Day 6 WTA Championship Finals

Written by: Staff on 30th October 2011

Day 6 WTA Championship Finals

Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic kiss the trophy after she won the final match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at the WTA Championships tennis tournament in Istanbul, Turkey on 30 October 2011. EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU |

Petra Kvitova left little doubt on who will be named the WTA’s player of the year were her resounding 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Victoria Azarenka in the final of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul.

It was the Wimbledon champion Kvitova’s sixth singles title this year, the same number as No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and twice as many as Azarenka as she did it in front of a packed crowd of over 13,000 at the Sinan Erdem Dome.

It was the fourth consecutive victory for the new year-end No. 2 player over Azaernka as Kvitova rolled to a 5-0 first-set lead before Azarenka went on a run of her own to win five straight and knot the first set. The Czech player finally converted her fifth set point when Azarenka’s forehand sailed out.

“It was unbelievable tennis,” Kvitova said in her on-court interview. “We were both really fighting. Every game and every set was very close. Maybe I played better on the important points in the match. We both played some of our best here in Istanbul today – it was a final, so why not!”

“It’s hard to lose, but I’m glad I lost to such a champion who deserved to win,” Azarenka said. “Petra was amazing today. She really did a great job.”

“It’s unbelievable to play here,” said Kvitova, who beat Azarenka in the Wimbledon semifinals on her way to winning her first Grand Slam title this year.

Kvitova attributed her achievements this year to improvements not only in her game, but also in fitness and mental strength. Staying healthy was key, along with the support of coach David Kotyza and the rest of her team.

Both players will overtake Maria Sharapova, who had a chance to surpass Wozniacki as No. 1 going into the tournament, but withdrew with an ankle injury after losing her first two group-stage matches.

Kvitova took home $1.75 million and Azarenka collected $775,000.

About 13,700 spectators watched the final, continuing a high attendance level for the weeklong tournament for the top eight players in the world. Turkey does not have a strong tennis tradition, but low ticket prices and heavy government support boosted the event, which was held in Istanbul for the first time.

WTA chief executive Stacey Allaster said the high turnout invited comparisons to the “glory days” of the event, when it was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City decades ago.

Azarenka said she will fly to Belarus on Monday for three weeks of vacation, and she also plans to attend a Rihanna concert in Switzerland. Kvitova has more work ahead, leading the Czech Republic in its first Fed Cup final in more than 20 years, playing Russia in Moscow.

Huber and Raymond Capture Doubles Title

Short of a title in their first 11 tournaments, Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond won their fourth title in six events with a 6-4, 6-4 win on Sunday over Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in the final of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships.

Having joined forces for the first time in April, the veteran pair capped off a strong year winning Toronto, the US Open, Tokyo and now the year-end finale.

Seeded No.2 in Istanbul, they rallied from a set down and 3-6 in the match tie-break to beat Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta in the semifinals, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7,

“At the end of the day we knew the winner would be the more aggressive team,” Raymond said. “We had to take it to the net. They’re too good a team for us to wait for them to take charge. We just stuck together and stuck to it.”

It was a revenge match for Huber and Raymond, who previously had lost to Peschke and Srebotnik in a hour routing, 6-3, 6-0 in the final of Eastbourne in June.

Huber now has three year-end titles (winning twice with Cara Black in 2007 and 2008) and Raymond now has four (winning once with Rennae Stubbs in 2001 and twice with Samantha Stosur in 2005 and 2006). Raymond is the second player to win this title with three different partners (Lindsay Davenport won with Mary Joe Fernandez in 1996, Jana Novotna in 1997 and Natasha Zvereva in 1998).

Huber now has 48 WTA doubles titles to her name; Raymond has 74. The pair announced afterward that they will likely remain a pair once the new year hits.

Topics: Kvitova, Wta, WTA Championships finals