Stosur joins Zvonareva and Clijsters in the semis
Source: Agencies |
October 30, 2010, Saturday
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AUSTRALIAN Samantha Stosur lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 to Russian Elena Dementieva but by winning the first set booked her place in the last four at the WTA Championship.
Belgium's Kim Clijsters also beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 to advance to the semifinals along with Vera Zvonareva. Dane Caroline Wozniacki needed two wins in Doha to ensure she could not be caught at the top of the rankings by Russian Zvonareva.
After blowing away Dementieva in her group opener, the Dane suffered a shock defeat to Stosur on Wednesday to give Zvonareva hope. However, the 20-year-old made no mistake against Schiavone.
Conditions were much more comfortable for players than the oppressive humidity of the first two days at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha.
Dementieva delivered a far more assured performance against Stosur than she did in her opening loss to Wozniacki.
"I was trying to improve my game coming in this match," Dementieva said. "Playing someone who had a great win last night, I was trying to fight for every point and it feels great to win 7-6 in the third."
Early break
Stosur scored an early break in the first set but let the advantage slip when her opponent battled back to 4-4. The Australian survived a scare on serve but held and then broke Dementieva to win the first set.
The Russian upped her game in the second set and for the first time in the tournament Stosur looked rattled, gazing to the heavens in search of answers.
The third set went on serve until the tiebreak when Dementieva's consistency made the difference.
Clijsters, who beat Jelena Jankovic in her first match in six weeks in her opener, began strongly against Azarenka, but the Belarusian, a replacement for the injured Serena Williams, fought back.
Azarenka allowed a 5-3 lead to slip in the second set before winning the next two games to force a decider, but the effort appeared too much and she wilted in the heat as the fourth-ranked Clijsters ran off the first 12 of 14 points on her way to closing out an easy third set.
"It was a good match and obviously disappointing to lose that second set. It was close," Clijsters said. "She dropped her level a little bit in third set and everything she was doing well in second set she kind of lost that a little. I was happy with that."
Belgium's Kim Clijsters also beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 to advance to the semifinals along with Vera Zvonareva. Dane Caroline Wozniacki needed two wins in Doha to ensure she could not be caught at the top of the rankings by Russian Zvonareva.
After blowing away Dementieva in her group opener, the Dane suffered a shock defeat to Stosur on Wednesday to give Zvonareva hope. However, the 20-year-old made no mistake against Schiavone.
Conditions were much more comfortable for players than the oppressive humidity of the first two days at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha.
Dementieva delivered a far more assured performance against Stosur than she did in her opening loss to Wozniacki.
"I was trying to improve my game coming in this match," Dementieva said. "Playing someone who had a great win last night, I was trying to fight for every point and it feels great to win 7-6 in the third."
Early break
Stosur scored an early break in the first set but let the advantage slip when her opponent battled back to 4-4. The Australian survived a scare on serve but held and then broke Dementieva to win the first set.
The Russian upped her game in the second set and for the first time in the tournament Stosur looked rattled, gazing to the heavens in search of answers.
The third set went on serve until the tiebreak when Dementieva's consistency made the difference.
Clijsters, who beat Jelena Jankovic in her first match in six weeks in her opener, began strongly against Azarenka, but the Belarusian, a replacement for the injured Serena Williams, fought back.
Azarenka allowed a 5-3 lead to slip in the second set before winning the next two games to force a decider, but the effort appeared too much and she wilted in the heat as the fourth-ranked Clijsters ran off the first 12 of 14 points on her way to closing out an easy third set.
"It was a good match and obviously disappointing to lose that second set. It was close," Clijsters said. "She dropped her level a little bit in third set and everything she was doing well in second set she kind of lost that a little. I was happy with that."
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