Stosur whips Li for semis spot
Source: Agencies |
October 29, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AUSTRALIA'S Samantha Stosur destroyed China's Li Na 6-1, 6-0 in little more than an hour yesterday to reach the semifinals of the WTA Championships in Istanbul for the second consecutive year.
Their final White Group round-robin clash had effectively become a decider to see which of the year's surprise grand slam champions would progress along with Victoria Azarenka but the match proved embarrassingly one-sided.
US Open champion Stosur had far too much firepower for the listless 29-year-old as she romped to victory in front of a large crowd in the Sinan Erdem Arena. She has now won all six career meetings against the French Open champion, dropping just one set in the process.
Azarenka, who has already won the group after crushing victories over both Stosur and Li, completes the group phase later against alternate Marion Bartoli who will get one match in the big-money event after Maria Sharapova's withdrawal.
Before that the final Red Group match features already-qualified Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.
Radwanska, the world No. 8 and the final player to qualify for the tournament's Istanbul debut, needs just a set to claim the runners-up spot in the group ahead of Russia's Vera Zvonareva, who she beat on Thursday having saved three match points.
The winner of the match will top the group and play Stosur in the semifinals.
On Thursday, Kvitova reached the semifinals after dominating top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, winning 6-4, 6-2 to hand the Dane her second loss.
Earlier, Azarenka earned a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win over Li Na. In the day's late match, Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska beat sixth-seeded Vera Zvonareva 1-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Kvitova earned an early break in the first set and never looked troubled the rest of the way, hitting 36 winners compared to just six for Wozniacki. The Dane never earned a break point, and said she was feeling ill and tired playing her third match in three days.
"I have been feeling tired, and to get a little bit sick now, that's not the best if you want to beat the top players," Wozniacki said. "Today, Petra played well. And of course I wish I could have been 110 percent, but my body just didn't want the things that I wanted today."
Kvitova, this year's Wimbledon champion, broke two more times in the second set before clinching the victory with a backhand winner.
"It was very strange game," Kvitova said. "I mean, of course I'm happy that I won, but sometimes I felt like work on the court when I play against Caroline because I know that she's not OK."
The Czech player improved her record to 2-0 in the round-robin phase, while Wozniacki fell to 1-2 after also losing to Zvonareva on Wednesday. Wozniacki still wrapped up the year-end No. 1 ranking after Sharapova withdrew from the tournament with an ankle injury following her second loss on Wednesday.
Azarenka followed her win over US Open champion Sam Stosur with a victory by the same scoreline over Li Na.
"I think she's a very, very tough opponent," Azarenka said about Li. "Especially if you give her one rhythm, she's really solid and she can stay and outpower anybody. So I had to adjust, because the last two meetings that we had she really took advantage of me playing the same way ... I had to change something and be more creative today."
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