What and amazing final we will have at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships - Istanbul 2012.... Serena Williams will take on Maria Sharapova, who will try to get her revenge on the Olympics final she lost to the Amrican.
Serena advanced to the final after beating Agnieszka Radwanska 62 61 while Sharapova defeated Victoria Azarenka 64 62.
Watch video highlights from Istanbul right here on wtatennis.com!
Serena started the match taking a 2-0 lea but Aga got the break back and levelled at 2-all.
From that moment on it was all abput Williams who won 10 of the next 11 games to seal the wi.
"I probably had an idea she was tired," Williams said about Radwanska who played for 3 hours and 30 minutes the night before. "I just told her that it was awesome she played so well and played through another match, after playing a good eight hours. It was really inspiring for me."
"Those last two matches really killed me," Radwanska said after the encounter. "Especially that I didn't have the day off, and especially that surface - it's very sticky, so three and a half hours is a lot. I really tried today and I really wanted to run, but my legs just didn't. This is the kind of tournament where you have to be fit every match to win.
"I was trying, but Serena played too fast. I couldn't do anything."
This will be Williams' fifth final at the WTA Championships.
Radwanska's season is over but it was an amazing year for the young Pole. She will finished for the first time as the No.4.
"To be honest it was a really great year, especially that I was really close to No.1 - I was No.2 for a couple of weeks after my first Grand Slam final," said Radwanska. "I was in the Top 10 for a couple of years before this, always working really hard and winning big titles, but I never did that well at a Grand Slam and was never close to No.1.
"But now I need a vacation. I'm not going to hold my racquets for the next couple of days. But after that, back to reality and practice again."
In the second set, the Russian got a nice 4-0 lead and never let Vika get back into the match.
"When you find yourself in a losing position a few times during the year, you want to try to figure out how to change those things around," Sharapova said. "I certainly didn't make as many mistakes today as I did in our previous matches this year. I also returned a little bit better this time, although I still feel like I could have returned better than I did today.
"Overall I'm happy with the way I came in and didn't let anything bother me, even losing to her the last couple of times and trying to figure it out."
Sharapova talked about the incredible crowds at the Sinan Erdem Dome.
"The atmosphere this whole week has been incredible, from the first round on and even when it's a holiday here in Turkey," she declared. "This is by far one of the best WTA Championships I've ever seen, over the course of my whole career."
"I'm not going to say I was the freshest today, but I also don't want to make any excuses because that's not really my type," Azarenka said. "I give Maria all the credit today. She played really well and looks in great form. She deserved to win, 100%. Could I have played better? Yes. But it's done. I have no regrets. I finished a loss with a smile for the first time. It didn't feel as bad today.
"I think Agnieszka felt much worse than me today. I saw her before the match and we looked at each other and we laughed really hard. That says it all."
"I'm really proud of what I've done the whole year," she commented. "I started the year with No.3 and I finished with No.1, which in numbers doesn't seem like a huge jump, but we all know in reality it's a pretty big difference.
"I finished the year as a different person - maybe not different, but more mature, a much more mature person. I'm very proud of that too. The whole year was a lot of learning experience, trying new things and taking the whole journey with the good and a few bads - I didn't have many. I cannot complain about this year."
Source WTA
Photo AP/Getty Images
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