Sizzling Radwanska closes in on WTA Finals spot
Print Edition
AGNIESZKA Radwanska beat Chinese wildcard Wang Qiang 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the China Open yesterday, leaving her just two wins away from clinching a place in the elite season finale.
The Pole needs to reach the quarterfinals in Beijing to guarantee her sixth consecutive appearance at the eight-player WTA Finals in Singapore.
She scooped the year-end crown last year, having qualified for the event just a week before when she bagged her second title of the season in Tianjin.
“I had the situation last year when I had to win the Tianjin Open to qualify for Singapore, and I did it,” the current world No. 4, told reporters in Beijing.
“Of course, it was last-minute qualifying. I will try everything to qualify a bit before that this year.”
Eighth-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro crashed out in the first round, putting her qualification for the year-ending tournament in doubt.
But the Spaniard’s 1-6, 3-6 defeat to Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova, currently ranked at 41, opens the door to players just behind her in the so-called “Race to Singapore” — Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
A first-time qualification is also in sight for both Briton Johanna Konta and American big hitter Madison Keys, who won their first-round matches.
Meanwhile, Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic battled past former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in a nail-biting 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (4) win to secure her second-round spot.
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark faced a three-set battle against American CoCo Vandeweghe to reach the second round by winning 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, just a week after the former world No. 1 won her first title since February 2015 in Tokyo.
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