By Magdalena
Stanislav
 |
| Maria Sharapova keeps her cool to stay in the hunt. |
ISTANBUL, Turkey
(TheSportsNEXT) October 25, 2012: Maria Sharapova of Russia stayed upright
in a nerve-wrecking match against Agnieszka Radwanska to storm her way into
semi-finals of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul on Wednesday.
In the second consecutive WTA Championships match which
lasted for over three hours, Maria Sharapova battled hard to eventually defeat
Agnieszka Radwanska by 5-7 7-5 7-5.
The marathon match, which ended at 2:12am local time, lasted
for three hours and 12 minutes.
Agnieszka Radwanska used her subtle style of tennis and made
variety and redirection of pace at work in the first set and eventually won it
by 7-5.
She raced to a 4-2 lead in the second set as Maria Sharapova
started running out of options but to play more aggressive brand of tennis and
went on the offense.
Maria Sharapova told reporters, "I was a little bit
frustrated early on. I wasn't doing the right things and she was doing all the
right things, and making me make mistakes. I was just trying to hang in
there."
Maria Sharapova clawed her way back in the second set and as
she got accustomed to her aggression and Radwanska’s subtle play she got better
and won the second and third set by identical margin of 7-5.
The aggression of Maria Sharapova was evident by the
statistics which stated her to hit 66 winners to 64 errors while on the other
hand Agnieszka Radwanska could manage 18 winners to 19 errors.
Talking about her energy levels, the Russian former world
number one said, "It was a very physical match with so many ups and downs
- I wasn't playing my best tennis, but I kept fighting. And when you win when
you're not at your best, it gives you extra motivation to do better in the next
one."
The workaholic display of aggressive Sharapova made her win
praise of Agnieszka Radwanska who told reporters, "It was a great match,
and all the sets were very tight. I had my chance in the second set, but when
you don't use your chances against a top player, a great player, it's hard to
come back and win."
Sharapova also had praise for her opponent when she said, “There's
a reason why she's No.4 in the world. Her capability of anticipating where the
ball goes and getting it back - and no matter if it's a hard shot or a low
slice with no pace, she makes you work for it. She did until the end. I found a
way to get through the points, which isn't easy."
Talking about her semi-final qualification, Maria Sharapova
said, "I'm happy to get to that stage - the goal is always to get out of
your group. I was injured last year and didn't play very well, so to be in the
semifinals this year makes me very proud, and especially given the way I fought
tonight."
Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have now qualified for
the Semi-Finals of the WTA Championships. Serena Williams entered the last-four
by dint of Victoria Azarenka taking three sets to beat Angelique Kerber.
Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams are the only players to
have won the WTA Championships title previously after Petra Kvitova of Czech
Republic, defending champion, pulled out of the tournament owing to viral
illness.
Maria Sharapova has won the WTA Championships title once in
2004 while Serena Williams has won it twice in 2001 and 2009.
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