Spirited Azarenka surprises Stosur
Source: Agencies |
October 27, 2011, Thursday
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SAMANTHA Stosur came crashing back to earth yesterday when the Australian was crushed in her second match at the WTA Championships by a fired-up Victoria Azarenka.
Less than 24 hours after recording a first victory in 10 attempts over Maria Sharapova to open her White Group campaign, Stosur failed to trouble Azarenka, losing 2-6, 2-6 to the Belarusian in the Sinan Erdem Arena.
Azarenka, who did not play on Tuesday, looked far fresher than the US Open champion, keeping the 27-year-old on the back foot with searing groundstrokes, most of which were accompanied by her trademark whine.
Stosur's heavy topspin and slice had little effect on the bright green and purple indoor court and she never looked like breaking a second jinx, slipped to a fifth loss in five against world No. 4 Azarenka in one hour and 18 minutes.
All is not lost, however, as Stosur can still qualify for the semifinals if she beats China's Li Na in her last round-robin match.
Late yesterday, Sharapova, beaten 1-6, 5-7 by Stosur on Tuesday, will try to redeem herself against Li Na and play concludes with world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki taking on Vera Zvonareva in Red Group.
Sharapova, who until last week was still unsure whether she would be fit to play after twisting an ankle before the China Open, finished her match at midnight local time.
Victory for Wozniacki and defeat for Sharapova would confirm the 21-year-old Dane as the year-end No. 1 for the second consecutive season.
On Tuesday, Wozniacki gave another gritty demonstration of why she has enjoyed a virtual year-long stranglehold on the top ranking with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Agnieszka Radwanska in her opening match at the WTA Championships.
Inching closer
With Sharapova losing to Stosur for the first time in her career, the pugnacious 21-year-old Wozniacki is inching closer to a second consecutive year end at the top of the tree despite still waiting for a grand slam title.
Her hard-fought victory meant Denmark's most-photographed athlete, not least because of her romance with Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, joined Petra Kvitova, who has an outside chance of de-throning Wozniacki, at the top of Red Group.
Czech leftie Kvitova, whose stunning Wimbledon triumph helped power her up to third on the latest WTA ranking list, showed a few early and late nerves on her tournament debut as she opened proceedings with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Russia's Vera Zvonareva.
"I was nervous because it was my first time playing at the Championships," Kvitova, the first Czech to qualify since Jana Novotna in 1998, told reporters after allowing a 4-1 lead to slip in the second set but then recovering her poise.
While her match was played out to polite applause from the hardly-engrossed 10,000 crowd, the middle match of the day set the standard for the US$4.9 million year-ending showpiece which will be played in the majestic Turkish capital for three years.
Wozniacki, whose unerring consistency has earned her a total of 54 weeks as No.1, was made to play catch-up against Radwanska.
Less than 24 hours after recording a first victory in 10 attempts over Maria Sharapova to open her White Group campaign, Stosur failed to trouble Azarenka, losing 2-6, 2-6 to the Belarusian in the Sinan Erdem Arena.
Azarenka, who did not play on Tuesday, looked far fresher than the US Open champion, keeping the 27-year-old on the back foot with searing groundstrokes, most of which were accompanied by her trademark whine.
Stosur's heavy topspin and slice had little effect on the bright green and purple indoor court and she never looked like breaking a second jinx, slipped to a fifth loss in five against world No. 4 Azarenka in one hour and 18 minutes.
All is not lost, however, as Stosur can still qualify for the semifinals if she beats China's Li Na in her last round-robin match.
Late yesterday, Sharapova, beaten 1-6, 5-7 by Stosur on Tuesday, will try to redeem herself against Li Na and play concludes with world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki taking on Vera Zvonareva in Red Group.
Sharapova, who until last week was still unsure whether she would be fit to play after twisting an ankle before the China Open, finished her match at midnight local time.
Victory for Wozniacki and defeat for Sharapova would confirm the 21-year-old Dane as the year-end No. 1 for the second consecutive season.
On Tuesday, Wozniacki gave another gritty demonstration of why she has enjoyed a virtual year-long stranglehold on the top ranking with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Agnieszka Radwanska in her opening match at the WTA Championships.
Inching closer
With Sharapova losing to Stosur for the first time in her career, the pugnacious 21-year-old Wozniacki is inching closer to a second consecutive year end at the top of the tree despite still waiting for a grand slam title.
Her hard-fought victory meant Denmark's most-photographed athlete, not least because of her romance with Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, joined Petra Kvitova, who has an outside chance of de-throning Wozniacki, at the top of Red Group.
Czech leftie Kvitova, whose stunning Wimbledon triumph helped power her up to third on the latest WTA ranking list, showed a few early and late nerves on her tournament debut as she opened proceedings with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Russia's Vera Zvonareva.
"I was nervous because it was my first time playing at the Championships," Kvitova, the first Czech to qualify since Jana Novotna in 1998, told reporters after allowing a 4-1 lead to slip in the second set but then recovering her poise.
While her match was played out to polite applause from the hardly-engrossed 10,000 crowd, the middle match of the day set the standard for the US$4.9 million year-ending showpiece which will be played in the majestic Turkish capital for three years.
Wozniacki, whose unerring consistency has earned her a total of 54 weeks as No.1, was made to play catch-up against Radwanska.
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