Day five action of the WTA Finals begins with Maria Sharapova against Agnieszka Radwanska. The Russian needed to win in straight sets to give herself a chance of advancing to the semi-finals, and started out strongly. She broke Agnieszka’s serve in the first game, but was unable to hold on to that advantage. The pair traded breaks and holds, until Sharapova attempted to serve out the set at 5-4. Maria faltered badly, but recovered well enough to break serve again to close out the set the second time, 7-5.
Winning the first set seemed to empower Maria, as she started hitting with more ferocity and higher decibels. Agnieszka tried to hang in the rallies, but was overpowered eventually. Leading 5-1 with two breaks, one would have thought Sharapova had this in the bag. However, Agnieszka scrambled around the court, and made Maria win the points on her own accord. Sharapova got increasingly tight and frustrated, losing serve twice for the Pole to level the match. A tiebreak had to be played to settle the second set, and errors proved costly for the Russian as she committed another error to concede the set, wasting three match points in the process.
By losing a set, Sharapova was out of the tournament. She took a lengthy toilet break, and came back free of any pressure. She swung freely, playing the aggressive tennis that she’s so capable of. However, it came a set too late as she hit another winner to win in three sets, 7-5 6-7(3) 6-2.
Petra Kvitova needed to win her match to reach the semi-finals, but Caroline thwarted her plans. Despite going down a break early, Caroline rallied back, playing steady tennis which rattled the Wimbledon champion. The Dane played with good controlled aggression, and clinched the first set with a pin-point backhand return winner.
The second set was similar to the first, where Petra struck first. However, the Czech was unable to hold on to her lead and got promptly broken back after another error. Caroline went from strength to strength, playing the smart aggressive tennis which saw her rise to the pole position three years ago. The match ended with a 6-2 6-3 victory for Wozniacki, effectively sending her good friend Radwanska into the semi-finals. Caroline jokingly remarked that Agnieszka owes her a handbag in her post-match conference.
Simona’s fan base more than doubled when Serena’s advancement depended on the Romanian. Needing to win in straight sets to advance, the nervous Ivanovic looked nervous and was broken first. Simona tightened the screws and built a 5-2 lead with a steady aggressive game. However, the Serbian will not be denied as she won the next four games to level the match with good attacking play. A tiebreak was needed to settle the first set, where Ivanovic raced out to a 5-2 lead, only to see Simona inch back to 6-5. With the crowd at the edge of their seats, Ana somehow squeezed out the next two points, and won the tight tiebreak 9-7.
Losing the first set with such a tight score line did not faze Simona, as she quickly build a 4-1 lead in the second set. Fighting for her dear life, Ana summoned her A game to level the match at 4-3 on serve. The tension was too much for Ana though, as she committed double faults and errors to give back the break to Simona. With the whole of Serena’s fan base behind her, Simona Halep did not disappoint, as she confidently served out the set.
Despite being out of the tournament, Ivanovic still fought hard for the third set. Utilising her lethal forehand to great effect, she gained a crucial break at 4-3 and deservingly served out the match. Final score: 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3.
The next match pitted doubles top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci against the experienced duo of Katarina Srebotnik and Kveta Peschke. What was supposed to be an exciting match featuring distinct playing styles turned out to be a huge disappointment. Sara Errani quit after playing three games, citing rib injury in an anti-climactic end to the day.
The four singles semi-finalists are thus decided, with Serena Williams facing Caroline Wozniacki, and Simona Halep tackling Agnieszka Radwanska. Tomorrow will also feature the two doubles semi-finals, so there will be a lot at stake. Limited tickets to the WTA Finals are still available, so grab yours from sportshub.com.sg.
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.
