Unstoppable Serena Williams sinks Victoria Azarenka at WTA Championships

By Magdalena Stanislav

Who can stop American tennis queen from winning at WTA Championships?

ISTANBUL, Turkey (TheSportsNEXT) October 25, 2012:Serena Williams of United States continued to dominate the top players in the world as she decimated world number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus by a comfortable margin of 6-4 6-4 at the WTA Championships in Istanbul on Thursday.

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With her ninth straight victory against the Belarusian, Serena Williams, who has already qualified for the WTA Championships semi-finals, improved her head-to-head record against Victoria Azarenka to 11-1.

Victoria Azarenka can still end the current season on top of the WTA Tour Rankings if she wins her final round-robin match at the WTA Championships, which has world’s top eight players competing for the final title of the year.

Serena Williams, who missed much of the tennis action in 2012, can end up at world number three position and she looked great right from the start of her match against Victoria Azarenka as she raced to victory in straight sets.

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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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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.

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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.

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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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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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Victoria Azarenka cruises into last-16 in Pan Pacific Open

By Liu Shiwen

TOKYO, Japan (TheSportsNEXT) September 25, 2012: World number one Victoria Azarenka needed only 63 minutes to win her second round match at the Pan Pacific Open on Tuesday.

Azarenka defeated Tamira Paszek of Austria by 6-1 6-1 to enter the third round of the tournament.

In another match, Li Na of China shrugged off a nasty cough to defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia by 7-5 4-6 6-2.

Sara Errani of Italy also enjoyed victorious day in Tokyo as she got the better of Johanna Larsson of Sweden by 6-3 7-6 to set date with Marion Bartoli of France who beat Julia Goerges of Germany by 6-2 7-5.

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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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