In a clash of two 21-year-olds, one a reigning Wimbledon champion and one a definite world No.1, it was the Grand Slam titlists Petra Kvitova who absolutely outplayed her opponent Caroline Wozniacki and is now 2-0 in the round-robin phase of the WTA Championships.

The world No.3 Kvitova faced no break points and solidly marched through the match without ever having her game endangered. In the very beginning of the match the Czech broke Wozniacki's serve and steadily went on to win the set 6-4. She started the second set in a similar fashion and soon found herself leading 4-0 and winning the match 6-4 6-2.

In her first match of the WTA Championships Kvitova, the debutante at the tournament, defeated Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-4. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

The first match of the Istanbul WTA Championships came to a close and tournament debutante Petra Kvitova routed Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-4 in an hour and 25 minutes. Zvonareva was a runner-up to Venus Williams at this event in 2008, when it was played in Doha.

From four breaks and 2-2 in the first set of this Red Group clash, the 21-year-old Kvitova took six straight games to win the first and go 2-0 up in the second. Kvitova was soon leading 4-1, but Zvonareva managed to level at 4-4 and distance Kvitova from victory. However, Zvonareva handed Kvitova an easy break and soon after the Czech won.

The Wimbledon champion Kvitova has a chance of ending the year ranked No.1, but that depends both on her and on the outside circumstances. The Czech would have to win the Istanbul title and current world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, last year's WTA Championships finalist, would have to lose her round-robin matches. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

The 2011 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul start tomorrow, not affected by the devastating earthquake that killed around 270 people in Turkey. Players and the Tour expressed their condolences, but their job is calling them to focus on the big task ahead.

Since only the most successful eight players of the season are in the competition, it is not entirely reasonable to talk about the toughness of the draw, but we can always speculate: is the world No.1 the favorite, or the most-established players, or the late season bloomers, or someone else? Let’s analyze the two round-robin groups.

RED GROUP: Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova, Vera Zvonareva, Agnieszka Radwanska

The tournament will start with the clash between Kvitova and Zvonareva. Kvitova is making her debut at the WTA Championships, but at this year’s Wimbledon she showed she doesn’t shy away at grand stages. Also, the Czech is fresh off a WTA title in Linz.

Another first-time qualifier, Agnieszka Radwanska, is also in action on the first day, against world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki. Radwanska is the hottest player this fall, having won 11 of her last 12 matches, including Premier-level titles in Tokyo and Beijing. Zvonareva was runner-up in Tokyo, while Wozniacki had the worst results of the group this fall, losing in the third round of Tokyo and the quarterfinals of Beijing.

To give you a deeper insight into the mutual relationships of the players, here are their head-to-head statistics, with this year's records in brackets. Read more »

Petra Kvitova finally found her best form after the astonishing Wimbledon triumph and except a tough semifinal against Jelena Jankovic, the Czech pretty much cruised through the Generali Ladies Linz to win her fifth title this season. Her opponent in the final, Dominika Cibulkova, fell to 0-3 in career finals and remains one of only two Top 30 players who have still not won a WTA title.

From 4-4 in the first set, the world No.4 Kvitova won eight of the next nine games to win the final against Cibulkova and keep the Slovak's otherwise successful career without titles. Score: 6-4 6-1.

En route to the Linz title and the prize of $37,ooo, the top seeded Kvitova defeated Rebecca Marino 6-2 6-2 in the first round, Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-2 6-3 in the second round, eight seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 6-2 in the quarterfinals, third seed Jelena Jankovic 4-6 6-4 6-3 in the semis, and finally the seventh-seeded Cibulkova. (source: WTA Tour, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

At the Generali Ladies Linz against Petra Kvitova, Dominika Cibulkova, one of two Top 30 players without a title, will try to win her first first one in the Sunday's final. Her opponent Kvitova is currently enjoying a career-high ranking of No.4 and she's a holder of five titles, four of which came this season, including Wimbledon.

Cibulkova saved match points in her opener against Elena Baltacha, and actually her first three matches at the tournament were three-setters. Her semifinal against Lucie Safarova didn't follow the trend, as Cibulkova cruised to a 6-1 6-4 victory. The Slovak won 16 points in a row to take the first set.

Kvitova's semifinal opponent was Jelena Jankovic, who won the first set as Kvitova struggled to find her game. Kvitova was down 6-4 3-1 and then 6-4 3-4, when she took control with six straight games won for a 3-0 lead in the third set and she never looked back. Score: 4-6 6-4 6-3.

Cibulkova is yet to beat Kvitova. The Czech leads their head-to-head record 3-0. (via WTA Tour, photos: Ralf Reinecke)