Istanbul 10/27
by Bobby Chintapalli, Contributing Writer
With money, ranking points and vacation looming and with crowds watching (finally), the ladies play on in Istanbul. As Day 3 kicks off, here’s a look at today’s matches, as well as a few numbers on and words from those playing.
Matches
- WHITE GROUP: Victoria Azarenka vs. Li Na ? Li leads 4-1
2) RED GROUP: Caroline Wozniacki vs. Petra Kvitova ? Wozniacki leads 3-1
- RED GROUP: Vera Zvonareva vs. Agnieszka Radwanska ? Radwanska leads 3-2
The current standings are here, and they’ll be updated throughout the day.
Qualification
The following update is directly from today's WTA match notes:
WHITE GROUP: Victoria Azarenka will advance to the semifinals if she defeats Li Na. The other qualifier will be determined on Friday.
RED GROUP: Petra Kvitova will advance to the semifinals if she defeats Caroline Wozniacki.
RED GROUP: Caroline Wozniacki will advance to the semifinals if she defeats Petra Kvitova in straight sets.
RED GROUP: The loser of the Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Vera Zvonareva match will be eliminated.
Numbers
1
Caroline Wozniacki’s year-end ranking for the second year in a row, as confirmed yesterday. By finishing at the top for consecutive seasons, she joins “a revered group of seven WTA legends” (as the WTA press release put it). All the big names are there, except perhaps Serena Williams. (Serena has been year-end No. 1 twice—she’s the only other active player who has—but not consecutively.) Wozniacki must step it up at the Slams, but if her critics get too upset about her Slamless reign, they should also blame the players who’ve been unable to pry Wozniacki from her throne. Again.
2
The number of players who’ll be in next weekend’s Fed Cup final in Moscow between Russia and the Czech Republic. They are Petra Kvitova and Vera Zvonareva. The official ITF team nominations were announced yesterday, and naturally, both made the cut. Their preparation for one last event, a team event that puts a different kind of pressure on them, could make them work harder here to hone their games for the battle ahead.
4
The number of doubles finals Victoria Azarenka reached this year, all with Maria Kirilenko. They won at Madrid and Stanford, lost at Australian Open and Toronto. The two barely missed the final spot in the doubles event here; they were in fifth place in the points race (and not just because it rhymes).
5
The number of players competing today who’ve won at least one match here. That leaves one player who hasn’t—Agnieszka Radwanska, who did little but win the rest of the month.
6
The number of wins Agnieszka Radwanska has against Top 5 opponents this year. That's more than any WTA player except Sam Stosur, who earned her sixth win here.
15
The number of matches Petra Kvitova won this year at hard/indoor tournaments. She lost none.
34
Petra Kvitova’s year-end ranking last year. It’s the lowest among the 10 players who made it to Istanbul. That includes the alternates: Marion Bartoli was ranked No. 17, and Andrea Petkovic was ranked No. 32.
74
Caroline Wozniacki’s career win percentage in singles matches. It’s the highest among those playing today. Her win percentage this year is, at 80.5 percent, better than everyone in Istanbul. (Kvitova’s is a close second with 80.3.)
1.3 million
The amount, in dollars, that Vera Zvonareva had earned at the WTA Championships before this year’s event started. That’s second only to Maria Sharapova, who had earned $2 million. Qualifiers Li Na and Petra Kvitova had earned nothing; this year marks their first appearance here.
Words
—Caroline Wozniacki, asked whether she was tired after playing two days in a row, especially when she’d be also playing today: “No, I like to play long matches. I like to give the crowd a little bit for their money. (Smiling.)”
—An interesting question posed to Li Na: “Maria obviously kind of took Thomas Hogstedt from you. You have now beaten her twice. Does that give you extra satisfaction?”
—You know it’s a Vera Zvonareva transcript when you spot these lines: “I’m always confident in myself. I always believe in myself.”
—Likely half of Victoria Azarenka’s presser focused on grunting. It started with this question: “I know this has come up before, but Caroline Wozniacki has said a few things about the noise that people like yourself and Maria make. She says that some players do it deliberately, and she wishes they would stop. Has the tour mentioned this to you, anyone from seniority spoken to you about this issue?”
—Asked what she’d do if an opponent complained specifically about her and presumably mid-match, Victoria Azarenka struck a defiant note: “I would just say, Mind your own business, I guess. I hope you can beat me. That’s it. (Smiling.)”