Rematches don’t come around much faster than this. Petra Kvitova will take on Maria Sharapova in White Group action on Thursday just 18 days after the latter beat the former in the Beijing final.
Both players enter this match coming off unexpected defeats in their opening round robin clashes and each will be desperate for a victory that could put them closer to the semi-finals.
Kvitova is 2-6 against Sharapova overall and hasn’t beaten the Russian in any of their past five meetings.
The Czech world No3 last defeated Sharapova in 2011, once via retirement and once in the Wimbledon final – which was the first of two trophies Kvitova has picked up at the All England Club. That year, Kvitova also won the year-end championships – held in Istanbul at the time.
The 24-year-old has made the final in three of her last four tournaments – winning titles in New Haven and Wuhan – and arrived in Singapore in fine form, despite her three-set defeat to Sharapova at the China Open.
"We played Beijing final couple of weeks ago and it was a really good match from both of us. Unfortunately I lost, so I will do my best to beat her this time. She’s playing very aggressively, so we will see," said Kvitova.
For Sharapova, there’s a lot on the line as she could potentially replace Serena Williams at the top of the world rankings by the end of the tournament. Her chances of doing that took a hit however when she lost in three sets to Caroline Wozniacki on Tuesday.
It was a lengthy affair that lasted three hours and 13 minutes but the five-time grand slam champion is not worried about recovery, saying she’s confident she’ll be in good shape against Kvitova.
"Physically I’ve had a great year and felt really good. My shoulder has held up incredibly well, and that’s been the biggest key for me. Of course these matches are quite tough considering you have to come out and expect yourself to play a few more, but overall I feel good.”
Meanwhile, Agnieszka Radwanska insists she won’t get carried away after her shock win over Kvitova as she prepares to face Wozniacki.
It is Radwanska’s sixth appearance in the WTA Finals but she is aware she hasn’t fared well in the competition in the past, accumulating a 6-7 win-loss record thus far.
"This is always a tough tournament because it’s the end of the year. I won the first match, so we still have a long way to go. But I think I feel much better than last year actually," said the Pole.
"I didn’t play too many matches in the last couple of weeks, so that helped a little bit as well. I think I had my lessons from other years how to prepare for this tournament. So I think I did everything right this year and I am really feeling good and ready to go."
Radwanska has known Wozniacki for 15 years and knows she has a tough battle ahead of her. She trails the Dane 4-6 head-to-head and lost their most recent clash in Cincinnati in August.
