Maria Sharapova and Li Na battled for nearly three hours with neither player seemingly wanting to claim the title; however in the end, Sharapova edged the Roland Garros champion and saved one match point in a 4-6 6-4 7-6 victory. Li was playing her best tennis in the first set as she led 6-4 4-0. …
ATP Final – Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal Djokovic progressed to the final with an excellent performance to dispatch Roger Federer in the semi-finals, 6-2 7-6. Despite some stern resistance at the end of the second set, it was a flat display from Federer; however I think he has had the perfect preparation for Roland…
Serena Williams Li Na (8) v Serena Williams (9) Li progressed to the semi-finals with a win over Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1 7-6. It was another inconsistent display from Li who played some great tennis in the first set but struggled to finish the match off in the second. I think having seen Azarenka pull out…
Venus Williams The third round action in Rome for both the men and women wrapped up on Thursday ensuring a fantastic order of play for the quarter-finals on Friday. Venus Williams had one of her best wins since returning to the tour as she defeated Sam Stosur, 6-4 6-3. In truth, it was not a…
Maria Sharapova capped off a tremendous week as she beat an injury affected Victoria Azarenka, 6-1 6-4 in the Stuttgart final. Azarenka had won their two previous encounters in 2012 in straight sets, but Sharapova turned the tables on the world number one with an excellent display of 31 winners to just 13 unforced errors. …
Maria Sharapova produced another terrific display to snap Petra Kvitova‘s 27 match winning streak on indoor courts with a 6-4 7-6 semi-final victory. Kvitova struggled to deal with the Sharapova serve in a forgettable first set, which saw few rallies. Kvitova came to life in a sensational second set, but was unable to make her…
After three marathon quarter-finals in Stuttgart, the last one was the quickest, but still provided some fine tennis as Petra Kvitova beat Angelique Kerber, 6-4 6-4. Kvitova hit some special winners as she closed both sets out in clinical fashion. Kvitova is my tip for the title although I have to admit, I thought Kerber…
Maria Sharapova The quarter-finals in Stuttgart promised a lot and completely lived up to their billing with a series of thrilling encounters. Victoria Azarenka held off a barrage of winners from Mona Barthel to record a 6-4 6-7 7-5 victory in 2 hours and 48 minutes. Barthel hit a staggering 64 winners but still ended…
It now seems a good time with no WTA tournaments next week to take stock and review the progress of how the women are faring in 2012 so far. We are now into the clay court season with all systems go for the second Grand Slam at Roland Garros at the end of the May. …
Few would have predicted (including me!) that Agnieszka Radwanska would come out on top in Miami at the start of the week having seen the fantastic line-up of players, but she rose to the occasion producing another immensely solid display to defeat Maria Sharapova in the final, 7-5 6-4. The most surprising statistic was that…
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