Radwanska Tops Wozniacki, Kvitova Moves On In Sydney
By James Waterson
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Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images
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Radwanska, who had beaten Wozniacki only once in their previous six matches, dropped serve three times in an opening set that had five breaks of serve. The second set would mirror that of the first except Radwanska came out with the extra break of serve.
At the start of the third set, the Dane seemed troubled by her left wrist and she had it taped after the third game of the final set. After that, she struggled to play at the level she displayed earlier in the match, and Radwanska went on to finish the contest after nearly two hours and 40 minutes.
"I hope it's not serious," Wozniacki said. "I could feel it today, especially in the third set, but I'm going to go get it checked out tomorrow and hopefully it's OK. I should be completely fine for the Australian Open."
The loss seemingly opens the way for Petra Kvitova to usurp Wozniacki as the World No. 1. Earlier in the day, Kvitova dominated Daniela Hantuchova 6-0, 6-4 to reach the semifinal, where she will face China’s Li Na.
Kvitova has a 1-1 record against Li; both of their previous matches came in the spring of 2011 on clay. If she beats Li, she would still need to win the tournament to claim the top ranking.
"I'm still on track," Kvitova said. "But still, it's two matches away and the next one is really tough. It's still a long way away, so we will see."