Day 2 Wrap-Up in Istanbul

Written by: Staff on 27th October 2011

Day 2 Wrap-Up in Istanbul

Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a ball to Samantha Stosur of Australia during the WTA tennis tournament in Istanbul, Turkey, 25 October 2011. EPA/STRINGER TURKEY OUT |

Lots of news today from the WTA Championships being played in Istanbul so let’s get right to it….

1. Wozniacki loses but still secures year-end No. 1 ranking: Following a hard-fought loss to Russian Vera Zvonareva in Red Group round robin play, Caroline Wozniacki had reason to celebrate Wednesday night following Russian Maria Sharapova’s withdrawal from the season-ending WTA Championships.

Because Sharapova was the only one who could catch her, the Danish star has been awarded the year-end No. 1 ranking for the second straight year, the first since Justine Henin in 2007 to accomplish the feat.

The 21-year-old Wozniacki, who has held the top spot now for 36 weeks and beat No. 8 seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets on Tuesday night, looked shaky at times in her 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 loss to last year’s runner-up at this event Zvonareva at the Sinan Erdem Dome. Wozniacki’s father was heard urging his daughter on throughout the match.

“I think people do realize the true importance of it,” Wozniacki told reporters after the match. “If you ask any little girl or any little boy, everyone will know what it means to be number one. Maybe not everyone will understand what a grand slam is because you have to be into tennis to know that. If you’re number one it means you’ve done something remarkable.”

Wozniacki will next face Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Thursday needing a win to have a chance of reaching the semifinals of the $4.9 million event.

2. Sharapova’s season ends after loss and withdrawl: World No. 2 Sharapova was forced to quit following her 7-6 (4), 6-4 loss to China’s Li Na in the White Group because of an ankle injury sustained four weeks ago in Tokyo.

It was Li’s first win since August and just her seventh since she catapulted onto the world’s stage following her French Open win in June by becoming the first Chinese player to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Sharapova had control of the match early with chances for a 5-2 lead and even holding a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak, but Li continued to press her and took advantage of keys points when she needed to.

“The ankle didn’t recover as well as I hoped after the first match,” said Sharapova, who lost to U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur on Tuesday. “The swelling got a little worse, and it limits my movement a lot. Knowing that I have some time (in the close season) to recover I would rather do that than risk damaging something else.”

Marion Bartoli of France was brought in as the replacement and will face Victoria Azarenka on Friday in the final Group stage match.

“It was the first match I won for so long – I am so happy I can win this,” said Li, who has had her share of knee problems. “Because it was the first match I was a little nervous, and also because I really wanted to win it. Neither of us was a hundred percent but I think both of us played at a high level.”

She next faces Victoria Azarenka on Thursday.

3. Azarenka pummels U.S. Open champ Stosur: A day after her convincing win over Sharapova after nine straight defeats against the Russian on the first day of the WTA Championships, U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur lost to Victoria Azarenka, who played one of her best matches of the year in the 6-2, 6-2 win.

Azarenka kept her perfect record intact against Stosur with some bruising groundstrokes and some timely touch.

“I feel great. I wasn’t expecting to play so well in my first match here,” Azarenka said in her on-court interview. “It was getting close in the end, we had a really close last game. Sam started to really go for every shot with nothing to lose, and I backed up a little bit. She made some incredible shots. But I stayed strong. I had to work for it. I’m glad I finished it when I did.

“I served very well today and I wish I can continue to play like this.”

The round-robin format has taken some getting used to for Azarenka, who said before the tournament it’s not her favorite as she’s failed to qualify for the semis the past two years.

“It’s very different from any other event,” Azarenka said at her All-Access Hour interviews Monday. “You have to be focused on every match, and even every game – sometimes even the games make a difference to get out of the round robin here. From the beginning it will be really difficult, so you have to give it your all in every match you play. You have to be 100% every moment.”

But she’s on a roll now having won six matches in a row, all in straight sets and is coming off her finals win at last week’s BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open in Luxembourg.

If you missed them, here were Tuesday’s first-day results.

Round Robin – Red Group

(1) Caroline Wozniacki def. (8) Agnieszka Radwanska 5-7, 6-2, 6-4

(3) Petra Kvitova def. (6) Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-4

Round Robin – White Group

(7) Samantha Stosur def. (2) Maria Sharapova 6-1, 7-5

Wednesday’s scores:

Round Robin – White Group

(7) Samantha Stosur def. (4) Victoria Azarenka, 6-2, 6-2

(5) Li Na def. (2) Maria Sharapova, 7-6 (4), 6-4

Round Robin – Red Group

(6) Vera Zvonareva def. (1) Caroline Wozniacki, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3