TOKYO: Venus Williams’s strong run in the Pan Pacific Open came to an end with a narrow semi-final defeat to seventh seed Petra Kvitova on Friday.
Kvitova rallied to beat the former world No.1 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in Tokyo to set up a final against fifth-seeded German Angelique Kerber, who beat Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 7-6 (5) in the other semifinal.
“After winning, it’s always a good feeling,” the Czech Republic’s Kvitova said in a courtside interview. “Every game was up and down, and it was about a few points.
“I always love playing here. I had a great result in 2011, when I reached the semi-finals and I love being on center court before a great crowd.
“I’m looking forward to the final tomorrow.”
Williams, who has suffered a spate of injuries over the last two years, has seen her ranking slide to 63 but showed glimpses of her best form during her second-round defeat of world No.2 and top seed Victoria Azarenka.
“I was probably a little tired, but I don’t think it affected the match,” Williams said. “She was probably a little tired, too, since she played two matches yesterday (Thursday).”
After an early trade of breaks in the first set, multiple grand slam winner Williams, who endured difficult matches in the last two rounds, broke her opponent for the second time in the sixth game and took the set 6-3.
But the Czech Player, who saved 11 break points in the match, broke Williams in the fourth game of the second set and went on to tie the match at 1-1.
Both players saved multiple break points in the deciding set to force a tie-breaker but Kvitova raced to a 6-0 lead before closing out the set and the match in just over two hours and 24 minutes.
“At the end, she played amazing in the tiebreaker. I don’t think I’m at my best off the ground yet. My serve has improved tremendously with each match here,” Venus added.
“She hit a lot of unreturnable shots in the tiebreaker and sometimes that happens. She just played great.”
Kerber, looking for her first title of the year, defeated former world No.1 and 2010 champion Wozniacki in a match lasting 100 minutes. (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Toby Davis)
Serena secures top spot
Serena Williams has secured the year-end world No.1 ranking for the third time in her glittering career, the WTA said Friday, after adding nine titles this season including two more Grand Slams.
The 32-year-old American power-hitter, now on a career total of 55 titles with 17 major wins, also achieved the feat in 2002 and 2009.
Williams joins Justine Henin and Martina Hingis as a three-time year-end number one, with only Steffi Graf (8), Martina Navratilova (7), Chris Evert (5) and Lindsay Davenport (4) ahead of her.
“Serena has proven time and time again throughout her career that she is an incredible champion, both on and off the court,” said WTA chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster said in a statement.
“This season she continues to rewrite the record books, proving that she is one of the sport’s greatest athletes of all-time.” Williams has summited the rankings six times and on Monday, she will have held the top position for a total of 156 weeks, the WTA said.
In February, she became the oldest world number one since computer rankings were introduced in 1975.
And this year Williams also became the first woman to surpass $9 million in prize money in a single season, pushing her career earnings past $50 million.
Williams’ total of 55 career singles titles means she is tied for seventh with Davenport and Virginia Wade on the all-time list.
Navratilova holds the record for the most singles titles with an astonishing 167, including 18 Grand Slams. The Open-era record belongs to Graf, with 22 major victories.
Simon in semis
In Bangkok, former champion Gilles Simon battled a back injury and jet lag to book his spot in the semi-finals of the Thailand Open with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Dutchman Igor Sijsling on Friday.
Simon, seeded fourth and winner of the Bangkok event in 2009, called for the trainer after the opening game of the final set, but recovered to take the game and continue a strong run of form.
The Frenchman, who is ranked 14 in the world, came to Thailand on the back of taking the title in Metz last weekend, where he beat compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and has been fighting jet lag all week.
Despite early starts in the Thai capital, Simon notched his 300th career win on Thursday over Australian Bernard Tomic.
