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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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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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Victoria Azarenka clinches 6th WTA title of 2012 at Generali Ladies Linz

By Alexia Krause

Victoria Azarenka wins her 13th career title at Linz

LINZ, Austria (TheSportsNEXT) October 14, 2012: World number one Victoria Azarenak won her sixth WTA title of the Year 2012 on Sunday when she outplayed Julia Goerges of Germany in straight sets to clinch final of the Generali Ladies Linz in Austria.

 

The Belarusian world number one, who was top-seeded in the Linz WTA event, produced yet another remarkable performance to clinch her 13^th career title and Sunday’s victory was her 12^th consecutive triumph.

Victoria Azarenka needed only an hour and 18 minutes to beat the world number 19 Julia Goerges by 6-3 6-4 on the hard court of Linz.

The last few weeks have been quite extravagant for Azarenka as she won her 12^th career title in Beijing last week by undoing Maria Sharapova in final and she never dropped more than two games in the whole Linz event.

Fifth seeded Julia Goerges had no answer to a mixture of strong serves and ferocious returns by the world number one as she had to witness the same fate as she recorded in Dubai in February where she had to end up as runners-up.

This was Victoria Azarenka’s fourth straight victory over Julia Goerges in all five matches between the two as the German had won their first bilateral encounter where the Belarusian had to retire owing to a shoulder injury in Stuttgart in April 2011.

The Generali Ladies Linz is a warm-up event leading to the WTA Finals in Istanbul starting this month and carries a prize money worth $220,000.

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Heather Watson ends 24-year British WTA title wait with Japan Open triumph

By Liu Shiwen

Heather Watson ends British WTA Title Drought

OSAKA, Japan (TheSportsNEXT) October 14, 2012: Heather Watson of Great Britain outlasted Kai-chen Chang of Taiwan by 7-5 5-7 7-6(4) in an epic thriller final of the Japan Open to put an end to her country’s 24-year-long wait for a WTA title.

Heather Watson achieved what her fellow countrywoman Laura Robson failed to do at Guangzhou Open last month and became only the first British woman to wear a WTA crown since Sara Gomer achieved the feat in 1988.

Heather Watson witnessed the two sides of the game during the hard-fought final which she started by winning the first set and then finding her on the ebb of losing the final with 5-4 down in the final set.

However, the Bollettieri-trained Heather Watson saved four match points at 5-4 in the third set to put her hands on the Japan Open 2012 title.

The world number 71 from Great Britain will get a major boost in WTA Tour Rankings which will be updated on Monday after her classy victory in the $220,000 Shanghai hardcourt event.

Since Sara Gomer’s WTA title triumph in 1988, Jo Durie was the only British woman player to qualify for the WTA event’s final in 1990 at Newport, which was well before either Laura Robson or Heather Watson came into this world.

Heather Watson told reporters, "It's just starting to sink in. I've worked so hard for this moment. That's why I practiced so hard, ran all those miles, lifted all those weights - for moments like this”.

Referring to Andy Murray’s inspirational London 2012 gold medal and US Open Grandl Slam title victory, Heather Watson said, “Britain has been breaking quite a few records recently. I'm happy I could break another one today. I'm proud to do this for my country."

Heather Watson, 20, had never before in her WTA career gone beyond the quarter-finals of a WTA tournament and she grabbed the opportunity with both hands when she eventually got the chance to play for the title.

On the other hand, Kai-chen Chang was looking to become the third Taiwanese woman tennis player ever to clinch a WTA title and she looked in great touch during the whole tournament after beating players like US Open champion Samantha Stosur in the semi-final.

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Victoria Azarenka faces Julia Goerges in Generali Ladies final

By Alexia Krause

Victoria Azarenka just a victory away from 14th WTA career title at Generali Ladies.

LINZ, Austria (TheSportsNEXT) October 13, 2012: World number one Victoria Azarenka locked horns against fifth-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany in final of the Generali Ladies after they won their respective semi-final encounters in Linz on Saturday.

Victoria Azarenka, who is bidding to win her sixth title of the WTA Tour 2012, blasted Irina Camelia Begu of Romania in virtually no-contest semi-final by 6-2 6-1.

In the other semi-final of the Linz WTA Tournament, Julia Goerges of Germany came from behind in great fashion to stun Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium by 1-6 6-2 6-3.

Belarusian top seeded Victoria Azarenka made sure that she stays on course for her ninth final appearance of 2012 season with a combination of strong serves and ferocious returns as her Romanian opponent had no choice but to drop her shoulders.

Victoria Azarenka is in best form these days as she won Beijing Open title last week and now is just a victory away from her 14^th WTA career title.

It is merit mentioning here that Victoria Azarenka has already won Australian Open title and then augmented her reputation with title victories at Sydney, Doha and Indian Wells.

However, the 23-year-old Belarusian has lost three finals since then including the last month’s US Open final against Serena Williams which left her burst into tears.

Julia Goerges has nothing to lose as the world’s 19^th best women’s tennis player is yet to win her first title of the ongoing season and is also yet to beat Victoria Azarenka in her career. The only time these two players were met in a final was in Qatar where Azarenka got the better of the German woman ace.

Julia Goerges was very much aware of her stakes in final when she told reporters on Saturday, "Obviously I am the underdog, she is the world No. 1. I will try to play my own game, focus on myself and show her how dangerous my game can be."

Talking about Kirsten Flipkens, Goerges said, "She served well so it was hard to get into the match. I am happy I managed to find my game in the second set and win the match”.

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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 Generali Ladies Semi-Final

By Alexia Krause

LINZ, Austria (TheSportsNEXT) October 13, 2012: World number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus continued her winning ways in Linz on Friday when she stormed into Semi-Final of the Generali Ladies with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 victory over Petra Martic of Croatia.

 

With this triumph, Victoria Azarenka made her way into 10^th straight Semi-Final of the year as she has witnessed a mammoth Year 2012.

Victoria Azarenka looked in control right from the word go and raced to a 4-0 advantage by winning the first 10 points on offer and never allowed her Croatian opponent, who she was playing for the first time ever, to make a comeback.

Victoria Azarenka told reporters, “I feel like I adjusted really well. Every day I have to push myself. It's not easy, even when it seems easy out there on court.''

The Belarusian world number one women tennis player is in tremendous form this season and is yet to drop even a single set in her last 11 straight matches. After pulling out in the quarterfinals at Tokyo fortnight ago, Victoria Azarenka came back strongly with title victory in Beijing last week.

Victoria Azarenka will be up against either Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States or Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania for Semi-Final encounter.

On the other hand, lady luck was not that kind on Ana Ivanovic of Russia who was defeated by Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in straight sets.

The two-time former Generali Ladies champion Ana Ivanovic looked completely out of color once dethroned in the first set from a position of 3-1 to losing it by 6-4.

It is merit mentioning here that Ana Ivanovic had won the Generali Ladies title in 2008 and 2010.

Kirsten Flipkens, who is ranked 66^th in the WTA Tour Rankings, had entered the Generali Ladies after a qualifying for the main draw, exhibited her hidden talent on the court by winning 11 of the 12 games after trailing by 3-1 in the first set.

She eventually won the match by 6-4 6-0 and she couldn’t hide her feelings when she told reporters, “It's incredible that I've beaten her. I tried to play my own game and switched a lot between attacking and defensive shots. Then Ana started to make more mistakes! I think that was because of the way I was playing”.

Kirsten Flipkens, who recently made an impact on the world women’s tennis by winning her first title in Quebec City last month, will next meet Julia Goerges of Germany for a place in Sunday’s final.

Julia Goerges defeated Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-1 6-4 to reach the Semi-Finals of the Generali Ladies 2012.

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