OK a quick update on the WTA tour, as this post will be about the Kremlin cup, which took place funnily enough in Moscow.
So to start with the semi finals in the ladies tournament (as there was an ATP 250 men's event there too, which I won't go into) the first semi final saw Caroline Wozniacki take on the Swede, Sofia Arvidsson. Good friends off the court, but on the court it was all business as Caroline had a real tussle with the talented player Arvidsson. After levelling the match at one set all, and with Caroline serving at 5-3 in the 3rd, Arvidsson broke back to make it 5-4, but in the end Caroline's determination shone through as she secured her fourth final of the year winning in 6-3, 6-7, 6-4. In the other semi final match, Sam Stosur took on the world no.12, Ana Ivanovic, who came out firing in the first set, but Sam turned it around in the 2nd to level the match, and in the 3rd Ivanovic unfortuantely suffered an injury, which lead to Stosur eventually close out the match with fair ease after a tough 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
This took us into the final, which promised to be a real cracker between Wozniacki and Stosur, and it proved to be just that, as both players put on a great display for the Russian crowd (and it was a bit of a disgrace that the audience was only about two thirds full!) with some dazzling shot making from both players. Caroline dominated the first set to take it, and in the 2nd set there were breaks aplenty, but it was Stosur who eventually closed it out to push the match into a decider, and yet again more breaks of serve followed in the 3rd, which Sam breaking straight away to take a 2-0 lead. However Caroline was not to be outdone as she broke back to level the scoreline, and it went by serve until 6-5, when Stosur served to take it into a tiebreak, where Stosur finally capitualted on serve to hand the championship over to Caroline, who won her 2nd title of the season (and 20th of her career) with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory.
After a tough and disappointing season, this was the perfect end to the year for Caroline Wozniacki, as she played some of her best tennis throughout the week, and she has also shown since the beginning of the Asian swing of the season that she has become a more aggressive player, who is willing to take more chances. And the great thing is this shows her form is gradually starting to improve again, and in 2013 she could well go on to getting back into the top 10 again, where she rightfully belongs. And if she is to win a major then she will need to continue this form and maintain her aggressive play, and if she does then surely she will one day win a grand slam, and I personally think she can still do it. But for now its great to see Caroline get back on form, especially after enduring so many tough losses this year, particularly in her first round exits at Wimbledon and the US Open. Caroline did not qualify for the WTA Championships unfortunately (unless two of the top seeds pull out!) so Moscow was her last tournament of the year, but it was great to see her end 2012 on a high. So let's hope the best for her in 2013 and that she continues to get even better.
As for Sam Stosur, well I have to say I did feel a bit sorry for her, as she has been in two finals this year, and she struggled badly earlier this year in Doha against a dominant Victoria Azarenka, and today she had her chances but just wasn't quite able to close it out. And that is something that appears to happen to Sam is that she tightens up in the big matches and the finals, which is a pity as she more than good enough to win titles on the WTA, and she also proved last year by winning the US Open that its not beyond her to go and win another. But for now Stosur despite her loss still has a chance to play at the WTA Championships in Istanbul this week, as she is directly next in line as an alternate if one of the top pulls out injured, so we might yet see Sam play another match in 2012.
And that brings me onto the WTA Championships which starts this week on 23 October, and it will see the top 8 players battle it out to win the championship trophy (worth 1500 ranking points). The format is a bit confusing but its basically two groups, one red and the other white (I think!) with four players in each group, who play each other within the group until the player that wins the most matches, or the player that wins enough games might go through to the next stage. But in the end the final will be played between the overall winner from each group who have won the most outright matches or games and sets.
And who will the winner be????? Well for me I would have to say Serena Williams is the favourite, but unfortunately I was rather disappointed to see that Azarenka and Serena are drawn in the same group, which means they would have to play each other in the semis, rather than meet in the final, which is a bit of a letdown. But it has to be said they are without a doubt the two best players in the world just now, so when they do meet it will be great to watch. Below her I think that Maria Sharapova has a chance, and even Agnieszka Radwanska has her chances too, but both of them do struggle against Serena and Vika so it will be tough for them to win. As for Petra Kvitova, the defending champion from last year, well she has had an up and down year, and even though it was predicted she would become the world No.1 after her great success last year, it just didn't quite happen for her this year. However Petra will be tough to knock off and she will be prepared to fight to defend her title Istanbul. But whichever way it goes, I think we will be in for a real treat this week as the creme da la creme of ladies tennis go at it.
Right so that's it for now, more to follow on the WTA Championships next week.
Till then bye for now!
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