Seventh seed Venus Williams clinched her first title at the Sony Ericsson Championships with a 6-7(5) 6-0 6-2 victory over Vera Zvonareva in the last match of the 2008 WTA tennis season.

Zvonareva started off very well, breaking Williams’ first service game, and holding the lead up until what could have been the Russian’s victory in the first set. Namely, Zvonareva served to close out the opening set at 5-3, but wasted four set points and Williams managed to return the break, and later to force a tiebreak.

In the tiebreaker American Venus Williams established what seemed to be a solid lead (5-1), but Zvonareva remarkably fought back, which I didn’t think she was capable of doing as I though the momentum totally switched to Venus. Eighth-seeded Zvonareva won six successive points to take the first set. Read more »

Wimbledon champion Venus Williams won the Whirlpool 6TH SENSE Player of the Year Award for 2008, being the player who has demonstrated the most intuition throughout the year, as voted in an online competition.

There were ten nominees, and fans from across Europe were voting. Along with Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic was the finalist. From the two of them, an expert panel chose the winner.

Therefore, Venus has demonstrated best the 6TH SENSE attributes – intuition, intelligence, and precision – in the year of 2008.

Past 6TH SENSE winners include fellow former No.1s Justine Henin (2005, 2007) and Maria Sharapova (2006).

Williams is currently at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha where she will play the Sunday’s final against Russian Vera Zvonareva. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

American Venus Williams defeated top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-2 2-6 6-3 to reach the Sony Ericsson Championships final for the first time, having lost in the semis twice by now.

The seventh-seeded Williams was dominant in the first set, before a change of fortunes in the second. The Wimbledon champion rediscovered her first set touch at the start of the decider and moved into an early break. The 23-year-old Jankovic had a major chance in the sixth game of the third set, holding multiple break points. However, the world No.1 didn’t capitalize. Williams then confirmed her advantage and never looked back.

The 28-year-old Williams will face Russian Vera Zvonareva in the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships. Zvonareva, seeded eighth, is also playing her first final at the season-ending Championships, plus, her biggest career final. She advanced to the championships match with a victory over Elena Dementieva.

Neither Williams nor Zvonareva have lost a match this week. In the Maroon Group, Williams defeated three Top 5 players (Dinara Safina, Serena Williams, and Elena Dementieva), while Zvonareva beat two Top 5 players in the White Group.

Williams holds a 5-1 record against Zvonareva, having lost only the first meeting with the Russian. But don’t let the stats fool you. Zvonareva totally earned her place in the Sony Ericsson Championships final, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she lifts the trophy on Sunday. (photos: Getty Images)

Vera Zvonareva’s fantastic form continues to bring fruitful results, as the eighth seed defeated fellow Russian Elena Dementieva 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3 to reach the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.

In the first set, which featured as much as eight breaks of serve, fifth-seeded Demetieva had a 4-1 lead, but Zvonareva recovered and forced a tiebreak which she won 9-7.

Dementieva then broke Zvonareva’s first service game in the second set, and holding that initial lead the fifth seed won the second set, in which Zvonareva, by the way, had only 38% first serve percentage.

In the third set, Zvonareva was the one who established a 4-1 lead, but later on, in the seventh game, Dementieva managed to break back. Zvonareva, however, rebroke right away, and served out the match in the following game to reach her first final of the Sony Ericsson Championships.

Prior to today’s meeting, Dementieva held a perfect record on hardcourts against her compatriot.

Zvonareva will next play either Venus Williams or world No.1 Jelena Jankovic, depending on whom of the two wins the semifinal. (photos: Getty Images)

Elena Dementieva and Serena Williams were supposed to fight for the last spot in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships, but the third-seeded American withdrew shortly before the match due to a stomach injury.

Instead of Serena, fifth-seeded Dementieva is currently playing second alternate Nadia Petrova. First alternate Agnieszka Radwanska will replace Ana Ivanovic, who withdrew because of a viral illness, in a dead rubber against Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Dementieva's place in the semifinals is certain, even if she loses to Petrova. She will play Vera Zvonareva for a spot in the final.

As Russian Vera Zvonareva continued her winning ways in her White Group, beating world No.1 Jelena Jankovic 2-6 6-3 6-4, the Serb will have to face the player who tops the Maroon Group, American Venus Williams. (photos: Getty Images)

Ana Ivanovic failed to qualify for the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, and was supposed to play a dead rubber against Svetlana Kuznetsova on Friday.

The two members of the White Group were scheduled to play their match as the last one of the day. However, Kuznetsova won’t face Ivanovic, but first alternate Agnieszka Radwanska.

Ivanovic withdrew from the tournament with viral illness, which had also bothered her in both of her round robin matches she lost. (photo: Getty Images)

Ana Ivanovic celebrated her twenty-first birthday during the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.

The world No.4 celebrated the occasion at the VIP Village of the Khalifa International Tennis Complex, accompanied by Sony Ericsson WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott, Tournament Director Karim Alami and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Staff. Read more »

Venus Williams secured her place in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships with a 5-7 6-1 6-0 win over her sister Serena on Thursday.

It was the first time in eighteen meetings between the Williams sisters that one of them took a set without losing a game. Also, it was the first time Serena lost a set 6-0 since the 2007 Miami final against Justine Henin, which the American eventually won.

Today’s clash with sister Venus Serena considers her worst performance this year.

"I don't think I've ever played like that," said third-seeded Serena.

"I've never been in a situation where I just feel like I can't do anything. Today I couldn't serve, I couldn't hit a backhand, I couldn't hit a forehand, I couldn't even volley. This is definitely the worst match I've played this year by far."

In two other Thursday’s matches Jelena Jankovic beat Svetlana Kuznetsova and made it to the semifinals, while Elena Dementieva ended Dinara Safina’s 2008 tennis season in straight sets with a 6-2 6-4 win.

Besides Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic, Vera Zvonareva has also qualified for the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships. The fourth semifinalist will be either Serena Williams or Elena Dementieva. (source: Reuters, photos: Getty Images)