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)

"I can't remember last time I had a match like this, maybe not since I was junior," said 11th seed Ana Ivanovic after a 6-0 6-0 loss to Roberta Vinci in the second round of the Rogers Cup. Actually, it's her first double bagel loss since turning professional! The match lasted 44 minutes and the Serbian No.1 earned just three game points, while Vinci faced no break points. The world No.12 Ivanovic won the tournament in 2006.

Serbian No.2 and 13th seed at the Rogers Cup, Jelena Jankovic, followed her compatriot's exit path. There were no bagels, but Jankovic won just five games, 6-2 6-3, against home player Aleksandra Wozniak, against whom she used to be 4-0 in career meetings. The 18th-ranked Jankovic has now lost 12 of her last 16 opening matches.

Also out in the second round were seed No.12 Dominika Cibulkova and seed No.15 Sabine Lisicki, who fell to Varvara Lepchenko and Carla Suarez Navarro respectively.

Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska avoided a second straight loss of an opener, after her first-round defeat at the Olympics, surviving a nail-biter against Mona Barthel, who had a 4-2 lead in the third set, then a match point at 6-5 and again a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak. Radwanska won in the end: 4-6 6-3 7-6(5). (photo: sr_cranks)

Nothing can be said except absolute respect for Serena Williams who won her second straight Premier-level title with a convincing 6-4 6-2 victory over Samantha Stosur in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Serena doesn’t need months to get back in shape and warm up for big matches – after almost a year away from the courts Williams returned in style winning two of four tournaments she entered.

In the Rogers Cup final against tenth-seeded Stosur, Williams kept her serve throughout, faced just one break opportunity, won 89% of points on her first serve, and finished the match in style, firing four aces in the last game.

Ahead of the US Open, Serena is still cautious of calling herself a favorite: "I went through a lot of things physically, mentally and emotionally, and going through so much so I am just taking it one day at a time and kind of like one match at a time."

The unseeded Williams, whose rankings dropped because of her long time away from the Tour, crushed Alona Bondarenko 6-0 6-3 in the first round, and then Julia Goerges, Zheng Jie, Lucie Safarova, Victoria Azarenka and finally Samantha Stosur. The victory saw Williams propel from No.80 to No.31 in the rankings. Before her injury layoff Williams was ranked No.1. (via Reuters, photos via WTA Tour)