Serena Dominant in Win Over Kerber in Istanbul

October 23, 2013 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Serena Williams got off to a strong start at the 2013 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul, beating Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-1. Serena fired 31 winners to just 11 unforced errors in the 64-minute match, finishing off Kerber with winner number 31, a backhand down the line into the open court.

“I feel really good actually,” said Serena. “I think I served really well. She’s beaten me before so I was really a little nervous and so focused going into this match. I really felt like I had to play well to win today."

With the win, Serena surpassed $10 million in prize money for the season, and if she goes undefeated in Istanbul, she will surpass $12 million in prize money this year. The previous single season prize money record was $7,923,920, held by Victoria Azarenka in 2012.

Jelena Jankovic shocked world number two Victoria Azarenka for her best win in three-and-a-half years, firing 14 winners and giving away only 13 unforced errors, in a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

"It feels incredible to beat Azarenka here in Istanbul," said Jankovic. "First of all, I was so excited to qualify here and give myself a chance to play against the best players in the world once again, and to win today is amazing. Every match in the round robin format counts, and every match is difficult too. I’m really happy. Beating Vika will give me a lot of confidence going into the next matches."

The last time Jankovic had beaten anyone in the top two was in Rome in 2010 when she defeated then world number one-ranked Serena Williams. Azarenka, on the other hand, has now lost four of her last five matches, the 2013 U.S. Open finals to Serena, an opening round loss to Venus Williams in Toyko, an opening round loss to Andrea Petkovic in Beijing, and today’s loss to Jankovic.

Petra Kvitova got to work as well in Istanbul, opening her campaign against Agnieszka Radwanska with a victory, 6-4, 6-4. Last year, Kvitova lost to Radwanska in straight sets on Day One of the event.

"I feel really happy … it was a tough match for the first round," Kvitova said. "I also lost to her in my first match here last year, so I didn’t have very nice memories against her here, but I just tried to stay aggressive today and not have many mistakes. I knew those were the keys to the match today."

Also in action was China’s Li Na who defeated Sara Errani on Wednesday, 6-3, 7-6(5). Li had never lost to Errani in five previous meetings, and had won the last 10 sets they had played as well.

"The first match is always tough," Li said. "I think Sara was fighting a lot today. Even when I had a match point she was still fighting a lot on the court, so yeah, I was really happy to win this match."
 


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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