WTA Oct 23-28: WTA Champ's

WTA Championships, Istanbul, Turkey
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Champ's qualifying standings
n1 Victoria Azarenka
n2 Maria Sharapova
n3 Serena Williams
n4 Agnieszka Radwanska
n5 Petra Kvitova
n6 Angelique Kerber
n7 Na Li
n8 Sara Errani
alternates:
n9 Samantha Stosur
n10 Marion Bartoli

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Istanbul:

#2 Maria Sharapova
6'2" 130lb RH 2H-BH

Istanbul:

#3 Serena Williams
5'9" 150lb RH 2H-BH

On Sunday at Istanbul, in the final of the 2012 WTA Championships, the 2012 US Open champion, 31 year old #3 (and former #1) Serena Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, FL, defeated the 2012 French Open champion, 25 year old #2 (and former #1) Maria Sharapova of Russia (res: Manhattan Beach, CA & Bradenton, FL), 6-4, 6-4 (Maria is shown during the match; Serena is shown holding the hardware afterward).

Serena's prize is $1,750,000; Maria's prize is $890,000.

Serena struck 40 winners (including 11 aces) with only 14 unforced errors (including 4 double faults) while scoring on 3 of the 6 break points she reached against Maria and totaling 67 points in the match. Maria hit 13 winners (2 aces) with 12 errors (3 DFs) and did not reach a break point against Serena while scoring 52 points in the match.

Serena said: "I feel great right now. This was exactly my dream and I'm so happy I was able to achieve it. And the Turkish fans here are so amazing, so nice and so supportive. I've never seen so many signs with my name on them. I can't even explain how that makes me feel." WTA story

Maria said: "[Serena] had another great serving day against me. I don't think I even had a break point. Maybe it was partly me not doing enough on the returns and partly she was serving well. A few moments when it was 30-all or 15-all, I didn't get a good return in."

Serena now leads Maria 10-2 in career matches. Their previous meeting was in August on a chlorophyll court in the final of 2012 London Olympic Games at Wimbledon, when Serena defeated Maria 6-0, 6-1. Maria's last win over Serena was in 2004, on an indoor hardcourt in the final of the WTA Championships at Los Angeles, when Maria defeated Serena 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

15 time Grand Slam singles champion Serena is now 46-15 in WTA singles finals. Serena won the 2010 Australian Open and Wimbledon titles, then stepped on broken glass at a restaurant after Wimbledon and was sidelined for about 11 months, during which she also suffered from a pulmonary embolism. Upon returning to play last year Serena won the Stanford and Toronto titles; this year she won at Flushing Meadows, Stanford, Wimbledon (Championships and Olympics), Charleston and Madrid.
Serena also won the WTA Championships in 2001 and 2009, and was a finalist in 2002 and 2004. Serena has a 58-4 singles match record this year, with losses to Ekaterina Makarova, Caroline Wozniacki, Virginie Razzano and Angelique Kerber.

2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open, 2008 Australian Open and 2012 French Open champion Maria is now 27-19 in WTA singles finals; she won this year at Roland Garros, Stuttgart and Rome, and last year at Rome and Cincinnati. Maria won the WTA Championships in 2004 and was also runner up in 2007. Maria's singles match record this season is 60-11.

2012 WTA Championships
Singles Round Robin Standings:
name in bold = clinched place in semifinals

Red Group	matches W-L	sets W-L
#3 Serena Williams	3-0	6-0
#1 Victoria Azarenka	2-1	4-3
#7 Na Li	1-2	2-4
#6 Angelique Kerber	0-3	1-6

White Group	matches W-L	sets W-L
#2 Maria Sharapova	3-0	6-1
#4 Agnieszka Radwanska	2-1	5-3
#8 Sara Errani	1-2	3-5
#5 Petra Kvitova replaced by Stosur after 1 match	0-1	0-2
#9 Samantha Stosur replaced Kvitova after 1 match	0-2	1-4

1st Alternate: #9 Samantha Stosur
2nd Alternate: #10 Marion Bartoli

The WTA Championships System:

Eight top players are selected for singles play in the WTA Championships, based on all the ranking points they have earned during the current WTA Tour season (this differs slightly from the WTA Rankings, which only include a maximum of 17 tourneys in the point totals).

2 groups, White and Red (the colors used for names have changed four times in recent years), play in a round-robin format (12 matches), with two winners from each group becoming semifinalists who play off on Saturday. In the semis, the player who finishes first in each group will play the second place finisher from the other group.
If players win the same number of matches, the winner of their head-to-head match in the round robin is placed higher in the standings. 3-way ties will be resolved first by the percentage of sets won, then by the percentage of games won.

Players who qualify for the WTA Championships (in singles) all will receive at least $110,000; the champion receives $1,295,000, plus another $225,000 to $455,000, depending upon how many matches they won in the round robin.
4 doubles teams also play, with no prelims.

WTA SCOREBOARD: WTA Championships

s=seed, n=rank, *=upset
ranks are for the current week

WTA Championships, Istanbul, Turkey

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WTA Championships: Eight players qualify for the WTA Championships: those who have amassed the most ranking points in the calendar year 2008. They play a 12-match round robin in 2 groups, and the top two players in each group advance to the semifinals.

click for broader view Sinan Erdem Dome, Istanbul
Latitude: 40.988183 Longitude: 28.853574 goto link for World Wind - venue map, .pdf

2012: On Sunday, October 21, in Istanbul, the field of eight were all present for theWTA Championships draw ceremony:
Li Na, Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanaska, and Sara Errani...

Istanbul WTA Champ's round robin, Tue 5pm
n2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n8 Sara Errani ITA 6-3, 6-2

Sara driving a forehand, Maria following one, and after match point

Maria struck 39 winners (including 6 aces) with 26 unforced errors (including 4 double faults) and scored on 4 of the 8 break points she reached against Sara while totaling 66 points in the match. Sara hit 6 winners (no aces) with 13 errors (2 DFs) and converted 1 of the 3 break points she reached against Maria while totaling 45 in the match.

Maria said: "It was a slow start. I gave Sara a lot of time, and that's what she likes. Her variety is what has won her so many matches this year. She loves to open the angles. I think the points were going a bit too long. I just tried to step in and be more aggressive after that, and it really helped me." WTA story

Sara said: "I played a good match. The first four or five games were so long. And I'm happy with how I played, but [Maria] was playing very strong and deep today. She was very tough."

n3 Serena Williams USA d n6 Angelique Kerber GER 6-4, 6-1

Angelique driving a backhand, Serena ready to swat a forehand, and after match point

It was Serena's first match since winning the US Open. Serena struck 26 winners (including 3 aces) with 20 unforced errors (including 4 double faults) and scored on 4 of the 10 break points she reached against Angelique while totaling 66 points in the match. Angelique hit 15 winners (1 ace) with 27 errors (5 DFs) and converted 1 of the 5 break points she reached against Serena while totaling 45 points in the match (not a typo, both Maria and Serena won 66-45 in points).

Serena had lost to Angelique in their previous meeting (this year's quarterfinals at Cincinnati). Serena said: "Obviously I'm thinking, 'Okay, she's beaten me before, so she's going to be a little confident and feel like she can beat me again. What can I do to improve?' But I really just wanted to do well and win today. When you're playing against anyone that's in the top 5 you're just trying to play better." WTA story

n4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d n5 Petra Kvitova CZE 6-3, 6-2

Petra and Agnieszka driving backhand and forehand

Agnieszka hit 11 winners with 5 unforced errors; Petra hit 23 winners, but with 41 errors.

Agnieszka said: "I'm just very happy about my performance. The first match is always tough and adjusting to a new surface is never easy, but I was playing really well from the beginning to the end of the match.
"It was still a little bit up and down today. There were a lot of breaks of serve in the match. The serve should be a big weapon, and it wasn't in this match. But I just stayed focused and I'm happy I closed this match out in two sets." WTA story

2011 Istanbul champ Petra said: "The nerves were there, for sure. I was nervous the whole match. My fingers and my legs weren't moving. I'm disappointed in myself. I made a lot of errors in the match today; it wasn't good tennis from my side. But it's the WTA Championships, and I have another chance."

Istanbul WTA Champ's round robin, Wed 5pm
n1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d n6 Angelique Kerber GER 6(11)-7, 7-6(2), 6-4

Victoria volleying a forehand, Angelique driving a backhand, and Vika fielding another forehand

The three hour, six minute match was being hailed as one of the best of the year well before it was completed. The 13-11 1st set tiebreaker tied a record for longest in WTA Championships history, and Victoria successfully defended two match points by Angelique in the 2nd set.

Victoria struck 45 winners (including 2 aces) with 40 unforced errors (including 4 double faults) and scored on 5 of the 15 break points she reached against Angelique while totaling 132 points in the match. Angie hit 49 winners (8 aces) with 43 errors (4 DFs) and converted 4 of the 6 break points she reached against Vika while totaling 121 in the match. full match stats

Victoria said: "I made a few too many unforced errors today, but it happens, and [Angelique] was playing really well. She forced me to do those unforced errors... 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." WTA story

Angelique said: "Vika played unbelievable in those moments. She played unbelievable on those match points. I really couldn't do anything."

n2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 5-7, 7-5, 7-5

Agnieszka driving a forehand, and Maria following one

The 3 hour, 12 minute match ended at 2:14am. Maria struck 66 winners with 64 unforced errors; Agnieszka hit 18 winners with 19 UEs.

Maria 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." WTA story

Agnieszka said: "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."

n3 Serena Williams USA d n7 Na Li CHN 7-6(2), 6-3

Serena serving, Na driving a backhand, and Serena following one

The match was not pretty. Serena struck 18 winners (including 6 aces) with 31 unforced errors (including 6 double faults) and scored on 6 of the 13 break points she reached against Na while totaling 80 points in the match. Na hit 19 winners (1 ace) with 36 errors (5 DFs) and converted 5 of the 10 break points she reached against Serena while totaling 73 points in the match.

Na took a 4-1 lead in the 1st set. Serena said: "I started out really strong in the first game but then started making errors, and Li started playing her game and playing it well. I was a little tight and my serve wasn't working at all today—maybe towards the end. But that's not how I usually play. The good thing is I can only play better." WTA story

Na said: "I know I had a very good beginning of the match, but after I was up maybe I was thinking too much, that I have a chance. [Serena} had a very good serve in the second set, though. And I tried my best on the court today. I had some chances but wasted them. I hope to do better in my next match tomorrow."

About playing Victoria Azarenka on Thursday, Serena said: "She's playing so well this year. I'm going to have to play better than I did in my first two rounds, playing against the #1 player in the world. But I have nothing to lose."

Serena leads Vika 10-1 in career matches.

Istanbul WTA Champ's round robin, Thu 5pm
*n3 Serena Williams USA d n1 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-3, 6-4

Serena serving, Vika following a forehand, and Serena driving a backhand

Serena, 3-0 in matches and 6-0 in sets, will finish first in the Red Group of the round robin, and will play the 2nd place finisher from the White Group, either Agnieszka Radwanska or Sara Errani, in Saturday's semifinals.

Serena struck 35 winners (including 11 aces) with 9 unforced errors (including 5 double faults) and scored on 5 of the 6 break points she reached against Victoria while totaling 69 points in the match. Vika hit 15 winners (no aces) with 22 errors (9 DFs) and converted 3 of the 9 break points she reached against Serena while totaling 57 points in the match.

Serena said: "I'd been struggling with my serve in my first two rounds. I knew I could do better, so that was keeping me going. And everything was just a little better today. I knew I needed to play better today to win against Victoria, who has had a stellar year." WTA story

Victoria will play Li Na on Friday, with the winner advancing to the semis as second place finisher in the Red Group. Victoria said: "I'll be sad for a little bit after today's match, but I'll bounce back strong for tomorrow - I'll take the best out of what I did today and transform into a better version for tomorrow. It's win or go home. I'll give everything I have to win because I want to stay a couple more days here and fight."

*n7 Na Li CHN d n6 Angelique Kerber GER 6-4, 6-3

Na serving, and Angelique and Na driving forehands

Na said: "I had my first match yesterday but felt much, much better today. I was more focused and concentrated on the court. Angelique is very good in defense. My coach, Carlos [Rodriguez, former coach of Justine Henin], was telling me before the match to use more topspin and open the court. I knew I had to change the pace to win today." WTA story

Na will play Victoria Azarenka in the third match on Friday evening in Istanbul. The winner will be in the semifinals on Saturday, playing the first place finisher from the White Group, Maria Sharapova.

n8 Sara Errani ITA d n9 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-3, 2-6, 6-0

Samantha driving a forehand, and Sara following one

Sara said: "In the beginning [Samantha] was making a lot of unforced errors, but in the second set she was playing amazing. I was just trying to stay focused and aggressive today, and I think the third set was better for me." WTA story

Samantha said: "It was a little bit up and down. In the second set I got off to a good lead and then was able to hold onto that and win the set. And then I had a break point in the first game of the third and missed a return, and then it was like all the energy went out of me. I certainly dug myself into too much of a hole to try and get out."

Istanbul WTA Champ's round robin, Fri 5pm
n1 Victoria Azarenka BLR d n7 Na Li CHN 7-6(4), 6-3

Na driving a forehand, Vika following one, and after match point

The win advanced Victoria to Saturday's semifinals as the 2nd place finisher in the Red Group of the round robin. The victory also assured that Victoria will end the season still ranked #1 in WTA singles.

Na took 4-2 at the start of the match. Victoria said: "I felt like the first set was a bit of a roller coaster. [Na] was playing well at some points, and I was playing well at some points, and we're both big shotmakers, so it all depended on who was getting control at what time. The momentum was going back and forth, but I'm glad I stayed through it and fought hard, even though I didn't feel I was executing well." WTA story

Na said: "It was the same as the Serena match, a pretty good start and then, I don't know, I just always do the same thing! But I still have positives to take away: this tournament I played the #1, #3 and #5 in the world and it was a good challenge; I didn't have injuries this year, and am healthy at the end of the season; and I'm really looking forward to the next season."

n2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n9 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-0, 6-3

Samantha and Maria driving forehands, and Sam congratulating Maria after match point

Maria said: "Sam likes to create a lot of spin, and when you give her the time she's certainly good at that, and it has gotten her a lot of success in the past. I tried to take that time away from her today and I'm happy how it turned out." WTA story
The win was in a sense academic, as Maria had already clinched 1st place in the Red Group. However, the win was good for $115,000 in prize money. And, Maria said: "I don't want to just play to play tennis. I play to win. It's not a practice match or anything."

n4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d n8 Sara Errani ITA 6(6)-7, 7-5, 6-4

Agnieszka and Sara driving forehand and backhand

The match lasted 3 hours and 29 minutes. The win advanced Agnieszka to Saturday's semifinals as the 2nd place finisher in the White Group of the round robin.

Agnieszka said: "After my last match I wasn't that fresh, so I was afraid of what would happen. I don't know how I did it today, especially after almost three and a half hours on the court, but I'm so happy. Now I'll try to do a lot of treatment to stay in one piece!." WTA story

Sara said: "I was dead maybe from the second set, but I just tried to keep fighting. In tennis you have to fight. I just tried to play point by point. Even if I was tired, it doesn't matter. I just thought about fighting, and not other things. But this is tennis. You win or you lose, and that's it."

About her semifinal opponent, Serena Williams, Agnieszka said: "Obviously Serena's a great champion. In that kind of match I have nothing to lose, so I'll just go on court and enjoy it."

alternates prizes: $50,000 • RR no wins prizes: $110,000 US; points: 210 - RR 1 win 2 losses prizes: $225,000 US; points: 370
RR 2 wins 1 loss prizes: $340,000 US; points: 530 - RR 3 wins prizes: $455,000 US; points: 690

Istanbul WTA Championships, SFs, Sat 3pm
loser's prize: RR prize + $30,000 US
*n2 Maria Sharapova RUS d n1 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-4, 6-2

Maria serving, Vika and Maria driving backhands, and Maria after match point

Maria had lost four of her last five matches against Victoria, and all of those encounters occurred this year. Maria said: "When you find yourself in a losing position a few times during the year, you want to try to figure out how to change those things around. I certainly didn't make as many mistakes today as I did in our previous matches this year. I also returned a little bit better this time, although I still feel like I could have returned better than I did today." WTA story

Victoria said: "I'm not going to say I was the freshest today, but I also don't want to make any excuses because that's not really my type. I give Maria all the credit today. She played really well and looks in great form. She deserved to win, 100%. Could I have played better? Yes. But it's done. I have no regrets. I finished a loss with a smile for the first time. It didn't feel as bad today."

n3 Serena Williams USA d n4 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-2, 6-1

Serena serving, Aga and Serena driving backhands, and Serena after match point

Agnieszka's last round robin match on Friday had kept her oncourt for 3 hours and 29 minutes, and she totaled over 8 hours in her three RR matches. Serena, on the other hand, was idle on Friday.

Serena said: "I probably had an idea she was tired. [After the match] I just told her that it was awesome she played so well and played through another match, after playing a good eight hours. It was really inspiring for me." WTA story

Agnieszka said: "Those last two matches really killed me. Especially that I didn't have the day off, and especially that surface. It's very sticky, so three and a half hours is a lot. I really tried today and I really wanted to run, but my legs just didn't. This is the kind of tournament where you have to be fit every match to win. I was trying, but Serena played too fast. I couldn't do anything."

Istanbul WTA Championships, Final, Sun 5pm
loser's prize: RR prize + $435,000 US; points: RR points + 180
winner's prize: RR prize + $1,295,000 US; points: RR points + 405
*n3 Serena Williams USA d n2 Maria Sharapova RUS 6-4, 6-3

Serena driving a forehand, Maria and Serena driving backhands, and Serena after match point

Istanbul WTA Championships, Doubles SFs, Sat 1pm
loser's prize: $93,750
*s4 Maria Kirilenko & Nadia Petrova d s1 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci 1-6, 6-3, (10-4)
s2 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka d s3 Lisa Raymond & Liezel Huber 7-6(6), 6-1

Istanbul WTA Championships, Doubles Final, Sun 2:30pm
loser's prize: $187,500
winner's prize: $375,000
*s4 Maria Kirilenko & Nadia Petrova d s2 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka 6-1, 6-4

Istanbul WTA Championships, Withdrawals
n5 Petra Kvitova CZE after 1 match due to illness

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2012 WTA Championships WTA Singles Results

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WTA Oct 23-28: WTA Champ's

The WTA Championships System: