On Friday in Sydney, Australia, in the final of the Apia International, the 2011 champion at Luxembourg, Miami and Marbella, 21 year old #4 (career high: #3) Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (res: Monte Carlo, Monaco), defeated last year's Sydney and French Open champion, 29 year old 4th seeded #5 (career high: #4—and all-time Chinese #1) Na Li from Wuhan, Hubei, China. 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 (Vika is shown holding the glassware after the match).     Victoria's prize is $107,000; Na's prize is $57,000.     Victoria started the match well, but Na took control in the second set, and broke Vika's serve at the start of the 3rd.     Victoria said: "It was really difficult. I knew at some point I would get a chance, so I just had to stay with her and fight. I kept my composure.     "We showed some incredible tennis out there. Li Na, she's always dangerous, and she proved it again today. I'm just glad I could overcome her and win this match." WTA story     Na said: "I don't think anything went wrong. I think it was a very good final. There's nothing to worry about. We were showing our best tennis. And my tennis is much, much better than the last half year—but it's still step by step."     Na still leads Vika 4-3 in career matches. But Victoria also won the last time that they played, on a late last year on an indoor hardcourt in the round robin of the WTA Championships in Istanbul, 6-2, 6-2.     2011 WTA Championships finalist Victoria is now 9-8 in WTA singles finals. She won last year at Miami, Marbella and Luxembourg, and reached the final at Madrid. Vika had a 55-17 singles match record in 2011.     2011 Australian Open finalist and French Open champion Na is now 5-6 in WTA singles finals; she won at Sydney last year, at Birmingham in 2010, at Gold Coast in 2008, and at Guangzhou in 2004. Na had a 32-17 singles match record last year.

    On Saturday in Hobart, Tasmania, in the final of the Moorilla International, 21 year old qualifier #69 (last week, this week at a career high: #64) Mona Barthel from Neumunster, Germany, won her first WTA singles title by defeating the 2010 Auckland champ (and a 2009 US Open semifinalist), 22 year old top seeded #26 (career high: #12) Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), 6-1, 6-2 (Mona is shown with the hardware and software after the match).
    Mona's prize is $37,000; Yanina's prize is $19,000.

    Mona said: "I was a little bit surprised at the score, but I played a really good match today and [Yanina] made some easy mistakes. I made only a few mistakes and put a lot of pressure on her. I also think I served well, not just today but throughout the week. It helped me a lot, especially in the tough moments." WTA story

    Yanina said: "[Mona] played a very good match and it was a bad performance from me. I didn't play well. I tried to be aggressive but made a lot of unforced errors. I was looking for my game but couldn't find it out there today."

    Yanina and Mona had met only once before, in 2010 on a hardcourt in the quarterfinals of an ITF tourney in Torhout, Belgium, when Yanina defeated Mona, 6-3, 7-6(9).

    Mona was playing in her first WTA singles final. She has won 5 ITF singles titles and 1 ITF doubles title. Mona was 58-20 in pro singles (including ITF play) last year.

    Yanina is now 3-4 in WTA singles finals. She won in Auckland in 2010, and in Estoril and Linz in 2009. Yanina's 2011 singles match record was 31-19.

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