Sharapova and Radwanska Both Remain in Contention in Istanbul

October 26, 2012 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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On Friday, both Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska survived tough matches in Istanbul to both remain alive at the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Sharapova outlasted Sam Stosur in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3, to not only remain undefeated in her group, but also keep her hopes alive of capturing the year-end world number one spot atop the WTA World Rankings. Radwanska defeated a very tough Sara Errani, 6-7(6), 7-5, 64 to advance to the semifinals at the event for the first time in her career.

"After a really long match in my previous round, I was just trying to be really aggressive today and not spend as much time as I did the other day," Sharapova said. "I knew coming in I was already going to be in the semis, but I didn’t want to lose. I wanted to do the right things today and I did them."

Sharapova had dropped two of her last three meetings with Stosur, storming through the first set in 21 minutes at love, losing just five points. In order for Sharapova to claim the number one spot, she not only needs to win the title now, but also needs Victoria Azarenka to lose to Li Na in their round-robin match on Friday night.

Errani, ranked seventh in the world, came into the match with an 0-22 record against top five players. 

"After my last match, I wasn’t that fresh, so I was afraid of what would happen," Radwanska said. "I don’t know how I did it today, especially after almost three and a half hours on the court, but I’m so happy. Now I’ll try to do a lot of treatment to stay in one piece!"

Next up for Radwanska is American Serena Williams, who has beaten Radwanska in all three of their previous meetings, the last one going three sets.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Bethpage
Century

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