I hope you enjoyed the coverage of my blogging friend James of Moo’s Tennis Blog in the past four days while I was away on a business trip. I came back just in time for the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global and Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki treated me to a world-class welcome. In a match-up of good friends, one a world No.1 and the other one the best-performed player of this year’s edition of the tournament, we got an entertainment special of two hours and 13 minutes in which the American prevailed 2-6 6-3 7-6(6).
The eighth-seeded Wozniacki was the only player to progress through the round robin with a perfect 3-0 record and she continued the good form by racing through the first set, but the twice defending champion Williams improved in the second set and took the match to the decider which lasted more than the first two sets together, bringing the thriller to its pinnacle. Players held on to their serves in the first eight games and then in the ninth game Wozniacki managed to go up a break. But her advantage was short-lived, as Williams broke back immediately and even earned a match point with Wozniacki serving at 5-6. The fighting Wozniacki hung in there and forced a tiebreak in which she even stormed out to a 4-1 lead, but with that extra edge in crucial moments, Williams managed to level to 4-4 and despite wasting two more match points she finally defeated Wozniacki on her fourth.
In the final of the $6,500,000 season-ending event, Williams will face the winner of the semifinal between Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep. (photo: Jimmie48)
