Azarenka, Sharapova, Serena post wins at WTA Championships
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World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka saved two match points in her opening-match victory, while former champion Maria Sharapova and two-time titlist Serena Williams each improved to 2-0 in round-robin play at the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul.
Azarenka staved off fifth-seeded German left-hander Angelique Kerber 6-7 (11-13), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in a high-quality 3-hour, 6-minute battle on Wednesday. The Belarusian star saved match points en route to forcing a second-set tiebreak, which she wound up dominating before coming out on top in a tight third.
The 23-year-old Azarenka now needs only one more win this week to end the year at No. 1.
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Azarenka and Williams will square off on Thursday, with the American seeking a fifth win in five tries this year. Williams beat Azarenka in last month's U.S. Open finale and is a lopsided 10-1 lifetime against the Belarusian.
The Australian Open champion Azarenka was last year's WTA Championships runner-up to Czech southpaw Petra Kvitova, who pulled out of the Istanbul field Wednesday, citing a viral illness.
The second-seeded former No. 1 Sharapova came from behind to best fourth- seeded Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 in 3 hours, 12 minutes in Wednesday's nightcap, which went past 2 a.m. local time. The tall Russian star broke for a 6-5 edge in the final set and closed out the match with a final service hold.
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Meanwhile, the third-seeded former top-ranked great Williams overcame a shaky service game and got past eighth-seeded former French Open champion Li Na, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, indoors at Sinan Erdem Dome. The powerful American smacked six aces in the 1-hour, 50-minute victory.
Williams uncharacteristically dropped her serve five times on Wednesday and got so frustrated at one point she smashed her racquet on the court.
"No, I don't break racquets in matches. Although I didn't hit it hard," she said. "Maybe I don't know my own strength."
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The 2012 Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Olympic champion Williams captured WTA Championships titles in 2001 and 2009 and is a two-time runner-up at this prestigious event.
This week's four-player Group A features Azarenka (1-0), Williams (2-0), Kerber (0-2) and Li (0-1), while Group B boasts the 2004 champion and 2007 WTA Championships runner-up Sharapova (2-0), Radwanska (1-1), seventh-seeded French Open runner-up Sara Errani (0-1) and Sam Stosur, who replaced last year's Championships winner Kvitova in the field.
The top-two players in each group will advance to the semifinals, with the winners squaring off in the lucrative final on Sunday.
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Also in Istanbul on Thursday, Kerber will face Li and Errani will tangle with a ninth-seeded Stosur.
The winner of this $4.9 million event could collect as much as $1.75 million.