Serena wins Sony Ericsson Championship Title!

Serena Williams won her second career WTA Championship title on Sunday with a commanding 6-2 7-6(7-4) victory over sister Venus, a triumph which earned her a cool $US1.55 million. It was Serena's fourth straight win over her sister this year and leads their head to head 13-10. This is Serena's second season-ending trophy to add to her 2001 success and this win made her just the second player after Justine Henin in 2007 to win two Grand Slam titles as well as the WTA Championship in the same year.

World number one Serena won all five matches at this event, including a group stage win over Venus and such was her dominance in the final that she gave up just seven points on serve. The 85-minute win was Serena's 13th victory in 23 meetings with her sister, a family rivalry stretching back to 1998. In a symbol of this injury-hit, desert money-spinner, which had seen four players end their campaigns prematurely through various aches and pains, both sisters arrived on court nursing knocks. Serena had her left thigh heavily-strapped while Venus had protection on her left knee, treated several times during her gruelling semi-final win over Jelena Jankovic.

But Serena, with four wins from four matches here, was the fresher of the two in the first set, a legacy of having spent three and a half hours less than her sister in reaching this stage. Breaks in the third and seventh games gave the new world number one the opening set. Serve dominated the second set before Serena stretched to a 5-2 lead in the tie-breaker. An ace set up match point and the title was secured with a crunching forehand winner. Talk about serving: Serena held five of her last seven service games at love and lost just one point in each of the other two. Serena won an incredible 87 per cent of her points behind her serve.

This was Serena's third tournament win of the season after Wimbledon and the Australian Open. "I haven't won a tournament that wasn't a Grand Slam in a while, so that was even more exciting," she said. "My losing streak in [other] tournaments is over."

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Serena in SEC Final as Wozniacki retires

Serena Williams, 2001 Sony Ericsson champion and new world No.1 advanced to the SEC Final when Caroline Wozniacki was forced to retire. Serena took the first set 6-4 and Wozniacki was up 1-0 in the second set before calling it quits. Danish teenager Wozniacki came into the tournament carrying a left thigh strain struggled with cramps in the round-robin stage. A stomach strain forced to her to quit. "Caroline is a great fighter and a new face on the tour," said Serena, who has now won all four matches here including a three-set group win over her sister. "I wasn't playing great. I think it's hard to play well against a player who's injured and is so nice. She's been struggling throughout the entire tournament," Serena said. "She's just an incredible fighter to come out here today and put up an effort."

Serena played her semi-final with a tightly-bandaged left thigh. With fitness worries on her mind, Serena earlier pulled out of next weekend's Fed Cup final between the US and Italy. Wozniacki, the US Open runner-up, admitted it was a match too far. "I felt pain in my stomach muscle. I also had problems serving. But today after a while, the serve went over and also when I was hitting just regular groundstrokes, I started feeling it," she said. "So it was just too much for me to keep playing."

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Sony Ericsson Championships - Semifinal

Semifinal Saturday

[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs. [4] Carolina Wozniacki (DEN)

Serena leads Head-To-Head 1-0

3rd Match of the Day on Center Court

Match airs on the TENNIS Channel @ 11:30am EST

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Serena demolishes Dementieva in SEC RR3

Serena Williams clinched a spot in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships after beating Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-4 for her third straight win in the group phase. Williams was broken to trail 2-1 in the first set but then won seven straight games to take control of the match. She converted her third match point when Dementieva sent the ball into the net. Serena has already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking after Dinara Safina pulled out of the tournament with a back injury.

This was by far Serena's most definitive match of the three that she has played. She struck the ball with such authority and power that the first set was over before Dementieva knew it. Serena's serves and returns were jaw dropping and she played an overall clean game. Her movement was phenomenal, even though her left thigh was heavily taped. The second set was much closer as it appeared Dementieva was slowly coming to terms with Serena's game (which was full of power, precision and purpose). Serena put tremendous pressure on Dementieva's serves and returns. I was truly impressed with Serena for she let her play match her new top notch ranking. Most impressively, in 3 consecutive days Serena defeated French Open Champion - Svetlana Kuznetsova, SEC defending Champion - Venus Williams and Olympic Gold Medalist - Elena Dementieva. Wow!!

Serena's Match Stats:

1st Serve Percentage: 62%

Aces: 6

Double Faults: 1

Winners: 28

Unforced Errors: 13

Break Points Won: 5/10

Match Time: 1hr 34min

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Day 3: Round Robin - Sony Ericsson Championships

Round Robin - Day 3

[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs. [5] Elena Dementieva (RUS)

Serena leads Head-To-Head 6-4

2nd Match of the Day on Center Court

Matches air on the TENNIS Channel 10am - 4:30pm EST

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Serena stops Venus! Dinara withdraws from SEC

Serena defeated Venus and Dinara Safina withdrew from the Championships with a back injury. Safina’s tearful exit after just two games of her first group match against Jelena Jankovic meant 11-times grand slam champion Serena was assured of ending the year as the #1 player in the world for the first time since 2002 (even before she beat sister Venus later in a midnight thriller). Serena’s opening round-robin victory against Svetlana Kuznetsova on Tuesday meant she held a 75-point lead over Safina in the rankings and though the Russian gained 70 just for walking on court against Jankovic, the battle was over.

Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Serena virtually sealed her place in the semi-finals here with a 5-7 ,6-4, 7-6 defeat of Venus to go top of Maroon Group. When told of Safina’s misfortune during a courtside interview, Serena looked genuinely shocked. “It’s a great feeling (to be world number),” the 28-year-old said. “But Dinara is such a great player that she must be really hurt because she never gives up. It’s a shame for the tournament because it would have been great if we had both got through to the final.”

The 22nd career meeting between Serena and Venus was overshadowed by news of Safina’s injury but it still produced some scintillating passages of play with both players at full tilt throughout the two-hour-41-minute contest. In a topsy turvy decider Venus stormed back from 5-3 down and had a matchpoint at 6-5 only for Serena to force a tiebreak. A stray cat briefly broke the tension in the tiebreak but it was Serena who showed her claws at the death, punching a magnificent backhand down the line to earn two match points before converting at the first opportunity with an ace. The Williams sisters' first match of the year came in Dubai, where Venus won to go ahead 10-9 in the rivalry; but Serena has won three in a row since then, at Miami, Wimbledon and now here, to surge ahead in the series, 12-10.

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Day 2: Round Robin - Sony Ericsson Championships

Round Robin - Day 2
[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs. [4] Venus Williams (USA)
Serena leads Head-To-Head 11-10
3rd Match of the Day on Center Court
Matches air on the TENNIS Channel 10am - 4:30pm EST

I think Serena will win tomorrow," Svetlana Kuznetsova said. "You never know what will happen when they play each other, but probably Serena."

"I'm not playing Venus tomorrow, I'm playing an opponent," Serena said. "That's how I want to look at it. Just another opponent who wants to beat me."

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Serena defeats Svetlana Kuznetsova at SEC

DOHA, Qatar (AP) - Serena Williams overcame Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (6), 7-5 in the group stage of the Sony Ericsson Championships on Tuesday, improving her chance of ending the year as No. 1. Williams saved two set points in the tiebreaker despite a sore right ankle and made the decisive break for 6-5 in the second before serving out the match at love. "I really wanted it for myself," Williams said. "I just let go and relaxed." Serena connected on 11 aces and 0 double faults.

Kuznetsova, the French Open champion, led 6-4 in the first set tiebreaker but Williams erased the first set point with a return winner and the second with an ace — after a Hawkeye challenge to overturn the line judge's call that the serve was out. After trading breaks early in the second, Kuznetsova had a game point on serve at 5-5 but double-faulted twice to give Williams a break opportunity, which the Wimbledon and Australian Open champ converted with a return winner. Williams played with tape on both ankles, and needed to have the right one treated and retaped after the first set. "I rolled it in the tiebreaker, and I was like 'Oh no!"' Williams said. "But it turned out well."

This was Serena's third time playing Svetlana this year. Serena previously defeated Svetlana at the Australian Open and lost to Kuznetsova at the French Open. Serena will play her sister Venus on Wednesday and can secure a spot in the semifinals with a win. Aside from a winner's check of up to $1.55 million, Dinara Safina and No. 2 Serena Williams are also vying for the year-end No. 1 ranking. Safina's margin is so slim that the player who performs best here will end 2009 atop the list.

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Day 1: Round Robin - Sony Ericsson Championships

Round Robin - Day 1

[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs. [3] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

Serena leads Head-To-Head 5-2

3rd Match of the Day on Center Court

Matches air on the TENNIS Channel 10am - 4:30pm EST

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