MOSCOW (AP)—Victoria Azarenka qualified for the WTA Tour Championships for the second straight year after defeating Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in the second round of the Kremlin Cup on Wednesday.
The 10th-ranked Azarenka will replace Serena Williams in the eight-player, season-ending event that starts next week in Doha, Qatar.
“Every player wants to play in Doha, and I’m happy I turned the match my way in the third set,” Azarenka said.
Williams withdrew on Tuesday because of a re-torn tendon in her right foot, which she injured when stepping on broken glass at a restaurant shortly after winning Wimbledon in July.
Azarenka and Li Na of China were the two substitutes for the tournament. But Li, who was five points ahead of Azarenka in the championships race, lost in the first round in Moscow. She will remain the top substitute.
Azarenka committed 11 double-faults but won the last five games of a match that featured 16 breaks of serve. Petkovic called for a doctor to have blisters on her right hand treated in the third set.
“The courts here are extremely slow and it’s hard to serve a winner,” Azarenka said.
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 win over Alona Bondarenko. Sanchez, a doubles specialist, will play Dominika Cibulkova, who ousted Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-1.
In men’s play, top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko lost 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) to Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.
Defending champion Mikhail Youzhny pulled out with an unspecified virus after losing a doubles match. Lucky loser Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, the 2002 champion, will replace Youzhny.
Fourth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis broke once in each set to oust Potito Starace 6-4, 6-3.
Janko Tipsarevic was upset by Horacio Zeballos 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Tipsarevic said he struggled with pain in his lower back in the last two sets.
Fifth-seeded Radek Stepanek defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-2.