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.

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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.

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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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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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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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Samantha Stosur cruises into Japan Open last-4

By Liu Shiwen

Samantha Stosur of Australia into Japan Open Semi-Finals

OSAKA, Japan (TheSportsNEXT) October 13, 2012: Former world number one Samantha Stosur of Australia regained her lost touch in Osaka where she stormed her way into Semi-Finals of the Japan Open on Friday with an impressive 6-2 6-4 triumph over Jamie Hampton of United States.

 

Sam Stosur, who is top-seeded in the Japan Open 2012, looked in an incredible form as she put on exhibition her touch of 2011 US Open winning campaign and devastated her unseeded opponent completely.

Samantha Stosur at Japan Open

Samantha Stosur broke Jamie Hampton’s serve at least seven times and never faced a single break point on her serve.

Samantha Stosur looked impressive at the start of the current WTA season but lost her guile as the season moved forward and is now placed at ninth in the world.

However, she has stormed back to his lost form and will look to topple Kai-chen Chang of Taiwan on Saturday in the Japan Open Semi-Final.

Kai-chen Chang defeated giant-killer eighth-seeded Laura Robson of Great Britain by 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) in the Quarter-Finals.

Sam Stosur vs Jamie Hampton

Unseeded local favorite Misaki Doi rode on great home support and advantage to keep extending her winning spree at the Japan Open as she raced to her first-ever WTA Semi-Final with a victory over seventh-seeded Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa by 2-6 6-1 6-3.

Misaki Doi will next play Heather Watson of Great Britain in the semi-finals after she outlasted Pauline Parmentier of France by 7-5, 6-3 in the Japan Open quarterfinal.

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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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Radwanska, Petrova to fight for Pan Pacific Open title

By Liu Shiwen

TOKYO, Japan (TheSportsNEXT) September 29, 2012: Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska and Nadia Petrova won their respective semi-final clashes at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Friday to set up a mouth-watering final to be played Saturday.

Agnieszka Radwanska outclassed Angelique Kerber by 6-1 6-1 while Russian Nadia Petrova stunned Australia Samantha Stosur by 6-4 6-2 to enter her first final at the WTA premier five event in Tokyo.

In the first semi-final, Agnieszka Radwanska wasted no time in pulverizing Angelique Kerber and despite of wrapping herself in taping at arms, neck, and shoulders she she put on exhibition tremendous form to maul a less-experienced opponent.

Talking to reporters after her victory, Agnieszka Radwanska said, "Even if it was 6-1 6-1 I had to run a lot to win that match”.

"The games were long so I started to try something different, mixing my game up. It worked. I'm just happy I could play my best tennis", she added.

It is merit mentioning here that Radwanska has this week qualified for the season-ending WTA Championships in Turkish city of Istanbul. She is the fourth player to qualify for the Istanbul event and four other sports are still up for grabs.

In the second semi-final, Nadia Petrova showed big heart as she posted yet another upset at the Pan Pacific Open 2012 with eighth seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia becoming her latest victim.

Nobody had expected such a one-sided semi-final clash, especially in Nadia Petrova’s favor.

Nadia Petrova, who is chasing her second title of the WTA Season 2012, came into the match with a 5-3 career advantage over Samantha Stosur and she took little time to extend her record to 6-3 over the former US Open champion.

Samantha Stosur looked out of sorts completely as she consistently committed unforced errors and could last for only an hour and 47 minutes.

However, Nadia Petrova showed great respect for her Australian opponent when she told reporters, "Sam is a tough opponent. She has a huge serve, a huge forehand. You have to be alert, you have to play your best tennis and I was able to accomplish that."

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Maria Sharapova labors into Pan Pacific Open 3rd round

By Liu Shewin

TOKYO, Japan (TheSportsNEXT) September 25, 2012: World number two woman tennis player Maria Sharapova of Russia was made to work hard for victory in her second round match of the Pan Pacific Open as British qualifier Heather Watson stretched the match to three sets in Tokyo on Tuesday.

 

After losing the first set by 6-7, former world number one player stormed her way back to form and won the next two sets by 6-3 6-4 to reach last 16 round of the tournament.

Talking to reporters after winning the match, Maria Sharapova said, ''I was facing someone who had gone through (qualifying) and already played so I was definitely the rustier of the two. Overall, it was just one of those matches where you are glad to be through”.

Maria Sharapova is bidding for her third Tokyo title here after winning the Pan Pacific Open crown in 2005 and 2009.

The next opponent for Maria Sharapova is Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic who got a walk over after her opponent Klara Zakopalova of Czech Republic was unable to play because of a left wrist injury.

When asked about Safarova, Maria Sharapova said, “She's a tough player. She had a break today with the walkover while I played three hours but hopefully that won't be a factor”.

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