Serena clinches No. 1 and Wozniacki, Radwanska in semis

Author:
Courtney Nguyen
Publish date:
Oct 24, 2014

SINGAPORE -- Serena Williams has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for a second consecutive year and fourth time overall. No. 2 Maria Sharapova's chance to unseat Serena ended at the WTA Finals on Friday after losing a set to Agnieszka Radwanska in their final round robin match. This marks the first time in Serena's career that she's held the No. 1 ranking for every week of the season. In the White Group, the semifinals are set as Caroline Wozniacki and Radwanska move on and continue their chances at a title.

Sharapova looked well on her way to beating Radwanska in straight sets to keep her chances of qualifying for the semifinals alive. But after building a 7-5, 5-1 lead Sharapova lost five straight games, failing to serve out the match twice and squandering three match points. She lost the second set in a tiebreaker but rebounded to finish her tournament with a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-2 win. Radwanska thought the match -- and her season -- were all but over when she found herself down in the scoreline. That's when she began to play her best tennis of the day.

The Elite Eight tell all on the eve of the 2014 WTA Finals in Singapore

"In that kind of place you pretty much know that it's over, so I think I was more relaxed," Radwanska said. "I think she [got] tight a little bit. And then I think it was easier for me to play. I think [I felt] not so many nerves like in the beginning of the match."

Sharapova blamed her own impatience. She should have been able to break Radwanska at will but couldn't impose herself on the returns late as the pressure grew late in the second set. "[Radwanska's 115 kph serves] are just serves I should be able to punish and get easier points," Sharapova said. "But on a court like this that gives her the time to get back, that's what she loves. A little bit impatient, her doing a great job of retrieving it deep and making me hit another ball, yeah, kind of one thing after the other."

Sharapova wouldn't say one way or another whether she was aware of the qualification scenarios walking on court, but said that her goal was to finish her season on a winning note. "I just really wanted to win this match," she said. "I had so many chances and it was just not the way that I wanted to go out in the tournament. That was my goal no matter how physical the match or how tough it was to lose that second set was, I wanted to win it." The win secured her the No. 2 ranking to end the season, a strong result considering she was on the verge of falling out of the top ten in March.

The Evolution of Tennis Fashion: Caroline Wozniacki

2006

Wozniacki wasn't always with Adidas. She won her junior Wimbledon title (defeating Magdalena Rybarikova) in Nike.

2007

Wozniacki signs with Adidas. And then they did this to her.

2007

That's a lot of pink.

2008

Wozniacki won the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2008, finishing the season ranked No. 12.

2008

Adidas quickly realized they had a youngster with star power.

2008

I had a soft spot for Wozniacki's big black ankle braces. They looked like ski boots, which was appropriate because, you know, Danish.

2009

Matching neon safari kits for Wozniacki and her doubles partner Sorana Cirstea. Wozniacki played doubles?

2009

Wozniacki preferred wearing separates over dresses during her early days with Adidas.

2009

Those red accents probably wouldn't pass under Wimbledon's new, stricter All-White dress code, which is a bummer. This was a sharp kit...

2009

...especially when it was involved in one of the more infamous changeover bumps between Wozniacki and Sabine Lisicki, who was decked out in the same kit.

2009

Wozniacki signs on to the Adidas Stella McCartney line. And this is where our fashion look-back gets...interesting.

2009

Wozniacki knows how to activate a sponsorship. Just months after signing the Stella deal, she makes her first Slam final at the U.S. Open.

2009

In the same dress but different colorway, Wozniacki qualifies for her first WTA Championships in Doha.

2010

That happened.

2010

Stella McCartney would rarely dabble in patterns, but this was a surprisingly conventional offering.

2010

It's never easy to make all-white interesting, but this dress' use of an embossed pattern was great.

2010

After a year of neutral colors, Wozniacki gets something bold and modern to wear for the U.S. Open. Wozniacki told me this is her favorite dress.

2010

The uber-short hemline raised a few eyebrows, though.

2011

The high-waisted pleat made for an awkward fit and silhouette when still.

2011

But the dress made for some interesting lines when it was in motion.

2011

Quite possibly the worse neckline in the history of tennis fashion. Oy.

2011

Phew. Crisp, clean separates. Back to normalcy.

2011

Sacre bleu! The ruffles were back for the French Open.

2011

Going all white only made the ruffles worse.

2011

Stella returns to neutral colors with some nice mesh accents. A relief on the eyes.

2012

Same dress as the U.S. Open but in a soft yellow. A little sunshine for Sunshine.

2012

Orange with a subtle pattern, the dress didn't look that special...

2012

Until it was put in motion. Great design.

2012

Another bright number for the Dane. Snooze.

2012

The perfect Wimbledon dress that lasted for just one match. Wozniacki lost to Tamira Pazcek in the first round.

2012

It was the Olympics, but you should still stick to visors, Woz.

2012

Stella McCartney tries to go the LBD route but the fit was just a little off and unflattering.

2012

It's not the aggressive color-blocking that's the problem. It's the black shoes.

2013

There is a lot going on here and most of it is very unfortunate.

2013

Simple enough, but it made for some weird tanlines.

2013

The definition of an over-designed dress. Double-straps, cut-outs, multi-toned colorblocking, it was too much.

2014

Stella McCartney had an incredible ability to make a dress look terrible on the rack...

2014

...but great on the court at the Australian Open.

2014

Minty fresh.

2014

This green number didn't get much play at the French Open, where Wozniacki lost in the first round. But it was there when she kicked off her resurgence in Eastbourne.

2014

It's not easy to keep reinventing all-white dresses, but this flirty number was a winner.

2014

Despite being bogged down by a useless ruffle, Wozniacki finds herself back in a Slam final.

Despite the loss, Radwanska's ability to steal that second set kept her chances of qualifying for the semifinals alive. She needed her good friend Caroline Wozniacki to beat No. 3 Petra Kvitova in the next match, and Wozniacki was well-aware that Radwanska's fate was on her racket. "When I saw her [before her match] she was already like, 'I know, I know'," Radwanska said. "She knew what was going on."

Wozniacki then stepped out on the court and got the job done. She played her best match of the week to beat Kvitova 6-2, 6-3 to go undefeated through group play. She served at 70 percent and won 67 percent of her first serve points and 50 percent of her second serve points. She also returned well, keeping Kvitova's success rate on both her first and second serves below 50 percent. Knowing she had already qualified for the semifinals, Wozniacki played freely. It left Kvitova shaking her head.

"Of course I wanted to win today for sure," Kvitova said. "I mean, Caro played very relaxed and played so well. She was better on the court. I'm just glad that I beat Maria yesterday. It was after long time, so for me it was good win yesterday." Wozniacki, the lowest seed in the tournament, has now notched three consecutive top ten wins for the first time in her career. The last time she beat three top ten players at any tournament was the 2010 WTA Finals, where she made the final and lost to Kim Clijsters.

Radwanska joked she would reward Wozniacki with a shopping spree. "I think we just going to go shopping, but with my credit card."

Post by Agnieszka Radwanska.

The Evolution of Tennis Fashion: Caroline Wozniacki

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