Serena Ends Year No.1

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Serena Williams will end the year as the number one female player in the world after a phenomenal campaign which saw the American win two Grand Slams.

The 32-year-old has lost just four matches this year, winning nine titles, including the French and US Open.

It is the third time she has topped the rankings at the end of a calendar year.

Williams became the oldest player to hold the number one positionwhen, aged 31, the 17-time Grand Slam winner replaced Victoria Azarenka in February.

"Serena has proven time and time again throughout her career that she is an incredible champion, both on and off the court," said Women's Tennis Association (WTA) chairman and chief executive Stacey Allaster.

"This season she continues to rewrite the record books, proving she is one of the sport's greatest athletes of all time."

Williams will be presented with her trophy during the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul next month.

She will be joined by China's Li Na, who became the fifth player to qualify for the event, following in the footsteps of Williams, Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska.

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Williams Wins Swedish Open

World number one Serena Williams recovered from her shock early exit at Wimbledon by beating home hope Johanna Larsson to win the Swedish Open.

The American dropped serve twice in the first set but overcame those setbacks to win 6-4 6-1 in Bastad.

Williams, 31, has now won 51 matches and seven titles in 2013.

She had been a strong favourite to win her 17th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon earlier this month, but lost to Sabine Lisicki in the last 16.

"It was really good to come here and win after a disappointing Wimbledon, so hopefully this confidence will help me for the rest of the year,'' said the top seed.

Williams chose to return on clay at the relatively low-key Swedish event, and victory brought her a first ever title at an 'international' level tournament, the fourth tier below Grand Slams.

The second seed was Romanian Simona Halep, ranked 30th in the world, so it was no surprise that Williams won all five matches without dropping a set.

She did not have it all her own way in the final, however, struggling in the early stages and letting out a huge scream when she finally slammed a forehand winner at 3-1 down.

Larsson, the Swedish number one and world number 76, had her chances but could not convert as she struggled to make enough first serves.

Williams eventually found her range and from 4-3 down lost just two more games on her way to capturing the 53rd WTA title of her career.

She remains unbeaten on clay this season, having also won in Rome, Madrid and Charleston.

In Hamburg, Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis could not follow upSaturday's win over Roger Federer with another victory, as Fabio Fognini won the German Tennis Championships final 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-2.

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Sharapova Loses to Stosur

World number one Caroline Wozniacki beat Agnieszka Radwanska on the first day of the year-ending WTA Championship as Maria Sharapova lost to Sam Stosur.

Wozniacki won 5-7 6-2 6-4, while Sharapova, her nearest rival to top the year-end rankings, lost 6-1 7-5.

Denmark's Wozniacki now needs to win one more round-robin match and reach the final to be crowned 2011 champion.

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-4 with the top two from each pool making the semi-finals.

It was frustrating not being able to get the first set after the set points but I managed to keep my head coolCaroline Wozniacki

Wozniacki was drawn with Zvonareva, Radwanska and Petra Kvitova in the red group in Istanbul, while Sharapova, US Open winner Stosur, Victoria Azarenka and Li Na complete the line-up in the white group.

In-form Wozniacki struggled in the opening exchanges of her match and handed Radwanska two break points to gift the first set to the Pole, but the second set featured six breaks of serve, with the world number one getting four.

The Dane then wasted a 4-2 lead in the third set but broke again when Radwanska netted a forehand on the 21-year-old's second match point to see her through to the second round.

"I'm very happy to pull through," said Wozniacki. "It was a tough battle out there.

"Agnieszka has been playing very well lately. It was a bit frustrating not to get the first set after having three set points, but I managed to keep my head cool and fight back.

"It was frustrating not being able to get the first set after the set points but I managed to keep my head cool," the 21-year-old added.

Sharapova, who must at least reach the final to have any chance of finishing the year as number one, was playing her first match since pulling out of the quarter-finals in Tokyo with an ankle injury last month.

The Russian failed to produce a single break point against Stosur in the first set and squandered a 3-0 lead in the second.

"It did take me a while to get going," Sharapova said. "It's obviously tough to come back after a month and compete at this level. But the good thing is that I gave myself a chance, and I did everything I could to even be here."

Sharapova finished with six double faults and only hit 59% of her first serves - compared to 74% for Stosur.