(Rank/Seed)
10/1 (w/c) Kerber came into Linz as a late wild card in a bid to qualify for the WTA Championships in light of Sharapova's withdrawal. She had to reach the semi finals to guarantee her spot. It didn't look good early on as she struggled to acclimatise in the first round to the indoor courts, dropping the first set 60 against Niculescu. However, having battled back to win the next two sets 61 62, she went on a tear through the tournament, beating Cadantu 61 60, Mayr - Achleitner 63 61 to book her place in Istanbul and (15/4) Suarez Navarro 62 60 to avenge her recent US Open loss.
(14/3) Ivanovic awaited her in the final, a former two time champion who hadn't dropped a set all week. Ivanovic had won 11 of her previous 15 finals, compared to Kerber's 2 from 7 and had also won 3 of their 4 previous meetings. However, though Kerber hadn't won a title this year, losing 2 finals Ivanovic hadn't even reached a final since Bali 2011 whilst the German had also won their most recent and only hard court encounter in Tokyo, 2 weeks ago.
The final was a fantastic encounter featuring plenty of winners and drama. Kerber initially dictated with her forehand to lead 4-1 in the first set before Ivanovic's own forehand caught fire as she won 10 straight points to level at 4-4. However, Kerber edged a close 9th game before closing out the set 64, showing that under pressure her basic game was more consistent than that of the Serb. At the beginning of the second set, Ivanovic continued to play as she had once done as a number one, hitting fluid winners off both wings and at the net to take a 3-1 lead. Kerber's tenacity ultimately forced errors from Ivanovic though as she built a 5-4 40-0 lead on serve. The nerves then struck Kerber and Ivanovic hit out, breaking her opponent to stay in the match. Despite a bizarre medical time out for what appeared to be an unapparent hip problem, Ana would then hold 4 set points, two at 15-40 in the 12th game and then at 6-4 in the tiebreak. Each time, Kerber either hit a forceful shot or Ivanovic missed by a whisker. Kerber ultimately claimed the title 64 76(6) to win her 1st title of 2013; not a bad way to go into the Championships!
