Angelique Kerber came to her first match at the WTA Championships and her first match as a Top 5 player as the only player at the tournament who has defeated Serena Williams this year and the sole loss in Serena's 27 previous matches was at the hands of Kerber. But in today's Red Group match, Serena earned a good old revenge, winning nine of 11 games from 3-all in the first set for a 6-4 6-1 victory. Serena's threatening first serve was at weak 44% and she hit just three aces, but at the net she won 17 of 20 points.

Serena's 2012 results have been mind-blowing. She's won 44 of her last 46 matches and her last 15 against Top 5 players. Not to mention her this year's titles: Charleston, Madrid, Wimbledon, Stanford, Olympics and US Open – all Premier-level or higher. She's practically unstoppable and the fact that she hadn't played since the US Open does not put her even slightly on the unprepared side.

Serena opens tomorrow's action in Istanbul, against Li Na. Kerber has a day off. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

On Sunday night, the official draw ceremony took place at the $4.9-million WTA Championships in Istanbul, dividing the eight players into two round-robin groups. Serena Williams is the only multiple champion at the year-end finale and is 35-5 against the rest of the field combined (9-1 this season), while Sara Errani is 4-23 and is the only one with a negative head-to-head record against all the three players in her group. Let's have a closer look at the draw.

RED GROUP: (1) Victoria Azarenka, (3) Serena Williams, (5) Angelique Kerber, (8) Li Na

World No.1 Victoria Azarenka is a leader in match wins this season with 67, she's also a title leader with six (tied with Serena Williams), and this fall she's been 13-0 in matches and 26-0 in sets. Serena is fifth in the list of match wins this season with 53, even though inactive this fall, and has a stunning 10-1 head-to-head record against Azarenka. Moreover, two Grand Slams and the Olympics are among Serena's six 2012 titles and three of the six she won without losing a set.  Read more »

Just weeks after we wondered about the silence in Venus Williams' love life, we have it pretty much confirmed that a new boyfriend is there, while in May Serena Williams said that past breakups and heartaches have put so much emotional burden on her that she's not ready date for another decade, but there is serious photo proof that a romance with her coach is going on.

According to People, Venus has been dating Cuban model Elio Alberto Pis, who is eight years her junior, for several months now. The relationship rumors started swirling during the US Open, when Pis was there supporting Venus from the stands. The two were also seen holding hands and kissing in the corridors of Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 24-year-old Pis currently lives in Miami. He graduated psychology at the Florida International University two years ago, but is no stranger to modeling and he even posed with Venus for her clothing line EleVen.

Only four months ago Serena stated "I have given up on dating" and now she's spotted in France, hugging with her French adviser Patrick Mouratoglou, 42, head of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy. Serena trained at the academy after her first-round loss at Roland Garros in May. Read more »

After Grand Slams, you are used to our contributor Omair giving unofficial titles to players based on their performances, and for the recently-finished US Open he did the same, but with a little twist, he gave names to players inspired by animated movies. We hope you'll like it!

SERENA WILLIAMS – RANGO

Serena not only won her 15th major, but proved again that she is not done yet with tennis by winning the second straight Grand Slam and the Olympics in between. Serena lost a total of 19 games en route to the US Open final, where she was pushed hard by Victoria Azarenka, who even served for the championship in the third set, but Serena showed her superior class and experience to bring her opponent back to earth and win her fourth US Open title. In doing so, Serena showed everyone that "No man can walk out of his own story", just like Rango.

VICTORIA AZARENKA – VECTOR

Vector from "Despicable Me" tried in every way to let Gru down, but in the end he lost and Gru won. Azarenka gave everything she had, but she came up short to one of the best players in tennis history. Don’t take it negatively. By giving Azarenka the title of Vector, I don’t refer to the vicious methods Vector used in the movie, I am thinking of the positive side of it, that she fought with her whole heart and body, but in the end she had to satisfy herself with the runner-up trophy.

MARIA SHARAPOVA – TANGLED

Sharapova was not at her best in her last three matches, yet she never gave up, fighting hard to stay alive in the fourth round against Nadia Petrova, then in the quarters against Marion Bartoli, and then in the semis she finally got tangled in her service demons and succumbed to the pressure of Victoria Azarenka. Read more »

Grand Slam are always the most exciting venues for tennis glamour and the US Open is the unofficial fashion queen of all the four majors, so let's see what the best brands put on their brightest WTA stars.

Let's start this fashion overview with maybe not the biggest fashion star, but definitely the player who marked this US Open – Kim Clijsters, whose inspiring career has come to a close at her favorite tournament where she had lifted the trophy three times. To honor the Belgian's last event, her clothing sponsor Fila produced a special collection with a symbolic star pattern.

Ana Ivanovic (who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since her title win at Roland Garros 2008), Angelique Kerber (last year's semifinalist) and Laura Robson (besides Clijsters, the biggest story of the tournament) were all sporting Adidas Adizero. The bright yellow Adidas outfits may have ruled the US Open courts, and the three players mentioned here all played the fourth round, but the next brand we'll cover is clothing all the four semifinalists!

Of course, it's Nike! Champion Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova traditionally have both day and night dresses. Serena wore navy and pink with lime details, while Sharapova went for more subtle tones – liquid pink and solid dark without many loud contrasts.

PREVIOUS US OPEN FASHION OVERVIEWS

2011 - A look at the beautiful colors at Flushing Meadows
2010 - Fashion hits and misses of tennis in New York

Victoria Azarenka and Sara Errani prefer separates. The world No.1 is popping in a yellow and black combination, while the Italian, sharing the look with Julia Goerges, wore a pleated navy skirt with pink and yellow stripes and a tank. Read more »