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[Gazzetta] Incredibile Sarita: lotta per 3 ore e mezzo prima di arrendersi 6-7 7-5 6-4.

Incredibile Sarita: lotta per 3 ore e mezzo prima di arrendersi 6-7 7-5 6-4. In semifinale la polacca trova Serena Williams, nell'altra Maria Sharapova affronterà la Azarenka che ha vinto il match decisivo con Li Na

Sfiorata, accarezzata, immaginata. Ma l'impresa resta tale, un sogno. Non ce la fa Sara Errani a diventare la prima italiana di sempre - uomini e donne - in una semifinale del Masters di fine stagione. Non ce la fa per un niente rispetto al modo in cui ha prima condotto, poi sofferto e infine sorpreso nel match da dentro o fuori contro Agnieszka Radwanska. Una battaglia in piena regola, quella del Sinan Erdem, l'arena di Istanbul finalmente esaurita e trascinata dalle due campionesse, durata 3 ore e mezzo e conclusasi alla prima palla del match, una prima lenta e beffarda della polacca che ha mandato fuori giri l'azzurra: 6-7 (6) 7-5 6-4 il finale amaro. In semifinale va la finalista di Wimbledon, troverà Serena Williams. Dall'altra parte Maria Sharapova contro Victoria Azarenka.

TESTA E CUORE — Partendo dai precedenti, 5-1 per la polacca, Sarita aveva una sola chance di giocarsela, puntare sulla varietà, sulla creatività, sull'istinto e l'orgoglio. Lo ha fatto, per buona parte del match, vincendo il primo set al tie-break e salendo fino a un illusorio 5-4 nel secondo. Lì, nel momento in cui avrebbe dovuto ammazzare la partita, ha smarrito il servizio, la misura, il vantaggio nei colpi vincenti e la Radwanska non se l'è fatto ripetere due volte, infilando sei giochi di fila. Praticamente da 7-6 5-4 a 7-6 5-7 0-3. In quell'esatto momento, dopo 3 ore e 15' di gioco sembrava finita. Troppa la stanchezza per rientrare, pochissimi gli errori dell'avversaria.

fino all'ultimo — Ma la Errani non è a Istanbul per caso. La stagione alle spalle l'ha consacrata insieme rivelazione e bellissima realtà del 2012, una giocatrice capace di scendere in campo per giocarsela con tutte, mai sconfitta in partenza, e nemmeno alla fine. L'1-3 del terzo set è il break che riaccende la speranza, anche se la polacca trova subito il controbreak. Ce ne sono 4 di fila (3-5) prima che l'azzurra riesca finalmente a tenere il servizio e a riavvicinarsi nell'incredibile finale. Stanca, ma presente, sulle gambe ma ancora sensibile nei tocchi, Sarita arriva un passo dal miracolo prima di perdersi sulla prima al rallentatore che sancisce la fine. Sconfitta e applaudita, non avrà il tempo di pensarci troppo. Domani c'è la semifinale di doppio, un altro appuntamento con la storia.

#WTA #WTAChamps #Sara Errani

WTAChamps: preview for day 4 and two winner-takes-all matches - Aga vs. Sara, Vika vs. Na

ISTANBUL, Turkey - World No.1 Victoria Azarenka fights for survival against Li Na in one of two winner-take-all encounters on the final day of Round Robin action at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships - Istanbul 2012.

Friday, Round Robin White Group [2] Maria Sharapova (RUS #2) vs. [9] Samantha Stosur (AUS #9) Head-to-head:Sharapova leads 10-2 Maria Sharapova may have secured her passage into the semifinals already, but there is still plenty to play for in her final Round Robin match with Samantha Stosur.

First thing on the agenda, is the not-so-small matter of group standings; a win over Stosur will see her clinch first spot and avoid a semifinal meeting with the red hot Serena Williams. Secondly, after Victoria Azarenka's defeat on Thursday, Sharapova knows if she keeps winning there is still a chance of securing the much-coveted year-end No.1 ranking.

Stosur, meanwhile, is playing for pride. But that is something the Australian has plenty of and after an encouraging end to the season, she will be keen not to go out with a whimper. The players have met 12 times before, and although Sharapova has had by far the better of these, Stosur can take comfort from a recent victory in Tokyo.

[4] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4) vs. [7] Sara Errani (ITA #7) Head-to-head:Radwanska leads 5-1 Both Agnieszka Radwanska and Sara Errani know that victory in their meeting on Friday will see them through to the semifinals at the WTA Championships for the first time.

Despite losing, Radwanska will be buoyed by her performance level in her last match, when she pushed Maria Sharapova all the way in a three-set epic. Offering further encouragement is a head-to-head record that stands at 5-1 in her favor and includes a one-sided win this year in Madrid.

Errani, though, sent out a message of her own with a belligerent three-set win over Samantha Stosur in her second match. Like, Radwanska, the Italian often relies on court craft over brute force and Friday's encounter is sure to feature plenty of easy-on-the-eye tennis as well as a nervy moment or two.

Red Group [1] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #1) vs. [8] Li Na (CHN #8) Head-to-head: series tied 4-4 Victoria Azarenka's defeat to Serena Williams means that her future in the competition - and as World No.1 - is still very much in the balance. The good news is that both are still in her hands. The bad news is that next she takes on an opponent with just as much to play for, and one who has a track record of rising for the big occasion.

Li Na's impressive victory over Angelique Kerber breathed life into her campaign and, after an untidy first outing against Williams, saw her back to her destructive best. More of the same with be required not just to keep Azarenka on the back foot, but also to penetrate her watertight defenses.

With four victories in their eight encounters - including twice at majors - Li knows exactly what it takes to defeat Azarenka. However, this confidence will be tempered slightly by defeats recently in Sydney, Madrid and in Istanbul 12 months ago.

#WTA #WTAChamps #Vika Azarenka #Sara Errani #Aga Radwanska

WTAChamps: Sara Errani def. Sam Stosur in RR (White group)

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Sara Errani wrapped up the winners on Day 3 of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships - Istanbul 2012, outdoing Samantha Stosur and setting up a back-to-back showdowns for the semifinals on Friday.

With Petra Kvitova pulling out of the tournament a day before due to a viral illness, Stosur stepped in as an alternate to take Errani on - but it was not to be for the Australian, whose aggressive game plan paid dividends in the second set but went wild in the third set, Errani cruising to victory, 63 26 60.

"In the beginning she was making a lot of unforced errors, but in the second set she was playing amazing," Errani said afterwards. "I was just trying to stay focused and aggressive today and I think the third set was better for me."

The third set was truly one way traffic, with Stosur saving the first match point against her with a big backhand winner but double faulting on the next one - it was her seventh double fault - and 49th unforced error - of the match.

"I really wanted to try and play a good match tonight and be at least one match up, but obviously the result wasn't quite that way," Stosur said. "It was a little bit up and down - in the second set I got off to a good lead and then was able to hold onto that and win the set, and then I had a break point in the first game of the third and missed a return, and then it was like all the energy went out of me.

"I certainly dug myself into too much of a hole to try and get out."

"Sam is a great player but I was ready today," said Errani, who kept her errors down at 15. "I'm happy I won and that I'm still in the tournament - I hope I can play well tomorrow too and maybe win, I don't know, we'll see how it goes."

Errani was 0-28 against Top 10 players going into the French Open this year but has gone 5-4 since, two of those five wins coming against Stosur (one there and one here), two against Angelique Kerber (one there and one at the US Open) and one against Marion Bartoli (at Tokyo [Pan Pacific]).

But she still has a monkey on her back - she is 0-22 against Top 5 players in her career, something she'll have to overcome as she takes on World No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska on Friday - the winner of that match will qualify for the semifinals as No.2 in the White Group, behind Maria Sharapova.

"She's a very strong player," Errani said of Radwanska. "I know her and we have played before. It will be a tough match and we will see what happens."

That match is second on, and the third match on will also determine a semifinalist - Victoria Azarenka and Li Na will square off, the winner of that match qualifying for the semifinals as No.2 in the Red Group, behind Serena Williams (Azarenka and Li both played on Thursday as well - read about Azarenka's loss to Williams here and Li's win over Kerber here).

The first match of the day pits Sharapova against Stosur and will not affect the standings in the White Group or who qualifies for the semifinals.

#WTA #WTAChamps #Sara Errani #Sam Stosur