Caroline Wozniacki (click to enlarge)
Were it not for the retirement of Li Na, Caroline Wozniacki would not have qualified in the top 8 for the 2014 WTA Finals. On the opening day of round robin play, Sunshine showed she is here to try to make the most of her opportunity, beating world #2 Maria Sharapova in an epic match, 7-6 (4) 6-7 (5) 6-2. Masha has a chance to reclaim the #1 ranking at this event, but will need a better showing against Petra Kvitova and Agnieszka Radwanska after dropping into a 0-1 round robin hole. Sharapova didn’t help herself with 76 unforced errors against Wozniacki. However, that’s kind of what Sunshine does. Her steady play goads opponents into mistakes. Also, it’s fair to point out that Wozniacki has had a terrific second half of the the season as evidenced by her US Open runner-up finish, a tournament where she also beat Masha on the way to the final. So maybe Sunshine starting 1-0, along with Radwanska, who beat Kvitova 2 and 3, isn’t really a surprise.
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8 CAROLINE WOZNIACKI d. 2 MARIA SHARAPOVA, 7-6 (4) 6-7 (5) 6-2
6 AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA d. 3 PETRA KVITOVA, 6-2 6-3
