Doha, February 16 – Serena Williams ensured she will regain the world number one ranking next week after she beat Petra Kvitova to reach the Qatar Open semi-finals. The American, 31, knew that reaching the last four in Doha would take her past Victoria Azarenka in the rankings, and she saw off Kvitova 3-6 6-3 7-5. Williams last held the top spot in October 2010, and she now becomes the oldest woman to reach number one. Chris Evert held the top ranking in 1985 just before turning 31. Williams was not at her best against Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, but showed all her fighting qualities to recover from 4-1 down in the final set. Williams will face Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals on Saturday after the Russian beat Sam Stosur 6-2 6-4. Source - QatarChronicle

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