ISTANBUL — Maria Sharapova advanced her hopes of a triumphant end to a self-defining year by delivering a table-topping third win at the WTA Championships Friday. French Open champion Sharapova completed an improbable career Grand Slam during 2012, and now an emphatic victory over former US Open champion Samantha Stosur guaranteed that she gets the less difficult of the two semifinals Saturday. That's because the Russian's 6-0, 6-3 win over the Australian enabled her to avoid Serena Williams. Serena completed her third win Thursday to finish top of the other group. Serena beat Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-4 Thursday. Serena now has an 11-1 career record over Azarenka, and has won the last nine matches between the two. In another late match Thursday Sara Errani beat Samantha Stosur 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 in the White Group. Stosur, who double-faulted on a match point, was an alternate and replaced defending champion Petra Kvitova, who withdrew after one match because of illness. Ferrer dents Almagro's hopes Nicolas Almagro's chances of making next month's World Tour Finals in London were dealt a blow when he was beaten 6-3, 7-5 by top seed and Spanish compatriot David Ferrer in the quarterfinals of the Valencia Open Friday. Ferrer, like world No. 12 Almagro a double champion in Valencia, will play Marin Cilic or his fellow Croat Ivan Dodig Saturday for a place in the final. On the other side of the draw, Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine beat Marcel Granollers 6-0, 6-2 to set up a semifinal against Juergen Melzer. Austrian Melzer saw off promising Belgian David Goffin 7-6, 6-4. Players including Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Janko Tipsarevic, who both pulled out of their first-round matches in Valencia with injuries, and Richard Gasquet and Almagro are also in contention. Del Potro in semis Juan Martin del Potro struggled into the Swiss Indoors semifinals Friday by beating South African Kevin Anderson 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, a day after qualifying for the year-ending World Tour Finals. The second seed was pushed all the way by his opponent, who used his big serve to good advantage during a match which stretched over two hours. The Argentine will take a 4-1 record into his Saturday semifinal against French third seed Richard Gasquet, who kept alive his bid to secure one of the two remaining places in the World Tour Finals with his 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) defeat of sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny. Margaret DuPont dies Margaret Osbourne duPont, who won more than 30 Grand Slam singles and doubles titles spanning three decades, has died in El Paso, Texas. She was 94. DuPont died late Wednesday while in hospice care in El Paso. Her death was confirmed Thursday by Mary Skinner of VNA Hospice in El Paso. DuPont won the singles title at Wimbledon in 1947, the US National Championship (US Open) singles title from 1948 to 1950 and the French singles title in 1946 and 1948, according to the website of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum. — Agencies
