Sunday 30 October 2011

Kvitova gains WTA Championships and No. 2 Ranking

Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka have made it through to the final and deservedly so as they have played the best the whole week fighting for their matches and showing great strength of character after other players have struggled to close out their contests. 
Kvitova started out the better of the two, gliding into a 5-0 lead with high-quality serving and effortless winners whereas Azarenka didn’t seem to show up giving her service games away with an abundance of errors.  She started to attend towards the closing stages of the first set breaking Kvitova’s serve and bringing more substance to her own.  It was now Kvitova’s turn to be tentative as she lost the rhythm on her usually blistering forehand to allow Azarenka back into the match and so the Belarusian levelled to 5-5.   But Kvitova managed to stumble on some momentum to win a bizarre first set 7-5.  Although this came with difficulty as Kvitova was only able to take the set at the fifth time of asking due to Azarenka relieving the Czech of any pressure by letting out an unforced error.
The final continued its unpredictability with Azarenka gaining a break and then promptly losing it.  Kvitova carried on the theme making unbelievable shots and then breaking down mentally awarding silly errors to let Azarenka gain another break.  As the second set progressed Azarenka looked the calmer with Kvitova’s reactions becoming louder, sharper and more aggressive after she won each point.  But this did not deter the focused Azarenka as she levelled the match with a set of her own 6-4. 
After working herself up into a frenzy in the previous set Kvitova started the better of two going into a 3-0 lead displaying some of her best tennis.  With her back against the wall Azarenka started to battle back but this was stopped by Kvitova’s defiant yelps and she kept herself ahead in the important points to win the Championships in energetic style, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. 
This has been an amazing season for Kvitova starting at No. 34 and finishing at World No. 2, with wins at Wimbledon and now the end of year championships.  Both women will certainly be formidable opponents next year. 
Results on the ATP Tour:
Vienna
J Tsonga bt J Del Potro 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4
B Bryan/M Bryan bt M Mirnyi/D Nestor 7-6(10), 6-3
St. Petersburg
M Cilic bt J Tipsarevic 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
C Fleming/R Hutchins bt M Elgin A Kudryavtsev 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-8

Short but Sweet

I played again today and won a quick easy match, not making many errors and serving well.  I only got one match today which was a little annoying as it meant 3 hours in the car for only a 50 minute match.  But I am pleased I won and I hope I continue to carry on this way next week.    

Thursday 27 October 2011

WTA Championship Results –27th

Petra Kvitova bt Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2
Victoria Azarenka bt Li Na 6-2, 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska bt Vera Zvonareva 1-6, 6-2, 7-5
Azarenka & Kvitova are now into the final four.    

Won 1 Lost 1

I played today winning my first match against a tricky player, although not playing my best.  Later in the afternoon I played again but this time I lost.  In the first set I over thought my game plan and I ended up disrupting my own play, however by the second set I played really well hitting big shots and holding my own against a superior opponent.   

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Zvonareva dominates Wozniacki to gain her first win

Before this match the head to head between the two women was set at 4-4, so it looked as though this could be a tight, competitive contest.  But Zvonareva did not give Wozniacki a look in and dominated the whole of the first set hitting winners all over the place.  She took the first set with a forehand winner on the back foot 6-2. 
Vera carried on her momentum with some terrific points in the second set but was not able to make the same impression as Wozniacki’s mental strength made Zvonareva produce too many errors and the Dane started to get under her opponents skin.  Through sheer determination Wozniacki won the 2nd set at the 3rd time of asking and levelled the match 6-4. 
Zvonareva took advantage and broke in the 1st game of the final set but did not look convincing even when she got the double break to go 4-1 up.  Although she hit some astounding backhands Wozniacki kept grinding away and even upped the power on her shots to gain a break back.  Finally Zvonareva pulled out some fierce shots to win, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.          
During the match it was announced that Sharapova has pulled out of the tournament and Marion Bartoli will take her place as the first alternate and will play Azarenka.  Whatever happens in the tournament Wozniacki retains her World No. 1 ranking. 

Li Na gains a nervous victory

The first set was dominated by breaks of serve for both women with Li Na scrambling back from behind and retrieving the Russians heavy forehands well.  The first set ended with a tiebreak, Sharapova went into a 4-0 lead and did not look as though she was going to squander it but that is exactly what she did and lost 6 points in a row to let Li Na win the first set 7-4 in the tiebreaker.    
Both women are clearly not playing their best, making a lot of errors, neither having many matches of late.  Although Sharapova made some ferocious winners in the second set, Li Na always seems to be able to stay in there and forces the break to go 2-1 up.  Sharapova then tries to make an uncharacteristic backhand drop shot.  Unsurprisingly it fails miserably as this is not her usual game plan and Li Na consolidates her break of serve.  With Sharapova not able to string a few good points together Li Na gets another break to go 5-2 up, she is then broken but manages to hold her serve eventually and wins the match 7-6(4), 6-4. 
Sharapova is not playing at her best after having a few weeks off and although she played some amazing shots she then hits some silly errors that have only been allowed to seep in due to lack of match practise and so Li Na scrapes through after a very nervous match. 
Azarenka got a good first win to beat Stosur earlier today with a clinical victory, 6-2, 6-2 with Stosur clearly not playing the sort of tennis that won her the match against the World No. 2 the day before. 

Stosur wins first match in the white group

Samantha Stosur won her first match yesterday against Maria Sharapova who has had a competitive break recently due to an ankle injury.  She won 6-1, 7-5 as Sharapova was not playing at her best, but the US Open Champion, Stosur was able to take advantage of that with some great serving, which could give her the much needed confidence to win the group.  However after Sharapova’s loss, she should still be able to bounce back quickly and still get through the group stages.    

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Caroline Wozniacki beats Agnieszka Radwanska to make her mark in Istanbul

An unpredictable match the whole way through as it was Radwanska who had the upper hand at the start but Wozniacki managed to edge her way through.  Agnieszka Radwanska got her first break of serve to go 2-1 up in the opening set as Wozniacki started to make a couple of errors on her backhand side.  A worrying start for her as this is usually her most reliable shot.  Both players can hit from the back of the court all day long, but it’s the person who is willing to take a chance and approach the net is the one who is going to take the match.  At the beginning of this matchup it is Radwanska who is taking the upper hand although it took her a while to solidify the break to go 3-1 up.  Wozniacki then added a burst of pace to her shots to win her next service game to love; this helped her to break back at the first time of asking to get back to 4-4.  At this point Wozniacki finally seemed to be able to string a few points together as Radwanska became muddled and strayed away from her game plan and became very passive.  But she managed to save 4 set points and her service game to get it back to 5-5 and continue this topsy-turvy set.  Radwanska finally came through to win the set 7-5. 
Set 2 started the same as the first, momentum swung either way with good and bad shots being played by both players.  Both broke each other early on in the second set with neither player looking convincing.  Wozniacki then upped her game to take the set 6-2 to level the macth after Radwanska took an injury time out. 
Although there were more breaks of serve in the final set, Wozniacki looked as though she was going to pull through and win the match although there was a glimmer of hope for her opponent when Wozniacki faltered 4-2 and 40-0 up.  But she eventually pulled herself and her dress through the match and gained the all important win.  Wozniacki won 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. 
It was the first match of the Championships for Kvitova, Zvonareva, Wozniacki and Radwanska so they were all bound to be nervous but with this out the way let’s hope they step up their game as at this moment in time Kvitova looks the most likely to be able to progress through the round-robin stages in the red group. 

Petra Kvitova beats Vera Zvonareva in Istanbul

It was a nervy start for the two women in the first match at the WTA Championships, with both Kvitova and Zvonareva exchanging breaks.  The Wimbledon champion, Kvitova, held her serve first to go 3-2 up and did not look back as she took the set 6-2.  She ran away with the first set with some stunning winners on both sides and her amazing lefty serve started to get into gear.  Kvitova then went into a 4-1 lead in the second set with Zvonarava making too many errors.  But as we have seen many times before Zvonareva fought back to 4-4 as it was now Kvitova’s turn to break down.  Kvitova tensed up not getting her ball toss right and struggling to hit through the ball.  As you thought Zvonareva was going to win her serve and lead the second set she gifted the match with too many errors.  In the end Petra Kvitova never had to finish the match as her Russian opponent gave it all away with silly mistakes which don’t usually show up in her composed game especially at the closing stages of the match.  Petra Kvitova won 6-2, 6-4 and has won the first match of the Championships ...  but not exactly in style. 

WTA Championships – Istanbul 2011

The final eight for this year’s WTA Championships is completed as Agnieszka Radwanska finalises the line up.  She won the spot after Marion Bartoli pulled out of Moscow.   The race was tense and Radwanska was not a favourite for the last qualifying place until she clinched the titles in Tokyo and Beijing.
Here are the following singles players:
-          Caroline Wozniacki         
-          Maria Sharapova
-          Petra Kvitova
-          Victoria Azarenka
-          Li Na
-          Vera Zvonareva
-          Sam Stosur
-          Agnieszka Radwanska
The two alternates are:                                                                                                  
-          Marion Bartoli
-          Andrea Petkovic
Will Wozniacki win the title after losing in the final to Kim Clijsters last year or will the 3 unlikely Grand Slam winners of this year take the end of season crown?  The WTA Championships start on the 25th October.