At the WTA Championships Thursday it was Serena Williams beating down Victoria Azarenka for an 11th time in 12 meetings.

On one of the most competitve days ever at the WTA champions, favorites Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka all survived upset bids.

The WTA Championships begin Tuesday in Istanbul as the trio of Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams bidding for supremacy.

Williams appeared in control in the third, up a break 4-2 when Kerber broke back for 4-3 on serve. Kerber held for 4-4, then Venus for 5-4. Kerber held through a tough game for 5-5, then pressure Venus in the next game to get the break and the 6-5 lead before serving out the match.

Wozniacki is the lone returning champion, trying to win her fifth straight New Haven Open. A win this year for Wozniacki would put her in rarified company, as only three players have won a tournament title five years in a row — Chris Evert (Charleston), Steffi Graf (Hamburg), and Martina Navratilova (Eastbourne, Wimbledon and Chicago).

the Top 8 seeds receive first round byes, and tough openers include (15) Kohlschreiber vs. (WC) Baker, winner to meet the Harrison vs. Tomic victor; (10) Fish vs. F-Lo, (8) Monaco possibly vs. The Worm 2nd rd., (4) Ferrer possibly vs. Wawrinka 2nd rd., (14) Nishikori vs. Granoller, winner to possibly meet (WC) Blake; (11) Simon vs. Baghdatis, winner to meet Raonic vs. Gasquet victor; (6) Del Potro vs. Nalbandian/Haas winner, (9) Isner vs. Viktor Troicki, victor to face (WC) Hewitt vs. Mikhail Youzhny winner; (3) Murray possibly opening vs. (WC) Querrey, and (13) Dolgopolov vs. Davydenko

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were both winners on a rain-soaked Sunday at the Olympics.

The result was generally a forgone conclusion as the underpowered Radwanska, facing Williams’ brutal baseline bashing, entered the match struggling with an upper respiratory illness. But the tone of the match quickly changed in the second set when Williams needed to step up to close out the match.

The grunting Azarenka looked like she could force a third set, but not even her shrill “Byewwwwwwwwww!”s could propel her past Williams, whose exhalations seemed demure next to the exhorting Belarussian.

The Wimbledon women’s semifinals are set get underway later today.