Serena Starts as Istanbul Favourite

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Serena Williams starts a strong favourite to win a second successive WTA Championships as the end-of-season finale begins in Istanbul on Tuesday.

The world number one has only lost four matches and won 10 titles this season, more than any other year of her career.

She will face Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber in the group stages in Turkey.

"It's a tough group," Williams said. "That's the thing about this event, you have to be ready from the first match."

Eight of the top nine in the world rankings - world number three Maria Sharapova is injured - are split into two groups of four, with the top two in each qualifying for the semi-finals.

Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, who has beaten Williams twice this year, heads the other group, which includes China's Li Na, Sara Errani of Italy and Serb Jelena Jankovic.

Three group matches will be played on each of the first four days.

Tuesday's opening day sees Belarusian Azarenka start against Errani (15:00 BST) before Williams faces Germany's Kerber (17:00 BST) and Radwanska of Poland plays the Czech Republic's Kvitova (19:00 BST).

Williams, 32, won the French Open and US Open this year to take her total of Grand Slam titles to 17, one short of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert and five behind Steffi Graf's Open era record of 22.

"I never thought I would have one of my best years this year, and now there is an opportunity to do even better," she added.

"I'm still looking to improve and...I have a lot of room for improvement. I am interested for next year to take my game to a new level, which I think I can do.

"It's going to be even tough for me to get to 18 [ Grand Slams]. Obviously that's my goal, but I take it one match at a time."

The American is aiming to become the first player to defend a WTA Championships crown since Justine Henin in 2007. If she achieves the feat, it would be her fourth title overall.

While Kvitova, who won in 2011, is a dangerous opponent on a fast indoor surface, neither she nor Radwanska has ever beaten Williams, while Kerber can boast one victory from their three previous meetings.

Jankovic is the only player to qualify this year who was not in the field 12 months ago. The Serb is back among the top eight of the season for the first time since 2010.

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Serena Wins Fifth US Open

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Serena Williams would have felt disappointed with her season had she not seen off Victoria Azarenka to win the US Open for a fifth time.

At 31, the American is more dominant than she has ever been, and her 7-5 6-7 (6/8) 6-1 victory over Azarenka in New York gave her a ninth title of the year.

She has lost only four matches all season, but two of those have come in grand slams, where traditionally she has been at her strongest.

When Azarenka recovered from 4-1 down to take the second set with Williams having twice served for the match, it seemed the world number one may have to contemplate more slam disappointment.

But Williams responded superbly and won the third set easily to add the US Open to the French Open title she clinched in June.

She said: "I felt almost disappointed with my year, to be honest. I felt like, yeah, I won the French Open, but I wasn't happy with my performances in the other two slams, and not even making it to the quarter-finals of one.

"So I definitely feel a lot better with at least a second grand slam under my belt this year."

Williams' victory gave her a 17th grand slam singles title, moving her level with Roger Federer and only one behind both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

"It's an honour to be even with Roger," said Williams. "He's been such a great champion throughout the years, and he's just an unbelievable competitor and he's still playing, and he can probably still win more.

"He's just been so incredibly consistent, so we have had really different careers.

"Then to be compared with Chrissy and Martina - I can't necessarily compare myself to them, because numbers-wise they're still greater."

There were high hopes the match would be as dramatic as last year's final between the pair, which Williams won after Azarenka had served for the title, and it did not disappoint.

Williams struggled with the wind in the first set especially, casting panicked glances at her box and appearing distracted by her billowing dress and hair.

But Azarenka could not capitalise, and it looked like Williams would cruise to victory when she moved 4-1 ahead with two breaks of serve in the second set.

Azarenka is as big a fighter as Williams, though, and she hung on grimly and then seized her chance when the American got tight.

Twice Williams served for the match and twice Azarenka broke back, and the Belarusian went on to take the tie-break on her third opportunity.

It seemed like it would be a tough set for Williams to bounce back from but the world number one refocused and pulled away to clinch victory after two hours and 45 minutes.

Williams said: "I obviously would have preferred to close it out in straight sets. But going against a great opponent like Victoria, you have to be able to realise that that can happen and you have to keep fighting for everything.

"I thought, 'I have to stay positive'. It was very easy to get down. I didn't want to get down on myself.

"I wanted to be a little strict with myself so I could play better. I wanted to do different things and try to have a better performance."

Williams admitted she did not deal with the wind as well as she might have, saying: "The wind was unbelievable. It just got worse and worse. It never let up.

"But at this point you have to be able to play under any circumstances. It wasn't very easy. I think I made a lot of errors because of that. I definitely could have moved my feet better."

Azarenka was in tears at the end but felt there was nothing more she could have done.

The world number two described the determination of both players as rising like boiling water, and she said: "It was a great match.

"There was no let down. I think in the third set the momentum changed a little bit, and I kind of felt like I lost that momentum.

"But she really made it happen. In that particular moment she was tougher. She was more consistent and she deserved to win.

"I wish I could have done something better. I felt like I had opportunities in the first set as well. But it's okay. I did everything I could.

"The game overall, there are things that could have been better. But I gave my heart. I fought as hard as I could.

"So that's what is important for me, that I lost to a great champion. But I'm still going to have my head up."

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Azarenka Ends Season Number 1

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Victoria Azarenka secured the season-ending world No.1 spot and set-up a WTA Championships semi-final with Maria Sharapova after batting past Li Na 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 in Istanbul.

Despite hitting only six winners in the duration of the match, Azarenka showed typical fight and determination to clinch victory.

The Belarussian lost her serve twice in an opening set which saw Li Na fail in her attempt to serve out the set.

The Chinese No.1 coughed up two double faults when leading 5-4 and was made to pay when Azarenka edged the ensuing tie-breaker 7-4.

Holding serve proved a tough task for both players at the start of the second set and, after three successive breaks, Li double faulted for a seventh time to gift Azarenka a 4-1 lead.

The 23-year-old was broken to love when attempting to serve out the match, however she hit back with a sixth break to eliminate Li and seal a last four date with Sharapova.

Speaking after becoming only the 11th women to end the season as world No.1, Azarenka, who won the Australian Open at the start of the year, added: "It's a dream come true, I just want to play my last two matches now and then enjoy the moment more. Right now I'm in a competition and I'm trying to focus on each day and the challenges ahead.

"It was a like a rollercoaster (today), she played well at some points and we are big shot-makers so it depends on who was gaining control. The momentum was going back and forth."

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Djokovic and Azarenka win In China

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Number one seed Novak Djokovic has won the China Open, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in Beijing.

The world number two lost just one set on his way to winning his fourth title of the year - his third China Open.

In the women's event world number one Victoria Azarenka made easy work of Maria Sharapova to win 6-3 6-1.

Sharapova was broken three times in the first set and offered little resistance in the second, unable to match the power and pace of Azarenka.

Although the two are separated by just one place in the WTA rankings the gulf seemed enormous as Azarenka, 23, secured her fifth title of 2012.

She won 68% of points on her first serve, 50% on her second and broke the Russian five times in total.

The men's final was not quite as one sided though as Tsonga had chances against Djokovic.

But he converted just one of six break points, while his opponent converted three during the match, which lasted just over one hour 40 minutes.

It was the eighth time Djokovic has beaten the Frenchman.

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Azarenka and Williams in Sunday Wait

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Victoria Azarenka believes her poor record against Serena Williams will have no bearing in the US Open final, which has been postponed until Sunday following heavy rain on Saturday.

Williams has beaten Azarenka in nine of their 10 matches, including a 6-1 6-2 thrashing in the Olympics last month.

Azarenka said: "I'm not going to go on court thinking 'I wish I could win more games than last time'.

"The result will depend on how I play and how my opponent plays."

She added: "I've got to do something different as the other times did not work for me.

"I have to make sure I'm the one who dictates the play and controls the match as much as possible."

Belarusian Azarenka, the world number one and top seed at Flushing Meadows, moved into her first US Open final when she came from behind to defeat Russia's Maria Sharapova 3-6 6-2 6-4 in the semi-final.

Williams, seeded fourth, has only lost once in 26 matches since being beaten in the first round of the French Open in May.

Victory on Sunday will give the American her fourth US Open championship and her 15th Grand Slam title.

The women's singles final was scheduled for Saturday evening US time but was pushed back because of the forecast of heavy rain and storms. Organisers will confirm the start time later on Saturday.

The first men's semi-final between Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych got under way 90 minutes late on Arthur Ashe Stadium because of rain and a tornado warning.

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Azarenka Cruises to Third Round

Top seed Victoria Azarenka eased through to the third round of the French Open with a 6-1 6-1 victory over Germany's Dinah Pfizenmaier.

The 22-year-old world number one is bidding to add the French title to the Australian Open she won in January.

Eighth seed Marion Bartoli served 14 double faults as she surprisingly lost 6-2 3-6 6-3 to Croatia's Petra Martic.

US Open winner Sam Stosur beat American Irina Falconi 6-1 6-4 and next faces 27th seed Nadia Petrova of Russia.

Stosur, who lost the 2010 French Open final to Francesca Schiavone, has dropped only nine games in her first two matches this year.

The 28-year-old Australian again looked comfortable against Falconi, ranked 112, who was appearing in the second round for the first time.

Azarenka, who lost the first set and was a point away from a 5-0 deficit in the second against world number 105 Alberta Brianti in the opening round, needed only 55 minutes to dispatch Pfizenmaier, who is currently ranked 198th.

The Belarusian is seeking to become the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to win the first two Grand Slams of the season.

She lost the first game but proceeded to win the next 11 in succession against her 20-year-old opponent, who made 29 unforced errors on Court Philippe Chatrier.

"I didn't really know my opponent today, and it took me the first few games to kind of understand what she does and what kind of game she plays to adjust a little bit," Azarenka told reporters. "But after a few games I started to find my better rhythm. Definitely played much better today."

In round three Azarenka will play Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada, who beat 31st seed Jie Zheng of China 6-2 6-4.

Bartoli, a semi-finalist last year, came from a break down in the second set to level at one set apiece against world number 50 Martic but never looked comfortable on Court Suzanne Lenglen under threatening skies.

Martic, 21, served an ace on her second match point to complete victory in two hours and 12 minutes, setting up a third-round meeting with 29th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.

Fifteenth seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia quickly advanced with a 6-0 6-2 victory over American Vania King.

Cibulkova will meet Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez for a place in the last 16 after the Spaniard beat 20th seed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-4 7-5.

Italian Sara Errani, the 21st seed, beat Melanie Oudin of the USA 6-2 6-3 and now plays the 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic , this year's 13th seed, who beat Shahar Peer of Israel 6-2 6-2.

Former world number one Ivanovic, 24, has failed to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in the last three years.

She has a favourable-looking draw through to the last eight this time, where she could face third seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

"Even though I lost some matches I should have won or I should have put myself in a better position, I still felt always like I was improving with each week," Ivanovic said. "That gives me confidence. Now I'm starting to play a lot freer and enjoying the competition and building points."

Another former winner, the 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova , needed a second set tie-break to overcome Yung-Jan Chan in an hour and 41 minutes.

The 26-year-old world number 28 will play the winner of Radwanska against Venus Williams.

Sharapova Arrives in Paris Confident

Maria Sharapova may not be the queen of clay just yet but she is certainly far from the 'cow on ice' she once described herself as, and she goes into the French Open more confident than ever.

The Russian, whose best performances at Roland Garros have been semi-final appearances in 2007 and 2011, has won two titles on clay already this year, in Stuttgart and last week in Rome.

And even more significant have been the players she has beaten, including world number one Victoria Azarenka, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and last year's French Open winner Li Na.

Sharapova said: "I'm much more comfortable on this surface. Even though I don't play too many tournaments on it throughout the year, I feel like with every year that has come and the clay court season arrives, I feel physically stronger.

"I'm enjoying it a bit more. Before I felt like in matches I was saving myself a little bit because I didn't always believe that physically I could play seven matches in difficult, heavy conditions in Europe when it's raining.

"My body just wouldn't recover that well. But I've certainly improved that. I'm moving a lot better, which has helped me. It's always nice coming to the French Open with a couple of titles on clay and having a few more days to prepare."

Sharapova's impressive season, which also includes a final appearance at the Australian Open, has lifted her to within touching distance of the world number one spot she last held four years ago before shoulder problems struck.

She will begin the tournament, which starts on Sunday, 630 points behind Azarenka, and it is a goal that would bring huge satisfaction to the 25-year-old.

Sharapova said: "I would love to have that again because after I came back from my injury, I thought to myself, 'Well, when I was young I had the goal of being number one. I'm kind of in a position right now where I don't have a ranking. I'm just starting from scratch. If I did it once, maybe I can try to do it again.'

"So to be in a position where I'm close, I'm really happy. I'm happy with the way that I fought through the tough moments in the days when things weren't going exactly the way I had imagined them to go.

"And it's obviously always nice to be in that position to try to get that (number one). It's a position that every player wants."

The second seed will meet Romania's Alexandra Cadantu in the first round and faces a potential quarter-final clash with Williams, who is looking for her second French Open title a decade after her first.

Williams Wins Mutua de Madrid

Serena Williams beat world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-1 6-3 to win the Madrid Open for the first time.

It was Williams' first appearance in Europe this season and the world number six and ninth seed dominated the Belarussian over two sets.

It took the American just over an hour to win the match and confirmed her as the player in form ahead of the French Open which starts on 27 May.

Williams hit a series of winners to take her 41st WTA singles title.

It is the eighth time the pair have met, with Williams winning on seven occasions.

Azarenka's only victory over Williams came in the final of the 2009 Miami tournament, but she came nowhere near the American on Sunday, with Williams superior in every department.

The Madrid Open is the second consecutive WTA clay tournament for Williams, coming a month after she won in Charleston.

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Serena and Azarenka in Madrid Final

Serena Williams will play world number one Victoria Azarenka in Sunday's final of the Madrid Open after they both enjoyed straightforward last-four wins.

American Williams, 30, was taken to a tie-break in the first set of her game against Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka.

But she breezed through the second set, breaking Hradecka three times to wrap up a 7-6 (7-5) 6-0 victory.

Azarenka, who is chasing a fifth title in 2012, hit 29 winners in her 6-2 6-4 thrashing of Agnieszka Radwanska.

The 22-year-old Belarussian, who was beaten in last year's final by Petra Kvitova, has now defeated Polish player Radwanska in all six of their meetings this year.

She broke her opponent's serve six times and clinched the win with a drop shot on her second match point after just 79 minutes of playing.

Azarenka has only beaten Williams once in seven meetings but the Australian Open champion said: "I was much younger and just coming on the tour [for many of our matches) but I have always been competitive against her.

"It's going to be a different story this time."

Williams is in fine form though, having beaten Maria Sharapova in the last eight and easily overcoming Hradecka who is ranked 105 in the world.

The first set went with serve but Williams edged the tie-break and then immediately broke in the opening game of the second set to take the initiative, while Hradecka, who made 22 unforced errors in the game, faded.

In the men's semi-finals, former world number one Roger Federer takes on Janko Tipsarevic while Tomas Berdych faces Juan Martin del Potro.

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Sharapova Cruises to Porsche Title

Maria Sharapova won her first title of 2012 with a 6-1 6-4 victory over world number one Victoria Azarenka in the Porsche Grand Prix.

Azarenka was not fully fit, her wrist requiring heavy strapping, but the win gave the Russian compensation for her one-sided defeat in the Australian Open final earlier this year.

Sharapova's notoriously hit-and-miss serve held up under pressure as it had throughout the week in Stuttgart, and she served out her last two games to love.

The world number two rushed through the first set in 29 minutes before Azarenka put up more of a fight in the next despite being put under huge pressure on serve.

It finally told when Sharapova broke decisively to lead 4-3, and although the Belarussian held her next service game the former Wimbledon champion sealed a 25th career title on her first match point.

Azarenka uncharacteristically garnered only one break point on her opponent's serve in the entire match, while Sharapova needed to convert only three of her 11 chances to break as she completed victory in an hour and 24 minutes.

"I am just happy to win, it's a good tournament with very good players," said the 25-year-old. "It's a shame she was injured and couldn't play her normal game.

"I came to Europe a bit earlier than normal before the French Open and was just going to use this tournament as a warm-up, but it works for me."

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Bartoli Breaks Azarenka Run

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Victoria Azarenka's 26-match unbeaten start to 2012 came to an end with a quarter-final defeat by Marion Bartoli at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

The 22-year-old's winning streak, which included the Australian Open, was the best on the women's tour since Martina Hingis began 1997 with a 37-0 run.

“To play these tournaments back-to-back is really difficult physically. I'm not really worried about anything else. It was just I wasn't able to do anything physical today”Victoria Azarenka

"I'm a human, not a superwoman," she said. "I wish I could be, but I'm not."

Bartoli of France goes on to face Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals after she beat Venus Williams 6-4 6-1.

But Azarenka's loss to seventh seed Bartoli was the shock result.

Azarenka, world number one and defending champion, fell behind early and was unable to turn the match around as she had on Monday.

Down a set and behind 5-2 against 16th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, Azarenka rallied to win 1-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5, but could not engineer a similar comeback against Bartoli.

"Everybody wanted to be the first one to beat me," said the Belarusian. "I think it's pretty normal.

"When I was going to play against the number one player in the world, I also tried to do the same.

"Two days ago I could turn it around and today I couldn't. But it's not going stop me from working hard and keep going the same way."

Azarenka has now lost two of her last three meetings with Bartoli.

"I'm just tired," she said. "This is expected. But what can you do? That was supposed to happen one day.

"I couldn't keep going all the way. To play these tournaments back-to-back is really difficult physically.

"I'm not really worried about anything else. It was just I wasn't able to do anything physical today."

Azarenka Unbeaten Streak Continues

Victoria Azarenka made short work of beating Maria Sharapova to win the Indian Wells title in 85 minutes.

The world number one broke her Russian opponent's serve six times on her way to a 6-2 6-3 victory in surprisingly cold conditions in California.

“She forces you to want to do a little bit more than either you should or would want to”Sharapova on Azarenka

It was the 22-year-old's 23rd consecutive win in 2012 and her second over Sharapova, following her Australian Open final success.

"I never dreamed about that," Azarenka said of her perfect start to the year.

"It's amazing. I just really focused on every match at a time. I'm not thinking too much ahead."

Azarenka, who won 6-3 6-0 in the Melbourne final in January, broke the world number two in the opening game before holding her own serve to take a 2-0 lead.

Sharapova won the third game but struggled to make any headway on the Azarenka serve, earning just four points on it in the first set.

The former world number one offered more resistance in the second set but when she finally broke for the first time, Azarenka already led 3-0.

Top seed Azarenka immediately broke back before Sharapova struck again in one of six breaks in the second set.

Serving to stay in the match, Sharapova hit a double fault before a high lob finished long to hand her opponent a 12th career title.

"I was just trying to do my best because I know Maria is a fighter," said Azarenka. "I always try to stay focused and apply as much pressure as I can.

"I'm just so glad that I have been able to be consistent and disciplined and professional every day."

Sharapova said: "She's extremely solid and she makes you work for every point. Ultimately she forces you to want to do a little bit more than either you should or would want to.

"She's playing with a lot of confidence. I just made too many unforced errors at the wrong time."