When Victoria Azarenka entered the Rod Laver Arena today, she had something going on in her mind, her possibility of overtaking the top spot from Caroline Wozniacki, and that thing seemed to affect her in the first set tiebreak where she could not win a single point against Agnieszka Radwanska. But from then on, it was all Azarenka and she solidified her status as title contender with this win.

Radwanska walked on to the Rod Laver Arena today with a mission of her own, she wanted to make it fifth time lucky and enter into her first Grand Slam semifinal match and it seemed that she would, after the first set. But from then on Radwanska could not keep that level and lost to the red hot Azarenka.

Radwanska, just like Wozniacki in her quarterfinal, entered the match with cleaner stats, and Azarenka, just like Kim Clijsters, entered the match with not so good stats, but both Clijsters and Azarenka emerged out of their matches as the cleaner players and winners.

AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA STATS

Radwanska entered the match with 75% points won on her first serves when they landed in and her first serve percentage did not flop, but her winning percentage on the first serve dropped dramatically, and to add to that so did her winning percentage on second serves. You can never win a match against Azarenka by winning just 29% of your second serves or 47% of your first serves. As if that was not enough, Radwanska entered the match with a positive winner-UE differential of 27, but came out of the match with a negative 15 winner-UE differential. Radwanska will have to wait for the next Grand Slam to see if she can manage to make it to the semifinals.

VICTORIA AZARENKA STATS

Azarenka's winning percentage on her first serve dropped by a whopping 23%, but she was aggressive enough to force errors from the Polish No.1. If we look at Azarenka's winners-UE differential, she came out as the cleaner one with a positive differential of 1 as compared to Radwanska's negative 15. However, what the numbers do not tell us is that Azarenka remained cool and calm even after she lost the first set. That was the major turning point for Azarenka.

For now on Azarenka lives to fight for a dream to reach the top spot in the WTA rankings and she will be battling it out with Clijsters on Thursday in what promises to be a great match. (photos: Ralf Reinecke, © Neal Trousdale)

After showing you his numbers analysis for the quarterfinal between Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters, our stats expert Omair made another Australian Open quarterfinal preview for you, Victoria Azarenka vs. Agnieszka Radwanska.

Agnieszka Radwanska has lost a set so far at the Australian Open, while Victoria Azarenka is yet to lose more than four games in a set. Despite that, when we look at numbers, Radwanska comes out as the cleaner one.

If we look at the Grand Slam results, we see that it is the sixth quarterfinal appearance for Azarenka and fifth for Radwanska, while Radwanska has yet to move beyond the quarterfinal stage of a major tournament, Azarenka did it at last year's Wimbledon when she lost to the eventual champion, Petra Kvitova, in the semis. Interestingly, it was Azarenka's fifth Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance when she finally moved beyond the quarterfinal stage, and this is Radwanska's fifth quarterfinal appearance. Azarenka and Radwanska are friends – will Radwanska follow in the footsteps of her friend and make it fifth time lucky or will she fade away, only time will tell us.

If we look at their head-to-head record, Azarenka has won six of their nine encounters and their latest coming at this year's Sydney in the semifinal, where Azarenka won in three sets.

Let us have a look at what the numbers suggest about their form so far at the Australian Open.

When we look at numbers, they are quite close in almost all departments. However, Azarenka has an upper hand by a huge margin in the 2nd serve winning percentage, but she also has a huge number of double faults, averaging at 4+ per match so far in the tournament (equal to Kim Clijsters' double faults).

However, where Radwanska comes out on top is the differential of winners and unforced errors. Radwanska has a huge positive differential of 27, while Azarenka has only a positive differential of three. This is where it will become critical in my opinion, if Radwanska can keep this up in her match against Azarenka she will come out at top.

Another major department where Radwanska leads is the break point conversion percentage. Radwanska is up by about 7%.

If Radwanska plays in the quarterfinals with the same stats, I guess she will win, but Azarenka has been on fire this year and she has yet to lose a match. Furthermore, she has been very calm in her matches even when she was down and that has made all the difference.

Radwanska will have an uphill battle to book a spot in her first ever Grand Slam semifinal. The numbers say that Radwanska will win, and I will be rooting for Radwanska, but something inside me says that Azarenka will come out on top. Who do you think will emerge victorious? And who will you be rooting for? (photos: © Neal Trousdale)

The 2012 has gained its full swing with the Australian Open, and our loyal contributor and reader John Bolan would like to share his predictions of how the Top 10 rankings will look like at the end of the season. Don't forget to share your Top 10 picks in the comments, as John will send the person whose predictions turn out to be the closest to the actual 2012 year-end Top 10 a picture with an autograph of a Top 10 player. Nice incentive!

Once again, it is time to pick the Top 10 players in the order they will finish on December 31, 2012. We have had a few weeks to observe which players have played well this year. Logic, injuries and where the players finished for 2011 are the main criteria used to make these picks.

My pick for number 1 in 2012 is Victoria Azarenka (I also picked Victoria for number 1 in 2011). She squeaked by Maria Sharapova for third place last year, but is definitely a rising young star whose time has come. Maria is my pick for the runner-up spot – number 2. Let’s hope she stays healthy for the remainder of the year.

Three players who have already been injured this year are Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams and Andrea Petkovic. Do we take a chance and put any of them in the Top 10? Kim is my #3 pick and Serena #4. Although Andrea is the most sensational player in women’s tennis, she is seriously injured and will miss months on the tour in 2012.

My #5 pick is Petra Kvitova. Some say she is now the best player, but she will need to prove it.

Three very consistent players from 2011 – Caroline Wozniacki #6, Agnieszka Radwanska #7 and Vera Zvonareva #8 are my next 3 picks. Caroline’s personal life will interfere with her tennis game in 2012. She will lose her #1 ranking after two years in the top spot.

Li Na is anything but consistent. When she is on she is very good. She’s my number 9 pick.

Number 10 is Sabine Lisicki. She is very strong with one of the fastest serves in the WTA. In 2012 she will finally make her goal of a Top 10 player. I was one of a dozen fans to watch her comeback begin on the first day of the Miami tournament last March. She has played great tennis since then.

I doubt many of you will agree with me on these picks! Use the comments and make your picks! The person closest to the actual finish will get one of my autographed pictures of a player who finishes in the Top 10. Good luck!

Reminder: How accurate was John in 2011? Check out his November reflections on his January 2011 choices.

Thank you, John, for contributing with this article and offering to award a Women's Tennis Blog's reader a with valuable autographed WTA picture.

Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Li Na, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska all advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open and only Azarenka lost more than four games in a set.

Wozniacki and Jankovic will meet in the fourth round, after Wozniacki moved on with a commanding victory over Monica Niculescu 6-2 6-2 and Jankovic cruised past Christina McHale 6-2 6-0, playing well in crucial moments and saving ten break points. Even though Jankovic lost her last three meetings with Wozniacki, the Serb said it was in her overall bad period, and now her motivation and confidence are much greater.

A rematch of the last year's final is also awaiting in the fourth round as Clijsters faces Li. Clijsters beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-2 in her third match of the tournament, while Li advanced when Anabel Medina Garrigues retired with an ankle sprain after only three games. In the 2011 title match Clijsters defeated Li 3-6 6-3 6-3, in what was a positive experience for both players and the two are excited to repeat the challenge.

Victoria Azarenka, who will play Iveta Benesova in the fourth round, faced a fresh first-time WTA titlist Mona Barthel and won the first set against her in just 31 minutes, hitting only three unforced errors. Barthel brought more resistance in the second set, but after four match points Azarenka defeated her 6-2 6-4.

Julia Goerges moved into the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time after overcoming Romina Oprandi 3-6 6-3 6-1, the Italian who upset tenth seed Francesca Schiavone in the second round. Next for Goerges is Agnieszka Radwanska, the 6-2 6-2 winner over Galina Voskoboeva.

The second set of third round matches awaits! (photo: Tidalist)

Even though the 22-year-old likes to pamper herself with a Louis Vuitton bag when she wins a tournament, she's not shy of wearing cheap clothes as well and the majority of what she earns is invested in more stable assets:

Money is primarily invested in real estate.

As for tennis, just like most WTA players, Radwanska has never known for anything else in her life:

There were difficult moments, but overall I was happy. Besides, I knew no other life, I never wondered if I could do something else.

Radwanska also said:

The athlete who needs a psychologist, is not suitable for sport.

Some WTA players might be offended!

The full interview is available here.

Additional info: Just a few days ago in an interview for the Sydney Morning Herald the eighth-ranked Agnieszka expressed her frustration of drawing her sister Urszula in the first round of a tournament for the fourth consecutive time. Agnieszka defeated the 102nd-ranked Urszula 6-1 6-1 this week in Sydney and commented:

We said the next time I think we're just going to pack and go home because this is ridiculous.

A big tennis exhibition featuring six WTA stars (including two Top 10 members) took place on December 16-18 in Singapore and Italian Flavia Pennetta walked away with a victory bowl, defeating Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in the final 6-4 7-5. Pennetta ended the tournament with a 3-0 win-loss record and besides the older Polish sister she defeated Daniela Hantuchova and 2011 US Open winner Samantha Stosur.

Samantha Stosur, the field's only Grand Slam singles champion, battled out for the third place and defeated Peng Shuai 2-6 6-4 6-4.

Thank you, On Court Advantage, for supplying us with all the information and photos!

Additional info: Talking about the 29-year-old Pennetta, today on Tennis.com I came across more of her revelations about the cheating of her ex-boyfriend, Carlos Moya, and how it affected her. The following excerpt is from her autobiography Dritto al Cuore (Straight to the Heart):

I put everything aside to support him. If you count the times I did it, probably the number is in itself ridiculous. My passion was him, I gave myself completely, and I lost my balance… People felt sorry for me and I could not even defend myself. It was as if I had lost my taste for things. I was trying to be numb towards life, not to feel pain. I did not even feel physical [pain]. A silly example: even when I was waxing, I did not even feel anything.

(photo credit: Sebastien Serandrei)

First have a look at the table showing average rank of players who defeated each of the year-end Top 10 players and the lowest-ranked player to beat year-end Top 10 players during 2011. 

Vera Zvonareva needs to be mentioned here for her consistency as she is the only one of the Top 10 who was not beaten by a player ranked outside Top 35, while the rest of her colleagues from this elite group were beaten at least twice. The lowest-ranked player to defeat Zvonareva during 2011 was Tsvetana Pironkova, ranked 33rd (seeded 32nd) during the third round of Wimbledon.

Of Zvonareva's 22 losses only three came at the hands of players ranked between 30 and 35 and interestingly they came at the hands of players ranked 31, 32, and 33. Also, a total of only three losses came at the hands of players ranked between 21 and 29, while the rest of 16 came at the hands of Top 20 players. Average rank of Zvonareva's conquerors was 15, while the average rank of the conquerors of all the remaining Top 10 players was not even within Top 20.

Victoria Azarenka also needs to be mentioned here, because only five of her 17 losses came at the hands of players ranked outside Top 20, and of those five losses two came at the hands of Serena Williams who had low ranking due to her health problems and lack of play. Average rank of Azarenka's conquerors in 2011 was 23.

Let's continue with more specific tables, one for each of the Top 10 players, containing:

1) names of tournaments where players lost a match;

2) rank of the player that defeated them;

3) name of the player who defeated them.

Players who have beaten a Top 10 player in question twice or more in 2011 are highlighted in the tables.

Interestingly, three players have beaten Caroline Wozniacki twice this year, only one of them being a Top 10 player. Petra Kvitova has been beaten twice by only two players in 2011 – Andrea Petkovic and Vera Zvonareva – both the year-end Top 10 players. However, Petkovic was ranked 11th when she defeated Kvitova in Cincinnati.

It's interesting to note that Kvitova, who can be considered the player of the year especially for her Wimbledon and WTA Championships titles, played two events on the ITF Women's Circuit in 2011 – Nassau she exited in the opening round, while Prague 2 she lost in the final. Also note that six of Kvitova's 13 losses (almost 50%) came at the hands of players ranked below 40.

SUMMARY STATS FOR WOZNIACKI

Total rank of players who defeated her: 465
Number of defeats: 17
Average rank: 27.4

SUMMARY STATS FOR KVITOVA
Total rank of players who defeated her: 474
Number of defeats: 13
Average rank: 36.5

Victoria Azarenka has been beaten twice or more by three players – Li (both times at Grand Slams), Kvitova (three times) and Serena Williams (twice). Maria Sharapova was beaten twice by two players – Kvitova and Li, both Top 10 players.

Flavia Pennetta needs to be mentioned here since she was the one who spoiled the perfect record of Sharapova in three-set matches during 2011. Before the US Open Sharapova had won all the matches during 2011 that went to the third set, however Pennetta changed all that at US Open when she beat Sharapova 6-3 3-6 6-4 in the third round of US Open.

SUMMARY STATS FOR AZARENKA
Total rank of players who defeated her: 398
Number of defeats: 17
Average rank: 23.4

SUMMARY STATS FOR SHARAPOVA
Total rank of players who defeated her: 603
Number of defeats: 14
Average rank: 43.1

Lisicki and Stosur have been able to defeat Li Na twice or more this year, with Stosur beating her on four ocassions. Samantha Stosur has been beaten by Sharapova (three times), Kirilenko (twice), Bartoli (twice) and Kvitova (twice).

Of all the Top 10 players, the US Open champion Stosur suffered the biggest loss in terms of how low her opponent was ranked, falling to No.262 Melinda Czink in the first round of Wimbledon.

SUMMARY STATS FOR LI

Total rank of players who defeated her: 624
Number of defeats: 17
Average rank: 36.7

SUMMARY STATS FOR STOSUR
Total rank of players who defeated her: 865
Number of defeats: 23
Average rank: 37.6

In the beginning of this analysis I've already said so much about Vera Zvonareva's consistency, but there were two players against whom the Russian was weak: Agnieszka Radwanska defeated her four times in 2011, Samantha Stosur three times.

Agnieszka Radwanska also had her fair share of unwelcome opponents: Petra Cetkovska, Lucie Safarova, and Top 10 players Wozniacki and Kvitova all defeated Radwanska twice this year.

SUMMARY STATS FOR ZVONAREVA
Total rank of players who defeated her: 338
Number of defeats: 22
Average rank: 15.4

SUMMARY STATS FOR RADWANSKA
Total rank of players who defeated her: 453
Number of defeats: 18
Average rank: 25.2

Marion Bartoli has the unwelcome title in the elite 10, falling to the lowest-ranked opponents on average. Bartoli also has the unlikely honour of being the only Top 10 player who was beaten four times by players ranked outside Top 100 during 2011. However, she also played the most tournaments – 29, while no other Top 10 player played more than 22.

Andrea Petkovic and Caroline Wozniacki were the only players to beat Marion Bartoli twice or more this year. Wozniacki, Sharapova and Radwanska handed Andrea Petkovic two or more losses this year.

SUMMARY STATS FOR BARTOLI
Total rank of players who defeated her: 1310
Number of defeats: 25
Average rank: 52.4

SUMMARY STATS FOR PETKOVIC
Total rank of players who defeated her: 461
Number of defeats: 17
Average rank: 27.1

So far we've featured numerous Omair's analytic tables covering the following topics:

• Comparative analysis of Top 10 players and their performance at big tournaments in 2011;
• Top 10 players in 2011 – how they scored against fellow big opponents; and now
• Top 10 players in 2011 – what do their losses suggest?

Did all these analyses help you draw some conclusions or direct your attention to specific data which you didn't realize before? Did some specific numbers maybe only strengthen some of your theories about certain players? (photos: © Neal Trousdale)

We can soon start calling our reader Omair a stats expert. After seeing his "Comparative analysis of Top 10 players and their performance at big tournaments in 2011" received so well, Omair eagerly rushed to thrill us with more analysis, this time focusing on the year-end Top 10 players and the ranking of opponents that they beat in 2011 (Part 1) and on the ranking of opponents that beat them (Part 2). Let the tables do the talking!

The table above shows the number of tournaments where a year-end Top 10 player defeated more than one Top 10 player. Petra Kvitova tops here with three tournaments, at two of which she defeated three or more Top 10 players en route to the title (Madrid and WTA Championships). World number one Caroline Wozniacki is the only Top 10 player who did not beat two Top 10 players in a single tournament.

Let's continue with tables showing tournaments won by each Top 10 player and tournaments where the player (though did not end up winning the event) ended up beating two or more Top 10 players.

As mentioned earlier, Kvitova tops the list of most Top 10 players defeated en route to title – at the WTA Championships in Istanbul she ended up beating as much as five Top 10 players, Top 8 players to be exact! Second in this list is Li Na who defeated four Top 10 players on her way to the French Open title this year. Take notice, Wozniacki only once defeated a Top 5 player on her way to title, which was in Brussels where she defeated then-No.5 Schiavone.

Actually, Kvitova was the  only one who ended up beating three Top 10 players in more than one tournament. Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Li Na and Marion Bartoli did it once during 2011 – Azarenka at the WTA Championships, Sharapova in Rome, Li at the French Open and Bartoli in Eastbourne.

You can see that Li Na defeated four Top 10 players en route to her maiden Grand Slam title, more than Kvitova during her Wimbledon title run and more than Samantha Stosur who had to overcome only one such opponent on her way to the US Open trophy.

Vera Zvonareva won two titles in 2011 and all the victories in her Doha run included Top 30 players, two of which were Top 10. Agnieszka Radwanska was super hot in the later part of the season, winning Carlsbad, Tokyo and Beijing. The Pole scored two Top 10 victories in Toronto, more than in Carlsbad and Beijing actually, but lost in the semifinals of the tournament.

Just like in the "Comparative analysis of Top 10 players and their performance at big tournaments in 2011" the stats leader in the department of victories over fellow Top 10 players is mostly Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

What would you like to add looking at the stats? What are the details you notice and what do they tell you about specific players?

Stay tuned for the second part of the analysis to be posted this week on Women's Tennis Blog. The continuation will focus on the losses of Top 10 players and the rankings of players who defeated them. (Kvitova photo: © Neal Trousdale)

On January 8, 2011 the Women’s Tennis Blog published my article "Who will be Top 10 players at the end of 2011?".  My picks were listed with reasons why I chose them. Many fans used the comment section to submit their picks. Now that the year is over, let’s find out how we did.

Most of us only named about 5 out of the 10 Top finishers. The reason that we did so poorly was the injury factor. Five of the top players were injured for most of the year – Justin Henin, Kim Clijsters, Dinara Safina, Serena Williams and Venus Williams. Most of us had at least 3 of these injured stars on our Top 10 list. The most difficult factor in picking the Top 10 is trying to guess who will not be able to play a full season and 2011 was an unusual year with so many of the top stars injured for so long.

No one picked the number 2 finisher – Petra Kvitova. Only one person picked Marion Bartoli and only one picked Andrea Petkovic. These omissions hurt the overall accuracy of our picks.

1. Caroline Wozniacki did the near impossible in 2011 by repeating as the world’s number one. Because the WTA deducts ranking points won the year before, Caroline had the most points to lose. This meant she had to win more than she did in 2010 just to stay even. Only 3 people picked her to repeat. All but one person did include her in their Top 10. Caroline was the most consistent player on the Tour for the second straight season.

2. Petra Kvitova came from nowhere to finish number two. Although she was named as the most improved by the WTA for 2010, none of us thought she would have the year she had in 2011. She won both Wimbledon and the WTA Championships and must be included on the short list for number one in 2012.

3. Victoria Azarenka was my pick for number one and would have made it if not for the outstanding play of Caroline and Petra. Victoria continued to improve in 2011 and is poised to go even higher in 2012. She should continue her championship finals battle with Kvitova next year for the world’s number one player.

4. Maria Sharapova had a wonderful year rising to number two until faltering at the end with a disastrous showing in the final championships. Maria makes it through many matches on guts and determination alone. She may never be the player she once was before her shoulder injury, but she isn’t about to stop trying. By far the most popular player in women’s sports, Maria is also the most competitive.

5. Li Na played better than anyone at times in 2011, but she also played poorly too often. Maybe Caroline could lend her some of her consistency, and Li could show Caroline how to win a major in 2012. She won the French Open and is the best Asian player ever. She turns 30 early next year and has the honor of being the oldest player in the Top 10.

6. Samantha Stosur made all of us her fans at the US Open with her great win. Calm, cool and collected Sam may be the most popular player on the tour after Maria. She is a national hero in Australia and has the desire and talent to rise to the top of the standings.

7. Vera Zvonareva hired a new coach for 2011 and found a new demeanor on the court. The emotion has been replaced by a steely determination. She is now a very consistent player who is a safe bet to remain a Top 10 player.

8. Agnieszka Radwanska had a great run in the US Open Series. I watched her win the tournament at La Costa beating two Top 10 players, Petkovic and Zvonareva, with a heavily bandaged right shoulder.  Hopefully, the off-season will give her shoulder a chance to heal, and she will come back even stronger in 2012.

9. Marion Bartoli surprised us all in 2011. I never thought she would be in the Top 10, but she managed to be consistent enough to finish 9th. She just missed qualifying for the year-end Championships, but she did win her only game there as an alternate over Azarenka the eventual runner-up.

10. Andrea Petkovic (above is my photo with her) is the most exciting player in women’s tennis. She also works harder than any other and deserves her surprising fast rise to the Top 10. Let’s hope her knee heals this winter because the WTA needs to see her dance even more in 2012.

Of all the people who commented on my post with predictions, I think Paul was the top picker. He not only was one of three who had Caroline Wozniacki as number one, he was the only one to pick Andrea Petkovic. He even picked Andrea correct at number 10. In addition Paul had eight of the ten top players on his list. His other two picks were both injured but still managed to finish near the Top 10 – Kim Clijsters #13 and Serena Williams #12. He missed only Kvitova whom no one picked and Bartoli picked by only one person. Therefore, I proposed to Marija to send him one autographed picture of a WTA star (either Dinara Safina, Yanina Wickmayer, Flavia Pennetta or Shahar Peer) and she will gladly send him his award.

Start thinking about your 2012 picks!

John, thank you for reflecting on your January's predictions. This article witnesses how fast women's tennis changes and how nothing is set in stone. (photos courtesy of John Bolan, Tony and Ralf Reinecke)

Just to note, in the following tables CW is Caroline Wozniacki, PK is Petra Kvitova, VA is Victoria Azarenka, MS is Maria Sharapova, LN is Li Na, SS is Samantha Stosur, VZ is Vera Zvonareva, AR is Agnieszka Radwanska, MB is Marion Bartoli and AP is Andrea Petkovic.

WIN-LOSS RECORD OF THE YEAR-END TOP 10 PLAYERS AGAINST EACH OTHER IN 2011

The win-loss record is in itself self-explanatory, showing who has been the most dominant player - Petra Kvitova. Please also note the number of wins by a player against Top 5 players, especially for Top 5 players.

OVERALL WIN-LOSS RECORD IN 2011

Kvitova is not the leader only in the percentage of wins over fellow season-ending Top 10 players, but is also the leader in yearly win-loss record overall.

2011 GRAND SLAM WINS OF TOP 10 PLAYERS

Maria Sharapova has the  most match wins at Grand Slams, being in the semifinals of French Open (losing to eventual champion) and final of Wimbledon (losing to eventual champion), followed by Caroline Wozniacki who has two semifinal showings but both times was beaten by the runner-up, while at the other two was beaten by players who got beaten in the very next rounds. Most consistent at Grand Slams was Andrea Petkovic, who reached the quarterfinals at three Grand Slams, falling short of two wins at Wimbledon to complete the set of quarterfinals. Of all the Top 10 players only Li Na managed to be in more than one Grand Slam final.

PERFORMANCE AT WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS

At the WTA Championships, Petra Kvitova proved too good for all the players, winning all five of her matches and hence the tournament, showing that she is the best of Top 8. She also defeated world No.1 Wozniacki and US Open champion Samantha Stosur.

PERFORMANCE AT PREMIER MANDATORY TOURNAMENTS

Victoria Azarenka was the most consistent in the Premier Mandatory category of events, as is obvious from the results above. No player other than Azarenka, Sharapova and Petkovic ended up in semifinals or above of two Premier Mandatory events.

PERFORMANCE AT PREMIER 5 TOURNAMENTS

Three Top 10 players ended up playing all the five events, world No.1 Wozniacki being one of them. The most consistent here was Sharapova, winning two titles and having a quarterfinal appearance at one, followed by Stosur who had two finals and two quarterfinals. Woznicki did win one title of this cadre but failed to advance to finals of the other four, ending up with semifinal appearance in only one event of the remaining four tourneys she played.

PERFORMANCE AT PREMIER EVENTS

Having a look at the Premiers played, it becomes evident that only Kvitova had wise planning of events not letting her overplay and she ended up with a title and a runner-up showing in the two events she played. Wozniacki played six events and won three of them, with runner-up showings in two of them. Only Wozniacki was able to win two Mandatory events, of others, Petkovic, Azarenka and Sharapova did not win a title in this category, while all the rest have at least one title and one semifinal or runner-up appearance.

Kvitova has been the player of year with the highest match winning percentage of the elite 10, plus titles in every mandatory category other than the Premier 5 category where she has one semifinal appearance. She has one Grand Slam (Wimbledon), year-end Championships, Premier Mandatory (Madrid) and Premier (Paris) titles in her bag and not forgetting the two International-level titles she won this season as well.

Omair, thank you for this detailed and insightful analysis, I think it's outstanding, and gives a great perspective into the very top of current women's tennis. What do others think? (first photo via WTA Tour, Kvitova photo: © Neal Trousdale)