World No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska lost her chance to take the final qualifying spot for the prestigious Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, losing to 61st-ranked Maria Kirilenko 6-3 6-3 in the first round of the Kremlin Cup.

Radwanska’s defeat means that Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva will fight it out for the eighth spot at the season-ending Championships. Still, Radwanska will be an alternate for Doha, along with the loser of the qualifying battle between Jankovic and Zvonareva.

World No.12 Flavia Pennetta had a shot at being an alternate at the Sony Ericsson Championships, but she retired from her first-round match at the Kremlin Cup and her chance has thus been removed. The Italian won the opening set against Agnes Szavay 6-4, but after losing the first three games of the following set she retired with a left knee injury. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

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Three players are in the battle to take the last qualifying spot of the 2009 Sony Ericsson Championships – Jelena Jankovic, Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska – and which one of them will qualify will be determined during this week’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

World No.7 Vera Zvonareva and world No.9 Jelena Jankovic are the Top 2 seeds at the Kremlin Cup and the main contenders for the last berth at the season-ending Championships. Here's how things are standing:

1) if they both lose prior to the quarterfinals, Jankovic will be the one to qualify for Doha;
2) if they both reach the quarterfinals, whoever does better from then on will have more points for Doha;
3) if they both lose in the same round from the quarterfinals and on, Zvonareva will have more points for Doha.

The first condition for world No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska to qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships is to win the Kremlin Cup, and the second condition is that neither Zvonareva nor Jankovic reach the final.

Players that have already qualified include: Dinara Safina, Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Venus Williams and Victoria Azarenka. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, photos: Ralf Reinecke, Stephane Martinache)

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Sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated twelfth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-4 to win the China Open and inspiring $775,500. It’s the Russian’s third title of the season, the first two came at Stuttgart and Roland Garros, and the 12th of her career.

Radwanska was playing in a singles final for the first time since June 2008, and now she will return to the Top 10, although her perfect record in career finals has been ruined.

This latest success seems to have motivated Kuznetsova: "Normally I feel really tired at the end of the season, but now I feel great."

Kuznetsova had already qualified for the $4,550,000 Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha (October 27 – November 1, 2009) and before going to the Persian Gulf one week prior to the event in order to acclimatize, she will spend some time practicing in Moscow. (sources AP, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agnieszka Radwanska will face each other in the title match of the $4,500,000 China Open.

The sixth-seeded Kuznetsova booked her place in the final with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Nadia Petrova, No.13 seed. Kuznetsova broke Petrova five times, while she dropped her serve only once, early in the second set.

In the other semifinal, No.12 seed Radwanska defeated No.14 seed Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-3, and is now projected to return to the Top 10. The Pole rallied from early breaks in both sets, and has now won the last eight sets against Bartoli.

Kuznetsova won the China Open in 2006 and was a runner-up in 2004 and 2008. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

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The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour asked players whether they go out on Friday and Saturday nights or stay at home.

Alize Cornet is one extreme, watching TV with her parents, while Julie Coin is on the other side, barely remembering one night out in New York. Somewhere in-between are Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Nadia Petrova, Ana Ivanovic, and others.

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