Istanbul, Turkey (Sports Network) - The 2012 WTA Championships commenced
Tuesday when Agnieszka Radwanska beat reigning champion Petra Kvitova in
round-robin action.
The fourth-seeded 2012 Wimbledon runner-up Radwanska whipped the sixth-seeded
2011 Wimbledon champion Kvitova, 6-3, 6-2, indoors at Sinan Erdem Arena.
Kvitova defeated current world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in last year's final in
Istanbul, which will also host this prestigious event next year.
Also on the Tuesday schedule, second-seeded Maria Sharapova will meet seventh-
seeded Sara Errani and third-seeded Serena Williams is battling fifth-seeded
Angelique Kerber. The former world No. 1 Sharapova bested Errani in the French
Open final in June. The former top-ranked Williams was this year's Wimbledon,
U.S. Open and Olympic champ.
Williams is a two-time WTA Championships titlist and two-time runner-up.
This week's four-player Group A features the current No. 1 Azarenka,
Williams, Kerber and eighth-seeded Li Na, while Group B boasts the 2004
champion and 2007 WTA Championships runner-up Sharapova, Radwanska (1-0),
Kvitova (0-1) and Errani.
The top two players in each group will advance to the semifinals and the
winners will square off in the lucrative final on Sunday.
The winner of this $4.9 million season-ending event could collect as much as
$1.75 million.
The Sports Network