ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Serena Williams proved Wednesday at the WTA Championships that even when her serve is malfunctioning, she can still beat a top player. Williams beat 2011 French Open champion Li Na of China 7-6 (1), 6-3 for her second win in round-robin matches to seal a semifinal spot at the tournament for the top eight players in the world. In another Red Group encounter, top-ranked Victoria Azarenka saved two match points before rallying past Angelique Kleber of Germany 6-7 (11), 7-6 (2), 6-4 in her first match at the event. Because that match went to three sets, Williams advanced to the last four. In the White Grouo, second-ranked Maria Sharapova rallied to beat No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska 5-7, 7-5, 7-5. Williams had six double-faults and won only 51 per cent of points on her first serve. But Li also struggled on serve - there were eight breaks in the first set and three more in the second. "My serve just didnt go in. Every time I got my first serve in, I was surprised," Williams said. "But knowing I was able to still, for me, zero serve compared to how I normally serve - I think its something good I can take out of the match." She has won 28 of her past 29 matches and captured Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Olympic titles this year. The highest ranking she can achieve at the end of the year is No. 2 because of injuries and missed tournaments. At one point, Williams got so frustrated at dropping serve that she uncharacteristically smashed her racket. "No, I dont break rackets in matches. Although I didnt hit it hard," she said. "Maybe I dont know my own strength." The first set was full of missed opportunities. The eighth-ranked Li took a 4-1 lead before Williams won the next four games. Serving for the set, the American again dropped serve. Li was unable to hold, though, and Williams had another chance to serve out the set - only to lose it at love. Williams took control of the match in the second set by saving a breakpoint - in a game that lasted nine minutes - to hold and lead 4-1. The American wasted two match points to break Li, but closed it out on her own serve when the Chinese player sent a forehand long. Both Azarenka and Kleber smashed rackets in the second, highly entertaining match that lasted 3 hours, 6 minutes and tied the record for most games (36) at the event. The first-set tiebreaker also tied a record for most points. Sharapova and Radwanska also equaled the record in a match that lasted three hours and 12 minutes and finished after 2 a.m.. Kleber is making her debut in the event after winning two titles and climbing to No. 5 this year after finishing 2011 at No. 32. She was down a break in the second set, but led 5-4 after prevailing in a game that went to nine deuces and lasted 13 1/2 minutes. Azarenka then saved two match points before capturing the second tiebreaker. The Belarusian closed it out on Kerbers serve, hitting a forehand winner on her first match point. "She provoked a lot of mistakes from me, but on the match points I just thought I had to go for it," said Azarenka, who needs one more round-robin win to secure the No. 1 ranking for the year. "She will not miss, so I didnt have to wait for her mistake. "I had to go for it. I was so determined to make it happen. I wanted to change the momentum. I wanted to take the destiny into my hands. You know, if I would have missed those shots it will be up to me, not up to my opponent." Kerber said Azarenka just played the big points better. "I was 2-6 down in the tiebreak and I won it, so maybe it was the same thing. I had the match points in the second set but she played unbelievable and I could do nothing," Kerber said. Earlier, defending champion Petra Kvitova withdrew from the tournament because of a viral illness and was replaced by Samantha Stosur. The event splits players into two groups, with the top two in each advancing. cheap jerseys . "Team B" went on a spending spree adding an MVP candidate at shortstop, a top-notch starting pitcher and a blue chip closer. Team A kept its payroll in the $70 to $80 million range. wholesale jerseys . Curtis Granderson hit his 200th career homer and Soriano shook off getting hit on the side of his right hand by a line drive as the Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 4-2 Sunday. http://www.holdjersey.com/ . -- It was a welcome homecoming for the Orlando Magic. holdjersey . Sharapova cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 semifinal victory over seventh-seeded Li Na of China in the other semifinal. Azarenka, who won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, was tested in the first set by Bartoli and her unorthodox style of play, but ran ahead to a 5-1 lead in the second set. nba holdjersey . MacTavish, 53, was head coach of the Oilers for eight seasons from 2000 and 2009, including Edmontons run to the Stanley Cup final in 2006 when they lost in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes.DUBLIN, Ohio -- That other Rory -- Rory Sabbatini -- played his best golf in the worst weather Friday at the Memorial and made a surprising appearance atop the leaderboard. Right behind him was a Tiger Woods that looked all too familiar. Sabbatini played bogey-free over his final 12 holes, and despite missing a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, put together a 3-under 69 in the cool, blustery conditions at Muirfield Village to take a one-shot lead going into the weekend. Woods looked strong for the second straight day, though he also had another double bogey that slowed his progress. What pleased him was controlling his ball in the wind for plenty of birdie chances that led to a 69. "I hit the ball well all day, and it was a day that I needed to," Woods said. "The wind was blowing out there, swirling in those trees, and it was just a tough day." It was plenty tough for Rory McIlroy. The U.S. Open champion, who returned to No. 1 in the world only four weeks ago, missed the cut in his third straight tournament. McIlroy was in good shape until a shot just outside a creek hit the bank and went backward into the water, leading to the first of two double bogeys on the back nine. He shot 79 and missed the cut by three shots. "Im definitely hitting the ball better than I did last week, so I can see an improvement there," he said. "But Ive still got a long way to go." It was tough for everyone on a day that began with a two-hour rain delay in the morning. That softened the course, but the wind featured gusts strong enough that it was difficult to attack the pins. It showed in the scores. Sabbatini was at 6-under 138, the highest score to lead the Memorial in 22 years. "We basically just kept the ball in play all day, and thats the challenge out there," Sabbatini said. "And we did that very well, and Im very, very excited, very content with the way that things went." David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot a 75 and sits at 1 over in a tie for 34th. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., didnt make the cut after shooting an 81. The former Masters champion finished with an 83 on Thursday. Woods has 72 wins on the PGA Tour, one away from tying Jack Nicklaus for second on the career list. What better place to catch him than on the course Jack built, though Woods wasnt ready to entertain such thoughts only halfway through the tournament. And while he commands attention at Muirfield Village -- a four-time champion who has shot par or better in 22 of his last 23 rounds on this course -- there were plenty of possibilities going into the weekend. Spencer Levin (72) and Scott Stallings (73) played in the morning and joined Woods at 5-under 139. Jim Furyk, another former champion, matched the best score Friday with a 68 and was in the group only two shots behindd.dddddddddddd There were 21 players within four shots of the lead, a list that includes Quail Hollow winner Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Lucas Glover and Adam Scott, who was contending for the lead until closing with three straight bogeys for a 72. The surprise was Sabbatini. He has missed the cut eight times this year, and his only top 10 came at the season opener in Kapalua, when he was 10 shots behind. The spunky South African has been toiling with his swing coach, Rick Smith, and for all the work they have done with his swing, even more crucial was keeping his patience. "Its definitely shown me I have to be a little more patient out there," Sabbatini said. "Theres nothing thats going to get achieved in an instant. Youve got to make sure that you take your time and just make sure that you continue to run the process, and ultimately things will change." Thats what happened Friday, when Sabbatini made a couple of bogeys in his opening six holes. It started to turn with a 15-foot birdie on the ninth, and he was solid the rest of the way. He took care of the par 5s with good wedge play -- both those holes were into the wind -- and picked up a key birdie on the 14th to a back pin, leaving it below the hole and making a 12-foot birdie. Woods did little wrong at the start except for missing a few birdie putts inside 10 feet and failing to take advantage of the par 5s. Even so, he didnt come close to a bogey until he reached the par-3 12th hole, which played into the wind. The question was how much wind. Woods was trying to decide between an eight-iron and a nine-iron on the 159-yard hole over the water, guarded front and back by bunkers. He watched Fred Couples hit a 6-iron that a big gust knocked down and deposited in the water. Woods went with a seven-iron that he hit like a bullet, over the water, over the green, into the gallery. From there, he hit a poor flop shot that didnt reach the green, chipped to 10 feet and missed the putt to take double bogey. "I didnt feel comfortable hitting seven," Woods said. "I thought I had to take a lot off of it, but I didnt want it to ride, so I started it way left and just bailed out on it, hit it long. And I drew a good lie. It was just a bad chip shot." He recovered with a wedge into 6 feet for birdie on the 15th, then a tee shot that covered a front flag on the par-3 16th and settled about eight feet away. Woods, coming off his worst three-tournament stretch as a pro, said he played as well as when he won at Bay Hill to end a 30-month drought on the PGA Tour. "The things that Im supposed to be doing for the past few tournaments, I was able to do," he said. "This is the way that I hit the ball at Bay Hill and the way I hit it at the end of last year. Thats whats exciting about it." ' ' '