WTA Championships – Clijsters on track for title
The WTA Tour Championships semi-finalists have been decided, and in a strong final four Kim Clijsters may be the player to beat.
She’s qualified from the White Group along with Vera Zvonareva (which of them tops the group will be determined when they play their final round-robin matches today) while Samantha Stosur qualifies in first place from the Maroon Group, with Caroline Wozniacki the second qualifier for the semis from that group.
Here, we look at the respective title chances of each of the quartet.
Caroline Wozniacki
Six titles for 2010 have been instrumental in Wozniacki’s ascension to the world No. 1 ranking, and her victory against Francesca Schiavone in her final round-robin match in Doha ensured it will be hers for the end of the season.
So what’s the Dane got left to play for? Proof that after usurping Serena Williams as the world’s top ranked player, she’s worthy of that label. Still without a Grand Slam title to her name, Wozniacki needs to prove she can win at the big events, and after the majors the season-ending championships are as big as they come.
The problem is that while Wozniacki’s defences are notoriously tough to crack, the three players left at this stage of the competition have all broken through them at one time or another, with Clijsters winning their only past match in the 2009 US Open final, Zvonareva defeating the 20-year-old in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows this year, and Stosur already snatching victory over the top seed at this tournament.
There are players with better track records at the big events than Wozniacki left in the draw, and she may just miss out on finishing her season on a winning note.
Kim Clijsters
Playing in her first tournament since the US Open, Clijsters has displayed a Williams-esque ability to shake off the rust and make her way deep into the draw.
The world No. 4 is second to Wozniacki with four titles for the 2010 season, but has also played in fewer events as she balances tennis with family life. Indeed, in Doha, Clijsters is in the unusual position of travelling without daughter Jada and husband Brian.
A winner at the WTA Championships in 2002 and 2003, though not in Doha, the Belgian has proven form at the event, and also in major finals, as three US Open titles will attest. In that, she’s unique among the semi-finalists, who have all played in a Grand Slam final at least once in their careers but are yet to win one.
Clijsters has both the mental and physical game to win this tournament, and should be able to do it from here.
Vera Zvonareva
Zvonareva has been a finalist six times in 2010, including at Wimbledon and the US Open, but has only won one title (at Pattaya city). So the obvious question has to be: has she got what it takes to take that extra step?
The world No. 2 will always be an emotional player on court, but by-and-large in 2010 has avoided the tears and tantrums that she was infamous for (although anyone who watched Stosur’s absolute domination of the Russian in the final in Charleston will know she’s still capable of them) before she showed she has the strength of character it takes to reach a Grand Slam final, not once but twice in the season, notably defeating Clijsters (at Wimbledon) and Wozniacki (US Open) along the way.
Strangely enough it’s not the world No. 1 or the US Open champion who loom as the toughest potential opponents for Zvonareva. Instead it’s Stosur, a player who has won the past five matches against her fellow 26-year-old and who Zvonareva last won a match against back in 2004.
A habit of stumbling at the final hurdle is worrying for Zvonareva, but if she can overcome it and win the Doha title, it would be the fitting finish to a career-best season.
Samantha Stosur
Recent form pointed to a round-robin exit for Stosur at the WTA Championships, but she was instead the first player to qualify for the semi-finals, defeating Wozniacki along the way.
Since debuting in the top-10 this year, the Queenslander has entrenched herself there, and with defeats of Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic in consecutive matches at the French Open proved she belonged among the best.
It was a different Stosur against Francesca Schiavone in the final however, as the pressure of favouritism perhaps took its toll and she finished second best. So there are still some questions about Stosur’s mental toughness, but she’s the underdog heading into the semis and that should suit the world No. 7 down to the ground.
That lethal kick serve and big forehand are weapons that can make things difficult for any opponent (though it’s worth noting Clijsters holds a 4-0 winning record against her), but she will need to deliver them with more consistency than she did in her loss to Elena Dementieva in her final round-robin match if she’s to mount a genuine title challenge.
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