Kvitova bosses Radwanska, Williams and Azarenka open with wins

I correctly guessed the results from the first three round robin matches.

(Rank/Seed)

1/1 Williams predictably dominated (9/8) Kerber 63 61, hitting 31 winners to only 11 unforced errors to begin her title defence perfectly. Williams was nervous initially but was never uncomfortable and wasn't broken all match. Kerber didn't play badly but couldn't hit through Williams on the slow court, hitting only 9 winners to 14 unforced errors. Williams passed $10 million in prize money this year just by showing up, a landmark in the women's game whilst Kerber still has yet to win a match at this event.

2/2 Azarenka was lucky to squeak past (7/6) Errani 76(4) 62. Azarenka was incredibly rusty to begin with, hitting many of her total 27 unforced errors at this point. Errani in contrast was brimming with confidence, hitting drop shots and powerful returns in establishing a 5-2 lead. However, Azarenka found her range and shifted the momentum, hitting some class drop shots of her own to eliminate the deficit then break Errani again down 5-6 to force the breaker. Despite leading 3-1 in the tiebreak, Errani ultimately couldn't sustain her standard and double faulted down set point. A calf injury would then hamper her in the second set as Azarenka simply stayed solid, hitting 20 of her total 51 winners to just 2 unforced errors. Errani's participation in the competition now appears to be in jeopardy due to the injury, which would be a shame considering the quality of her play throughout the 2 hour + encounter, where she hit 28 winners (very high for Errani) and only 24 unforced errors. Hopefully, having won her first match since the US Open, Azarenka's rust has been shaken.

6/5 Kvitova showed her standard indoor prowess in upsetting (4/3) Radwanska 64 64. Kvitova was surprisingly steady, hitting 33 winners to 34 unforced errors. She utilised her out wide lefty serve most of the time and was broken only once all match, despite a shaky last game when she tried to close out the match. Typically, Radwanska's numbers were understated as she hit only 11 winners to 10 unforced errors as she couldn't disrupt the Czech's rhythm effectively, in my opinion playing too centrally without enough variation. She failed to emulate her success against Petra here a year ago, whilst Kvitova emulated her win over the Pole back in 2011 in the round robin.