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Serena Williams wraps up year end #1 as Dinara Safina withdraws from Doha Championships (pictures)
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Serena Williams of the United States reacts during her singles match against Svetlana Kuznetsova
Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus in an epic three set match Wednesday afternoon and secured the year end world #1 ranking as Dinara Safina withdrew from the Sony Ericsson championships in the early stages of her first round robin match with Jelena Jankovic.
Coming into Doha, Qatar this week all eyes were on Serena and Safina as they were expected to put an end to the debate which had been raging all season regarding who was more deserving of the number 1 world ranking, however a back injury put a quick end to the discussion. At 1-1 in the first set of her first match in the tournament Dinara Safina retired from the match and withdrew from the tournament, indicating afterwards that a disc in her back "was starting to fracture" and that it had been bothering her for the past three months. She went on to say that she had taken a cortisone injection to help her get through this week, but that she "just couldn't handle the pain", even going so far as to say that she is not sure whether she will be sufficiently recovered in time for the Australian Open which is still 3 months away.
When asked for a reaction, Serena said to reporters "Dinara is such a great player. She must be really hurt, because she never gives up." Safina will be replaced in the draw by compatriot Vera Zvonareva, who finished runner up to Venus Williams at this event last year but just barely missed out on gaining direct entry into this year's championships.
As for the action on the court, Serena and sister Venus staged one of their more memorable battles in their careers as Venus grabbed the first set 7-5, but then lost control of the match as Serena rebounded to win the second set 6-4 and then raced out to a 5-2 lead in the third and deciding set before appearing to tighten up and allowing Venus to stage a comeback. Ripping off four consecutive games in the third set, Venus found herself up 6-5 and with a match point to close out the win before Serena rose up once again to force the deciding set into a tiebreak, which she won 7-4. Serena is now 2-0 in round robin play after defeating reigning French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets in her first match 7-6 (6), 7-5.
In the day's other match, first time Doha competitors Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka also went the distance as Wozniacki rebounded from a terrible first set in which Azarenka was able to easily dictate play and win 6-1, to come back and win the next two sets 6-4, 7-5, fighting off a match point at 4-5 in the third set en route to the victory. Wozniacki is the WTA tour leader in wins for 2009 coming in with 65 on the season, however she is battling through a hamstring injury she suffered in Luxembourg this past week and said after her match yesterday that "there was bit too much running" for her liking.
Round robin play continues Thursday with televised coverage being aired live at 10am on the Tennis Channel. Be sure to check back for updates throughout the week!
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