The finals in Moscow and Luxembourg were completed and 2 of the most prolific titlists on the tour added to their haulage.
(Rank/Seed)
11/3 Wozniacki grabbed her 2nd title of the season by beating (9/1) Stosur 62 46 75! Stosur still hasn't won a title since last years US Open, whilst Wozniacki's title total has now hit 20!
1st Set
Wozniacki was the surprising aggressor, hitting 9 winners and breaking Stosur's serve 3 out of 4 times to take the lead.
2nd Set
Stosur began to find her forehand and after 6 successive breaks to begin the set, Stosur broke Wozniacki's serve for the 4th time in the set in the 9th game and served it out.
3rd Set
The momentum was with Stosur as she led 2-0 and 3-1 40-40, but Wozniacki never gave in and claimed the final break in the match in the 12th game to win the title.
Venus Williams claimed her 44th career title in beating the unorthodox Niculescu 62 63.
Showing posts with label Tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tennis. Show all posts
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Stosur And Wozniacki Reach Moscow Final
The semi finals were both tightly contested, but the higher ranked seed pulled through both times to reach their debut Kremlin Cup finals.
(Rank/Seed)
9/1 Stosur recovered to beat (12/4) Ivanovic 26 63 62. After playing a flawless 1st set that saw her hit 20 winners, Ivanovic looked a dead cert to reach the final. However, after recovering from 0-30 at 3-3 in the 2nd, Stosur won 7 of the last 9 games to reach only her 2nd final of the year.
11/3 Wozniacki battled for over 2 hours again to beat fellow Scandinavian Arvidsson 63 67(4) 64. Just as in her quarter final, Wozniacki failed to serve out the match at 6-5 and was forced to rely on breaking her opponents serve regularly in the 3rd to seal success. In a match of 18 breaks of serve, Wozniacki finally reached her 3rd final of the season.
Stosur goes into the final having won only 3 titles in her career, compared to the 11 finals she's lost. This pales in comparison to Wozniacki who is looking for her 20th title of her career! However, Stosur leads the head to head 3-2 and has won both their hard court meetings in the past. Providing Stosur is patient enough on this slow surface, I feel she will win this final and go into the Champs as an alternate next week with the confidence of a title run.
(Rank/Seed)
9/1 Stosur recovered to beat (12/4) Ivanovic 26 63 62. After playing a flawless 1st set that saw her hit 20 winners, Ivanovic looked a dead cert to reach the final. However, after recovering from 0-30 at 3-3 in the 2nd, Stosur won 7 of the last 9 games to reach only her 2nd final of the year.
11/3 Wozniacki battled for over 2 hours again to beat fellow Scandinavian Arvidsson 63 67(4) 64. Just as in her quarter final, Wozniacki failed to serve out the match at 6-5 and was forced to rely on breaking her opponents serve regularly in the 3rd to seal success. In a match of 18 breaks of serve, Wozniacki finally reached her 3rd final of the season.
Stosur goes into the final having won only 3 titles in her career, compared to the 11 finals she's lost. This pales in comparison to Wozniacki who is looking for her 20th title of her career! However, Stosur leads the head to head 3-2 and has won both their hard court meetings in the past. Providing Stosur is patient enough on this slow surface, I feel she will win this final and go into the Champs as an alternate next week with the confidence of a title run.
Friday, 19 October 2012
Seeds Strong In Moscow, Lacking In Luxembourg
With the semi finals set in both Moscow and Luxembourg, there's a distinctly different line up when comparing the two events. Moscow has seen 3 of its top 4 seeds reach the semis, compared to 0 in Luxembourg!
(Rank/Seed)
Moscow
9/1 Sam Stosur progressed comfortably through the quarter finals against Zakopalova 61 63, having trailed a point for 1-4 in the 2nd set. This was a sharp contrast to her 2 hour plus 2nd round win over Cornet 76(6) 75. This is her 1st Kremlin Cup semi.
11/3 Wozniacki ousted the defending champion (14/5) Cibulkova 62 67(1) 61, the Slovak failing to win a game after her medical time out for a foot injury at 1-2 in the 3rd.
12/4 Ivanovic beat her compatriot, qualifier Dolonc 64 61.
Arvidsson continued her strong indoor form with a 63 63 win over a jaded (16/7) Kirilenko. As the last Russian standing, this proved a disappointing for all involved, including the sparse pre-weekend crowds in the vast Olympic Stadium.
Luxembourg
V. Williams continued her winning ways, edging (15/1) Vinci 76(2) 64 in the quarter finals
Niculescu seems to have revived her form, taking out Linz finalist (19/2) Goerges in the 2nd round
(Rank/Seed)
Moscow
9/1 Sam Stosur progressed comfortably through the quarter finals against Zakopalova 61 63, having trailed a point for 1-4 in the 2nd set. This was a sharp contrast to her 2 hour plus 2nd round win over Cornet 76(6) 75. This is her 1st Kremlin Cup semi.
11/3 Wozniacki ousted the defending champion (14/5) Cibulkova 62 67(1) 61, the Slovak failing to win a game after her medical time out for a foot injury at 1-2 in the 3rd.
12/4 Ivanovic beat her compatriot, qualifier Dolonc 64 61.
Arvidsson continued her strong indoor form with a 63 63 win over a jaded (16/7) Kirilenko. As the last Russian standing, this proved a disappointing for all involved, including the sparse pre-weekend crowds in the vast Olympic Stadium.
Luxembourg
V. Williams continued her winning ways, edging (15/1) Vinci 76(2) 64 in the quarter finals
Niculescu seems to have revived her form, taking out Linz finalist (19/2) Goerges in the 2nd round
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Seeds Disperse In Moscow
As the 1st round finished and the 2nd round started, several seeds left the Kremlin Cup early.
(Rank/Seed)
Arvidsson comfortably defeated (10/2) Bartoli 63 60 in the 2nd round. Bartoli struggled physically and with playing on the slow surface at the Kremlin Cup. Hitting 11 double faults during the match, she lost the last 8 games, confirming Sam Stosur's place as 1st alternate at the WTA Championships next week.
11/3 Wozniacki put away her close friend U. Radwanska 61 63 in the 2nd round, her 1st appearance at the tournament since 2008.
Halep edged recent Tokyo champion (13/6) Petrova 36 75 75, in the 1st round, despite trailing a set and a break.
14/5 Defending champion Cibulkova recovered to beat (20/-) Makarova 26 64 62 in the 1st round, before going on to beat Pironkova 62 63 in the 2nd round.
16/7 Kirilenko came from 3-5 and a set point down at 4-5 to beat Vesnina 75 61 in the 1st round.
Zakopalova recovered from a 1-4 2nd set deficit to beat (18/8) Safarova 64 64 in the 2nd round
(Rank/Seed)
Arvidsson comfortably defeated (10/2) Bartoli 63 60 in the 2nd round. Bartoli struggled physically and with playing on the slow surface at the Kremlin Cup. Hitting 11 double faults during the match, she lost the last 8 games, confirming Sam Stosur's place as 1st alternate at the WTA Championships next week.
11/3 Wozniacki put away her close friend U. Radwanska 61 63 in the 2nd round, her 1st appearance at the tournament since 2008.
Halep edged recent Tokyo champion (13/6) Petrova 36 75 75, in the 1st round, despite trailing a set and a break.
14/5 Defending champion Cibulkova recovered to beat (20/-) Makarova 26 64 62 in the 1st round, before going on to beat Pironkova 62 63 in the 2nd round.
16/7 Kirilenko came from 3-5 and a set point down at 4-5 to beat Vesnina 75 61 in the 1st round.
Zakopalova recovered from a 1-4 2nd set deficit to beat (18/8) Safarova 64 64 in the 2nd round
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