Petrova Vows to Make It Hard for Wozniacki at Sofia Final

Nadia Petrova of Russia will be top seeded Caroline Wozniacki’s opponent in the final of Qatar Airways Tournament of Champions in Sofia. Photo by sofia-tennis.bg

Russia's Nadia Petrova, who will face top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the final of Qatar Airways Tournament of Champions in Sofia, has pledged not to let the trophy slip away easily.

"On Sunday I will try to impede Wozniacki. If I win the title, it will be the perfect end of the season for me," commented Petrova before the match.

A day earlier Petrova defeated Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-7 (8-10), 6-1, 6-4 in a dramatic match that lasted 2 hours, 42 minutes.

Caroline Wozniacki, who began this year as Number one in the WTA rankings, is the group leader due to her high ranking in WTA.

Making it to the final and playing for her third title (after Seoul and Moscow) has ensured Wozniacki's return to the top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday.

She will rise from No. 11 to No. 10, swapping with Marion Bartoli.

Petrova will also be trying for her third title of the year. During her previous four matches with Wozniacki, she has suffered defeats.

The tournament in Sofia featured eight tennis players, two of whom received a "wild card" - the best Bulgarian female tennis star Tsvetana Pironkova and Russian Maria Kirilenko, who is No. 15 in the rankings.

The 2012 WTA Tournament of Champions is a singles-only tennis tournament that is played on indoor hard courts in Sofia's Arena Armeec hall.

This is the fourth edition of the tournament and is part of the 2012 WTA Tour.

The 2012 edition is the first to be held in Sofia, having been relocated from Bali, where the tournament was held for the previous three years and called the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions.

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