Petra Kvitova’s breakthrough 2011 season included six titles, while this year had seen a drought, without even a WTA final or Top 10 wins, up until now. In the final of the $2,168,400 Rogers Cup, Kvitova edged Li Na 7-5 2-6 6-3, while earlier in the tournament she recorded wins over world No.10 Marion Bartoli in the third round and world No.8 Caroline Wozniacki in the semis.

The first set of the final lasted more than an hour and Kvitova needed five set points to win it, while in the second set seed No.10 Li went on a roll, winning 16 points in a row for a 4-0 lead and soon after 6-2. After the mid-match slump, the fifth-seeded Kvitova steadily went through the third set, and one break of Li’s serve ensured her advantage.

Kvitova now has eight titles to her name: Hobart (2009), WTA Championships, Linz, Wimbledon, Madrid, Paris, Brisbane (2011) and Montreal (2012). Li has fallen to 0-3 in finals this season, while her all-time record is 5-8. They have both climbed in the rankings: Kvitova from No.6 to No.5, and Li from No.11 to No.9. (source: WTA Tour, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Li Na and Petra Kvitova both won their first and only Grand Slam titles in 2011 and both are still without titles this season. However, that will change in Montreal today, when one of the two will lift the Rogers Cup winner's trophy. They both advanced to the final after losing the first set of their semifinal matches.

Li rallied from 5-1 down in the third set to beat Lucie Safarova 3-6 6-3 7-5, who will finally crack the Top 20. In the other semifinal, Kvitova comfortably outplayed Caroline Wozniacki in the second and third sets, even though in the first set she could not put up a challenge to Wozniacki's only one unforced error. Final score: 3-6 6-2 6-3.

Who will finally crown 2012, Li or Kvitova? Li leads Kvitova in head-to-head 2-1. Kvitova won their first encounter handily, while the other two Li won in three sets. Their last meeting was this year on the Sydney hardcourt, and Li won 1-6 7-5 6-2 after trailing 6-1 3-1. (photos: sr_cranks, Ralf Reinecke)

In a packed Saturday schedule featuring most of the eight third-round matches and all the four quarterfinals, we got our Rogers Cup semifinal pairs: Petra Kvitova [5] vs. Caroline Wozniacki [7] and Lucie Safarova [16] vs. Li Na [10].

Petra Kvitova was one of the lucky ones who completed her third round on time, on Friday, earning her first Top 10 win of the season by beating Marion Bartoli 6-1 6-1. On Saturday she advanced to the semis with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Tamira Paszek.

Lucie Safarova was the other lucky player who didn't have to play two matches in on day. After eliminating Sam Stosur on Friday 7-6(9) 7-6(5), the tricky Czech went further on Saturday with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Roberta Vinci, who had upset sixth seed Angelique Kerber earlier in the day.

After a two-hour and 30-minute three-setter against Varvara Lepchenko in the third round, Caroline Wozniacki took out Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4 6-4, the first Canadian woman in 20 years to reach the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup. Wozniak was a wildcard at the tournament and she defeated big names such as Daniela Hantuchova and Jelena Jankovic early on.

Li Na ended Agnieszka Radwanska's hopes of claiming the top ranking by crushing her 6-2 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Radwanska had to go all the way to the title in order to become No.1, but one precodition had already been met – Victoria Azarenka's retirement with a knee injury before the quarterfinal stage. (photo: Moo's Tennis Blog)

Our guest blogger Omair likes to give WTA players unofficial titles on the account of their performance at big events. Notice how Serena improved from the Biggest Disappointment at Roland Garros, to Grass Empress at Wimbledon, to shortly afterwards become a Golden Empress at the Olympics.

SERENA WILLIAMS – GOLDEN EMPRESS

With her first gold medal in singles at the Olympics, Serena completed her Career Golden Slam, joining Steffi Graf and becoming only the second woman to achieve such a feat. Moreover, Serena did that in style, losing a total of 17 games in six matches. En route to the medal, Serena defeated four players who have ranked world number one at some point (Jelena Jankovic in the first round, Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals and Maria Sharapova in the final). She also became the only tennis player in history to complete Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles. With such a strong performance, Serena reinforces her title of grass empress earned during Wimbledon 2012.

MARIA SHARAPOVA, VICTORIA AZARENKA – BRIDESMAIDS

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Sharapova and Azarenka were both the victims of Serena at the Olympics, and have combined three wins against her in 21 matches.

Sharapova rebounded strongly from her Wimbledon disappointment, however, she lost her plot completely once in the final and managed to win just one game in the most lopsided Olympic gold medal match.

Azarenka seemed determined to be on the course to win gold, but just like at Wimbledon, it was Serena who stood in her way. Azarenka had a chance to avenge her Wimbledon loss, but went down meekly, winning just three games against Serena. Read more »

Omair is known for his statistical contributions to Women's Tennis Blog, but as of Roland Garros he started doing post-Grand Slam awards, giving WTA players awards they deserved on the account of their performance. You will see how the tables are turning all the time – within just a month Serena improved from the Biggest Disappointment to Grass Empress, while Maria Sharapova downgraded from the Clay Queen to the Biggest Disappointment.

Serena Williams – GRASS EMPRESS

Serena Williams was coming off a first-round defeat at Roland Garros, her first ever first-round exit at Grand Slam, but she rebounded beautifully, reminding us that she still is the player to beat on grass. The American defeated three of the Top 4 players on her way to the Wimbledon 2012 title - Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals (world No.4 and defending champion), Victoria Azarenka in the semis (world No.2 and reigning Australian Open champion) and Agnieszka Radwanska in the final (world No.3). To top that off, Serena went on to win the doubles title as well, with sister Venus Williams.

Agnieszka Radwanska – FINESSE QUEEN

In today's game of power and big hitters, in making the Wimbledon final Radwanska showed us with her crafty play and her court sense that there still is room for finesse players. She did what neither Petra Kvitova, nor Victoria Azarenka managed to do, i.e. take a set off Serena Williams. Before Wimbledon, Radwanska was the only member of the Top 15 never to have made a Grand Slam semifinal, but she went one step better at Wimbledon making the final and falling in three sets to one of the best grass-court players ever. Read more »