Azarenka eyes No. 1 in WTA season finale
There isn’t too much debate about who will be the WTA player of the year. Serena Williams has won two major titles ( Wimbledon, U.S. Open), three other WTA events and an Olympic gold medal.
As for the year-end No. 1, that accolade is up for grabs — and Williams can’t have it.
Victoria Azarenka, the world No. 1, is in the driver’s seat on that one as the season-ending WTA Championships begin today in Istanbul, Turkey. Azarenka needs two wins in the elite, eight-player field to end 2012 as No. 1.
“You cannot really go higher than No. 1. It’s a good motivation and good goal to hold it as long as possible. But by that I need to win matches and win tournaments,” said Azarenka, who lost last year’s Istanbul final to Petra Kvitova.
It would be a fitting end to the season for the 23-year-old from Belarus, who began 2012 with a 26-match winning streak and her first Grand Slam singles title, the Australian Open.
Williams has not played since beating top-ranked Azarenka in the U.S. Open final in September, and her sparse schedule is one of the reasons she doesn’t have a chance of overtaking Azarenka despite dominating the major events in the second half of the year.
Williams and Azarenka have been drawn into the same round-robin group. Play starts today.
“I don’t really care who I play, when I play, as long as I can play,” Williams said. “I’m really happy to be here. I’m on the ‘Red’ side with Victoria, it’ll be good.”
Since losing to Williams in the U.S. Open final, the last of the year’s four Grand Slam tournaments, Azarenka has won 13 matches in a row, and she has held the No. 1 ranking for 34 weeks.
Williams has played a curtailed schedule because of injuries and illness, but she holds a 10-1 career record against Azarenka. The American is ranked No. 3 in the world and is 9-1 this year against the other seven finalists in Istanbul.
Williams has twice finished the year as No. 1 — in 2002 and 2009.