At the Australian Open final back in January, Maria Sharapova won just three games against world No.1 Victoria Azarenka, but today she hit the mark of three games quite quickly, going 3-2 up with a break of serve, which followed an exchange of breaks, and steadily marched on to take the first set. Actually, from 5-4 in the first set, Sharapova won five straight games and experienced no hiccups until the sixth game of the second set. Sharapova needed 16 minutes and 17 seconds to hold her serve after nine deuces, but her next service game she won to love and ended the match.

The 2012 WTA Championships semifinals featured the world's Top 4 players and rematches of two 2012 Grand Slam finals. The final match of the tournament will be a rematch of the Olympic final and I can't wait to see how Sharapova will fare against ice cold and scarily dominant Serena Williams, whom she hasn't beaten in eight years! Both Sharapova and Serena have won the WTA Championship title in their career.

Do you think Serena will ruin Sharapova just as other opponents lately? Can the Russian humble Serena? (photo: Tennis Buzz)

Less than 24 hours after winning the longest best-of-three sets match in the WTA Championships history, Agnieszka Radwanska had to face the merciless Serena Williams and the outcome was not surprising – Serena ran over her opponent in one hour, converting six of seven break opportunities and finishing the match with a crosscourt winner on the line, on Radwanska's serve, without losing a point, 6-2 6-1.

Two longest matches of the tournament featured Radwanska and entering today's semifinal against Serena, Radwanska had ran 9.200 meters on court to Serena's mere 3.500. Exhaustion and fresh and powerful Serena made sure Radwanska would not play another marathon.

Serena likes quick matches and she gets what she likes. The Pole dropped serve at the start of both sets. In the first set she did bring some resistance by rebreaking to level to 2-2, but Serena took charge right away and never looked back. The second game of the second set she won in just one minute and 41 seconds, firing three aces. Radwanska was no match for Williams. Just look at the department of net points – Serena won 13 of 14, while Radwanska went to the net just once. (photo: Moo's Tennis Blog)

Victoria Azarenka joined Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals of the WTA Championships, at the same time clinching the year-end No.1 ranking. The Belarusian recovered from a first-set deficit to beat Li Na, despite the horrible -19 winners-to-unforced errors differential (6/25).

Li started the match with a break and consolidated it for 2-0, but no one expected the situation to unfold that straightforwardly. The Chinese led until 4-2 and even though Azarenka returned to 4-4, Li broke her serve once again and served for the set. But Li likes to give off leads and double faulted to give Azarenka a break back. The Belarusian seized the opportunity, took the set in a tiebreak and finally the match 7-6(4) 6-3, when Li sent a forehand long.

The first semifinal on Saturday is between Serena Williams and Agnieszka Radwanska, a rematch of the 2012 Wimbledon final, while the second semifinal is a rematch of the 2012 Australian Open final between Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. Semifinalists time on court: Radwanska 8 hours 4 minutes, Azarenka 6 hours 32 minutes, Sharapova 5 hours 50 minutes and Williams 4 hours 45 minutes. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Agnieszka Radwanska was the protagonist in two longest matches of the 2012 WTA Championships. After defeating defending champion Petra Kvitova at the opening of the $4,900,000 tournament, the Pole toiled for three hours and 12 minutes before losing to Maria Sharapova 5-7 7-5 7-5 past 2 a.m. on Wednesday night, while today she ensured a semifinal clash with lethal Serena Williams, by working for three hours and 29 minutes to defeat first-time qualifier Sara Errani 6-7(6) 7-5 6-4. It is actually the longest best-of-three-set match in the year-end Championships ever! Read more »

After the first three days at the WTA Championships, Maria Sharapova, alongside Serena Williams, was a sure semifinalist, but she had to play against Samantha Stosur on Day 4, just for the sake of completing the round-robin format and Sharapova made quick work of it, with a 6-0 6-3 win.

Stosur joined the WTA Championships action as a replacement for Petra Kvitova, and after being bageled in the third set against Sara Errani yesterday, her despair continued today against Sharapova as she won just five points in the first set to lose it 6-0 in 21 minutes. The Australian gave some resistance in the second set, but the inevitable was just around the corner, and from 2-3 Sharapova won four straight games to cruise in one hour and five minutes.

Sharapova is now 3-0 in the White Group, ensuring that her semifinal opponent will not be the Red Group Serena Williams, as the leading player from one group plays the second-ranked player from the other group and both Sharapova and Williams are leaders in their groups. Sharapova is also keeping her year-end No.1 hopes alive, but if Victoria Azarenka doesn’t lose to Li Na tonight, Sharapova doesn’t stand a chance. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)