Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki are good friends off court, but had to put that aside as they try to cement their places in the semi-finals of the year-end championships. While both players are not known to be aggressive players, their counterpunching skills entertained the crowd with their all court tennis. Caroline fell behind a break several times in the first set, but was able to snatch it back immediately each time. At 5-5, Caroline finally broke Radwanska’s serve to lead for the first time, and promptly served it out when Agnieszka dumped a return into the net.
The second set featured the same level of play, with both players using the entire court, especially Radwanska. A couple of bad decisions gave Wozniacki the chance to go ahead, and the Dane pounced. She broke for a 5-3 lead and confidently closed out the match without much drama. The 7-5 6-3 win propels her to the top of the white group, and almost certainly qualified for the semi-finals.
Needing to win to boost their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova know it was a do-or-die situation. The Russian came out of the box quickly, breaking the Czech’s serve immediately. However, Petra started to get into her groove and subsequently levelled the score with some fine hitting. Before Sharapova could recover, Petra seized the break opportunity and claimed the first set with some ferocious hitting.
The loss of the first set probably stunned Maria, as she wasn’t playing that badly herself. Kvitova continued her fierce striking, playing aggressive yet error free tennis and broke Maria’s fragile serve twice to lead 4-0. It will be a long road back for the Russian to fight back, and she fought gallantly, saving match points on her service at 5-1. Nevertheless, Kvitova will not be denied of her win and assertively served out a convincing 6-3 6-2 victory. Her win sends Wozniacki into the semi-finals, and boosts her chance of entering the last four herself. For Sharapova, she needs to win her next match, and will be looking to salvage any dignity left of hers against Agnieszka Radwanska.
A woman on a mission, Serena Williams was determined to erase painful memories of yesterday’s loss. She takes on championships debutant Eugenie Bouchard in a bid to qualify for the semi-finals. The American was ruthless in her demolition of the Canadian. Gone were her errant ways, which was replaced with well-placed serves and controlled aggression. Before Eugenie had a chance to reflect on what has happened, she was already 6-1 5-0 down. Serena boomed down five aces, including one which recorded 205km/h on the speed meter. Eugenie finally held to trail 5-1, but it was never in doubt that Serena will serve out the match to win 6-1 6-1. With this win, Simona is guaranteed a place in the semi-finals on the virtue of sets/games won. Serena’s fate lies in the hands of Halep, whether she can defeat the dangerous Serbian in convincing fashion.
Cara Black and Sania Mirza also started their doubles campaign with a nail biting win over Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kop-Jones. The more experienced pair won 6-3 2-6 11-9, where Black’s terrific net skills were displayed in full glory.
The legends played their last match of the tournament, with Tracy Austin pairing up with Martina Navratilova against Marion Bartoli and Iva Majoli. The Americans were at an obvious disadvantage, having a combined age of 108 to Majoli and Bartoli’s 67. The younger pairing raced out to a 6-1 lead, and overpowered the net-rushing seniors. They eventually won 8-3, making Marion the only legend to win all her matches.
The round robin matches for the championships will be concluded tomorrow. With nothing set in stone, the players will definitely be trying their best to win their matches. Sharapova will attempt to win her first match here against Radwanska, and will like her chances as she has defeated the Pole the last three times they have played. Kvitova will also try to win her match against the improved Caroline Wozniacki. A defeat for the Czech will almost certainly signal her exit from the tournament, so it will be interesting to see how she manages the tension. The evening session will feature Ana Ivanovic against Simona Halep, with the Serbian needing to win in straight sets to qualify. With such a golden opportunity, Ana will definitely be hungry for the victory tomorrow. The last match of the day will see the top doubles team Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in action. The Italian duo faces Katarina Srebotnik and Kveta Peschke in their opening match.
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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.
