WTA Finals Semi-finals day started with Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei taking on Anastasia Rodionova and Alla Kudryavtseva. The higher ranked pair is playing their last event as a team, and raced out to a 5-0 lead with precise hitting. The 8th seeds received some consolation by getting on the scoreboard, but Peng/Hsieh closed it out confidently 6-1.
The second set was tighter than the first, with Rodionova taking charge of points at the net. Peng kept calm under pressure, saving break points on her serve, and eventually got the crucial break. They held on to that advantage until the end, and makes their second consecutive tour championships final.
Yet to drop a match in this tournament, Caroline Wozniacki’s game was put to the test against the great Serena Williams. The Dane was not intimidated by the world number 1, and served great, hit deep to keep Williams on the back foot. Serena on the other hand, was lethargic and flat, leaking errors especially from her forehand. In less than half an hour, Caroline Wozniacki races to claim the first set 6-2.
Caroline threatened to continue that trend with inspiring play, but Serena dug deep. The champion got fired up after clinching a crucial break to lead, putting the pressure on Caroline. The belief began to fade for the Dane as she committed errors which were missing in the first set. Caroline committed a rare double fault, gifting Serena the second set, 6-3.
With Serena’s fire starting the re-ignite, the American began to boom down her serves. When Serena gets her serve going, the rest of her game follows. Caroline kept pace with her though, protecting her own service well. The third set progressed according to serve, until Caroline grabbed the all-important break at 5-4. It is a daunting task to close out a match against Serena Williams if you don’t have the belief. True enough, Serena struck immediately, breaking the Dane’s serve to level the match.
Caroline was serving at 5-6 to stay in the match when Serena reached her first match point. However, Serena looked nervous and wasted her first opportunity with an error. A tiebreak was needed to separate the two, making the crowd go wild with excitement. Caroline quickly led 4-1, but the self-doubt crept in again as Serena fought back with some fantastic shot-making, including a lucky net-cord winner. At 4-6 facing two match points, Caroline found her footing again and saved both of them with great hitting. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric and has reached fever pitch with the score tied at 6-all. Somebody’s got to give and it is not going to be Serena. The American slammed down an ace out wide, putting the pressure back on Caroline. Down 6-7 in the tiebreak, a forehand from the Dane sailed wide to give Serena a well-deserved 2-6 6-3 7-6(6) victory in 2 hours and 13 minutes. With such high drama and quality hitting, we have yet another contender for match of the year.
Simona Halep righted the ship after losing her last round robin match today. She took control of the rallies today against Agnieszka Radwanska early in the match, breaking the Pole’s serve twice to lead 4-1. The Romanian was firing from all cylinders today, dominating play with her precise serve and lethal backhand. There was little that Agnieszka could do except watch winners whizz pass her. First set to Simona Halep 6-2.
Agnieszka had a lot of tricks in her bag, but was unable to deploy them today. Simona tracked everything down and returned them with interest. Almost a carbon copy of the first set, Simona broke twice and saved all her break points. There was scant consolation that Radwanska held to trail 2-5, and Simona confidently sealed the match with an easy smash put-away at the net. Game, set, match, Simona Halep, 6-2 6-2.
Last match of the day featured doubles 3rd seeds Cara Black and Sania Mirza against Katarina Srebotnik and Kveta Peschke. In an example of how not to play doubles, the team traded breaks with excessive errors. For the entire duration of the match, nobody played well at the same time. The crowd had trouble getting into the match when the teams were making easy mistakes that amateurs would commit. Featuring numerous shanks and chokes, the ordeal was finally over when Peschke hit yet another error. Final score: 4-6 7-5 11-9.
Sunday is the finale of the tournament which promises to be the most exciting day of the week. How will Serena Williams react after being dealt the worst loss of her career against Simona Halep? Will Simona have what it takes to beat Serena twice in a row? Or will Serena get sweet revenge for her humiliating loss? Doubles final will also feature two teams which are splitting up next year. This is their final event as a team and I’m sure they want to end their partnerships on a high. Tickets are already sold out for the finale, but you can still catch the action live on Super Sports Arena. For those who are lucky enough to obtain a ticket, get ready to be thrilled by these world class athletes competing for the biggest purse on the WTA tour!
About the writerAs an avid tennis fan, Sean Long keeps up to date with the happenings of the world of tennis. He lives and breathes tennis and also plays the sport. Aside from tennis, Sean maintains his health by sweating it out at the gym and enjoys food and travel.
