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Summary
Serena Williams stayed on course to end the year as world number one when she beat Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 7-5 on the opening day of the WTA Championships in Qatar after sister Venus suffered a shock defeat. Second-ranked Serena, who must better Dinara Safina's performance to snatch the No.1 spot, served 11 aces under the Khalifa Stadium floodlights to get the better of the French Open champion who led 6-4 in the first-set tiebreak. She will play Venus in her second round-robin match on Wednesday knowing that victory would almost certainly eliminate her older sibling who lost 3-6 7-6 6-2 to Elena Dementieva, the third Russian competing at the season-ending showpiece, in the day's outstanding contest. In the opening match in White Group, former world number one Jelena Jankovic lost 6-2 6-3 to tournament debutant Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. World number one Safina begins her tournament against Jankovic on Wednesday while Azarenka plays Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki.
