Agnieszka Radwanska and Li Na both entered the Premier-level Sydney semifinal with perfect win-loss records this season, owing to their title runs in Auckland (Radwanska) and inaugural Shenzhen (Li), but the higher-ranked Pole spoiled Li's undefeated run, even though it was Li who had led their head-to-head 5-3, including 3-1 last season.

Li battled hard in her last night's match against qualifier Madison Keys and today she saved seven match points before finally succumbing to tiredness and the top-seeded Radwanska, who was leading the encounter throughout.

On a better note for Li, the WTA has announced that the big Tokyo tournament that will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year will be replaced by an event in Li's hometown of Wuhan in China in 2014. The tournament will have the prize money of about $2 million.

The other semifinal was between Dominika Cibulkova and second seed Angelique Kerber and Cibulkova prevailed 6-2 4-6 6-3. Even though Cibulkova entered the match with a 2-0 record against Kerber, both those victories happened before Kerber made it big in the tennis world and Kerber was favored for appearance in the Sydney final.

Radwanska has now won eight matches in a row and is 3-0 against Cibulkova, but the peers haven't faced each other in years, precisely, since 2008! (photos: Ralf Reinecke)

Top four seeds were the only seeds in the Apia International Sydney quarterfinals and three of them advanced to the semis – No.1 Agnieszka Radwanska, No.2 Angelique Kerber and No.4 Li Na, while No.3 Sara Errani got eliminated in a dominant fashion.

The world No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska extended her win-loss record this season to 7-0 by rallying from 3-1 down in the second set to battle past Roberta Vinci 6-4 7-5. It was a nice revenge for Radwanska for the loss in their last meeting which saw Roberta Vinci reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2012 US Open. In the other quarterfinal played during the day session, Dominika Cibulkova continued her running through the draw, adding the sixteenth to her fifteenth Top 10 win, that happened in the first round against Petra Kvitova, by dominating Sara Errani 6-2 6-1. Read more »

Last year our great contributor John Bolan merged his courage and talent for tennis predictions and shared with us as early as in January how he thought the season-ending WTA Top 10 would look like. And that wasn't all. He asked you to join him in predictions and James, the reader who turned out to be the best predictor, was awarded an autograph of a WTA star.

John Bolan receiving autograph of Victoria Azarenka

As we all enjoyed the little project, we decided to repeat it this year. John has made his 2013 predictions (I have to say that he sent me the finished article way before New Year's Eve and before the WTA action started, but I was a bit slow in putting it up together!), and you are more than welcome to comment on John's picks, to share your own Top 10 selection in the comments below this article and then we get to wait for the season to finish to see how we all fared. The best predictor will win an autograph of a Top 10 WTA player, so there's even an incentive to take some time and employ your foretelling skills! Now I'm giving the word to John!

It isn't easy to predict the Top 10 players for 2013 this early, but these are my choices for the end of 2013:

1. Maria Sharapova
2. Victoria Azarenka
3. Agnieszka Radwanska
4. Serena Williams
5. Li Na
6. Caroline Wozniacki
7. Samantha Stosur
8. Petra Kvitova
9. Sara Errani
10. Angelique Kerber

I have tried my best to keep personal preferences out of my thoughts while choosing these players. Instead, I checked out the most recent head-to-head matches, the number of tournaments played the past two years and injury reports. Injuries always have a big effect on the outcome of the Top 10. Vera Zvonareva and Andrea Petkovic are not included because they remain out of action and will not play in Australia this year. Read more »

It’s somewhat strange to see a Grand Slam champion in qualifying rounds of a WTA event, but that’s exactly what US Open and Roland Garros winner Svetlana Kuznetsova had to go through to earn her place in the Apia International Sydney main draw. However, getting some additional match play turned out to be beneficial. In the first round, the Russian, who had spent six months recovering from a knee injury, beat Julia Goerges 3-6 6-3 6-3 and followed it up with an upset of former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki. The match against the seventh-seeded Wozniacki was played in sweltering heat and lasted almost four hours, 7-6(4) 1-6 6-2. Here’s how Kuznetsova, who finished last season as early as at Wimbledon, commented on her renewed self:

Before the break I was losing to Goerges, I was losing to Wozniacki, every time I was up and had chances and could never close those matches. Now, after the break, I just feel fresh, I feel happy, I feel balanced on the court. I feel I'm doing the right things when I have to do them.

Read more »

This has been a busy week in the tennis world, alongside the Brisbane International, Auckland and Shenzhen were played, and not to mention that the WTA stars have also been active at the Hopman Cup. Serena Williams won Brisbane, while Agnieszka Radwanska and Li Na lifted trophies in Auckland and Shenzhen.

Playing her first ASB Classic in Auckland, Agnieszka Radwanska won her first title on the Australian ground and opened a season with a title for the first time. The top-seeded Pole didn't lose a set all week, against Greta Arn, Simona Halep, Elena Vesnina, Jamie Hampton (although, in that semifinal she did go through two tiebreaks) and finally Yanina Wickmayer 6-4 6-4, the 2010 Auckland winner and 2011 finalist. Read more »