Sharapova Loses and Wozniacki Wins in First Round Action at the 2011 WTA Championships

October 26, 2011 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Maria_Sharapova
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg

World number two-ranked Maria Sharapova, who played her first match since pulling out of the quarterfinals in Tokyo with an ankle injury last month, was thoroughly outplayed by U.S. Open winner Samantha Stosur in their opening match in the White Group of the 2011 WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, falling to the Australian, 6-1, 7-5. Stosur breezed through the first set without facing a break point. In the second set, Sharapova fought back and took a 3-0 lead, but Stosur held and eventually fought back to win in straight sets. Sharapova finished with six double faults and only hit 59 percent of her first serves—compared to 74 percent for Stosur.

Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark rallied to defeat Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, in their opening round-robin match at the 2011 WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Wozniacki broke to go up 5-4 in the third set and got the victory when Radwanska netted a forehand on the Dane’s second match point. Wozniacki had also wasted three set points in the first set of a match where both players struggled to hold serve on the indoor hard court. The second set alone featured six breaks of serve, with Wozniacki getting four of them.

Also on day one of the event, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic defeated Vera Zvonareva of Russia, 6-2, 6-4, in the Red Group—which also includes Wozniacki and Radwanska.

The top two players in each group advance to the semifinals. This is the first time the tournament is held in Istanbul, after being held in Doha, Qatar, the past three years.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Centercourt
USTA NTC

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