* Sharapova finally wins a match — but won’t make Singapore semifinal; Serena to be year-end #1
* Wozniacki crushes Kvitova to go 3-0 in White Group; Radwanska ends up second
* Ivanovic beats Halep but loses semifinal tiebreak
* Errani/Vinci quit doubles after three games
Singles – Round Robin: (2) Maria Sharapova def (6) Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5 6-7(4-7) 6-2
What is it about Maria Sharapova and three hour matches? She had led 5-1 in the second set, had three match points, and failed to convert. She lost the set on a double-fault. It meant that she had to stay out there for three hours and nine minutes — and all of it effectively for nothing. She had to win in straight sets to have any hope of reaching the semifinal. She didn’t, so she is done for the year. Which in turn means that Serena Williams has clinched the year-end #1.
At least Sharapova got some good news in the contest for #2 in the form of the next result:
Singles – Round Robin: (8) Caroline Wozniacki def. (3) Petra Kvitova 6-2 6-3
Truly an impressive week for Caroline Wozniacki! Three wins, all over players officially ranked ahead of her. They’re still ranked ahead of her, but Wozniacki is in the semifinal and the others (mostly) aren’t. Wozniacki ends up 3-0 in the White Group, which obviously makes her first, and the others all ended up 1-2. That brought it down to tiebreaks — and Agnieszka Radwanska won those, meaning that Petra Kvitova is through for the year, can’t reach #2, and is in danger of losing even her #3 ranking:
Singles – Round Robin: (7) Ana Ivanovic def. (4) Simona Halep 7-6(9-7) 3-6 6-3
Simona Halep was in an interesting situation here: She was already in the semifinal, but this match would let her decide who else was in the semifinal. As well as earning points, of course. Win it and she got points and Serena Williams would join Halep in the semifinal. Lose in straights sets and Halep and Ana Ivanovic were in the semifinals. Win one set and it was Serena, not Ivanovic, in the semifinal, but Halep wouldn’t get any points.
We’d say Halep got the worst of all possible worlds. She lost, so no points (meaning that Petra Kvitova could still end the year at #3 if Halep loses her semifinal). And it took her two hours to lose — she blew a 5-2 lead in the first set — so she’ll be tired. And it’s Serena, not Ivanovic, in the semifinal, which surely is bad news for everyone else.
Even with the loss, Ivanovic will probably gain at least one ranking spot, and possibly two. It has been the best year of her career other than the year she won Roland Garros. But talk about a near miss….
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Peschke/Srebotnik def. (1) Errani/Vinci 2-1, retired
Hm. The strange rules that apply to the Championships mean that there are substantial points just for showing up and evaporating. Which is pretty close to what happened. Errani and Vinci will be the year-end #1 team — but we have to suspect that a lot of people are disappointed they didn’t pull out three games sooner and let Hingis/Pennetta play.
Rankings
Estimated WTA Rankings As of October 24, 2014
Rank &
Prior
Rank …Name …………. Points
1..(1) SWILLIAMS ……… 7675*
2..(2) SHARAPOVA ……… 7050
3..(3) KVITOVA ……….. 5966
4..(4) HALEP …………. 5932*
5..(7) IVANOVIC ………..4820
6..(6) ARADWANSKA ………4810*
7..(5) BOUCHARD ………..4715
8..(8) WOZNIACKI ……… 4625*
9..(9) Li ……………..3970
10.(10) Kerber ………….3480
11.(11) Makarova ………..2970
12.(12) Cibulkova ……… 2908
13.(13) Errani ………….2775
14.(14) Jankovic ………..2675
15.(15) Pennetta ………..2642
16.(16) Safarova ………..2615
17.(17) Petkovic ………..2495
18.(18) Suarez Navarro …..2370
19.(19) VWilliams ……… 2270
20.(20) Cornet ………….2200
21.(21) Stosur ………….2005
22.(22) Peng ……………2005
23.(23) Muguruza ………..1923
24.(24) Pliskova ………..1830
25.(25) Pavlyuchenkova …..1820
26.(26) Zahlavova Strycova .1750
27.(27) Lisicki ……….. 1735
28.(28) Kuznetsova ………1730
29.(29) Dellacqua ……… 1665
30.(30) Svitolina ……… 1655
Draws
Singapore Championships — Week of October 19, 2014
RED GROUP
……………..SWILL…HALEP…BOUCH…IVANO….W/L….SETS
(4)Halep………HALEP…%%%%%…HALEP…IVANO….2/1…..5/2
(1)S.Williams….%%%%%…HALEP…SWILL…SWILL….2/1…..4/2
(7)Ivanovic……SWILL…IVANO…IVANO…%%%%%….2/1…..4/3
(5)Bouchard……SWILL…HALEP…%%%%%…IVANO….0/3…..0/6
WHITE GROUP
……………..SHARA…KVITO…RADWA…WOZNI….W/L….SETS
(8)Wozniacki…..WOZNI…WOZNI…WOZNI…%%%%%….3/0…..6/1
(6)A.Radwanska…SHARA…RADWA…%%%%%…WOZNI….1/2…..3/4
(3)Kvitova…….KVITO…%%%%%…RADWA…WOZNI….1/2…..2/4
(2)Sharapova…..%%%%%…KVITO…SHARA…WOZNI….1/2…..3/5
SF
(4)Halep
(6)Radwanska
(8)Wozniacki
(1)S.Williams
FRIDAY
Singapore
Singles – Round Robin
White Group
(2) Maria Sharapova def (6) Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5 6-7(4-7) 6-2
(8) Caroline Wozniacki def. (3) Petra Kvitova 6-2 6-3
Red Group
(7) Ana Ivanovic def. (4) Simona Halep 7-6(9-7) 3-6 6-3
Doubles – Quarterfinal
Peschke/Srebotnik def. (1) Errani/Vinci 2-1, retired
STORY VIA Bob LARSON TENNIS NEWS
Topics: Agnieszka Radwanska, Ana Ivanovic, Caro Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Singapore, Tennis Results, Wta
#WTA WOMEN’S #TENNIS IN #SINGAPORE UPDATES/ @serenawilliams FINISHES YEAR NUMBER ONE http://t.co/SiDhRBqDSG @WTA @ARadwanska @MariaSharapova