tennis action for the best part of the season owing to injuries but another feather in crown would be just the perfect motivation for her.

It is important to mention here that Serena Williams, who has won 15 Grand Slam titles, has ended WTA season as world number one only twice in her career and those came in 2002 and 2009.

Serena has featured in the Istanbul WTA Championships six times and won the title here twice in 2001 and 2009. Since winning her second title in Istanbul, the American top tennis ace is featuring in this tournament for the first time.

The TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships 2012 features two eight players in the world and this year Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova, Sara Errani, and Li Na are participating in the event.

Maria Sharapova, Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova, and Agnieszka Radwanska are pooled in Whites Group while the other group has Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, and Li Na.

Playing in her first match since winning the US Open title, Serena Williams showed no signs of rustiness as she breezed to victory against Angelique Kerber. Talking to reporters after her victory, Serena Williams said, “Obviously, I would rather win majors. I've been No. 1 and I would love to be No. 1 again. I think maybe one day I will. We'll see. I just feel if I keep winning tournaments, majors, tournaments like this, and playing well and consistently, the ranking will come”.

Serena Williams may not have the chance to vie for the world number one spot but Maria Sharapova kept her in numbers game when she raced to 6-3 6-2 victory over Sara Errani in her first match of the competition.

Victoria Azarenka, who holds the top position in the WTA Tour Rankings, will feature in her first match at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships 2012 on Wednesday.

Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic, who won the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships title last year, got off to a disappointing start against Agnieszka Radwanska on Tuesday.

Petra Kvitova, who entered into this tournament on a 25-match winning streak indoors, looked far from her best and seemed nervous like a rookie as she lost her first three games before recovering to draw at 3-3. However, Radwanska broke her again and sealed the deal in the first set.

After losing the first set, Petra Kvitova looked even more drained out against a fitter and steadier Agnieszka Radwanska as the Czech fell to her first loss in four matches against Radwanska and overall her second loss in 28 indoor matches in the last two years.

Agnieszka Radwanska told reporters after her impressive inaugural day show, “I am just happy that I could play my best tennis today and close that match in two sets. It's a good start”.

Petra Kvitova, who had won the WTA Championships last year without losing a single match, told reporters, “I was nervous all match. I had a lot of errors”.

All is not lost for Petra Kvitova as the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships 2012 tournament has a round-robin format and she has two more matches to get her a place in the last-four.

Read More