Sunday, October 21, 2012

"You can't choose who can be in your group"

That's a quote from the WTA Championships defending champion Petra Kvitova, who got drawn into the White Group today for competition in Istanbul. But Kvitova's draw could be worse: She's 3-0 against White Group member Agnieszka Radwanska, and 3-0 against Sara Errani. She's 2-4, however, against Maria Sharapova, who has found a way to beat Kvitova since losing to her in the 2011 Wimbledon final. The Istanbul event is played on an indoor court, which is a potential advantage for Kvitova.

The Red Group contains world number 1 Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, and Li Na. That's a group against whom Williams has been dominant in general, though she's 1-1 against Kerber.

Both Errani and Kerber will be returning from time off to rehab injuries--Errani's thigh and Kerber's foot. The alternates, who are at the ready, are Sam Stosur and Marion Bartoli.

The WTA Championships singles competition employs a round-robin format, so each player in a group will get to play every other player in that group.

The doubles competition will be a regular knock-out event. Particpating are the following teams:

Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci
Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka
Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond
Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova

The tournament begins on October 23.

And here's a quote fromn Williams: "...I'm really happy to be here. I'm on the red side, with Victoria, so it'll be good."

Serena has spoken.

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