They're gr-EIGHT! Serena Williams in peak form as world No 1 heads eye-catching line up for season finale
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World No 1 Serena Williams will face Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber in the group stages of the WTA Championships in Istanbul.
The draw for the eight-woman end-of-season tournament saw defending champion Williams placed in the red group along with third seed Radwanska, 2011 champion Kvitova and eighth seed Kerber.
Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka heads the white group, which also features fourth seed Li Na, sixth seed Sara Errani and seventh seed Jelena Jankovic.
Eye-catching line up: (left to right) Sara Errani, Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Na Li, Jelana Jankovic and Angelique Kerber
Williams will undoubtedly be the player to beat when the tournament begins at the Sinan Erdem Dome on Tuesday.
While 2002, when she won three consecutive grand slam titles and went on to complete the 'Serena Slam', remains in some ways her peak, this season must rival it.
She has won more matches and more titles than in any other year of her career, losing just four matches in 14 events.
The 32-year-old added a second French Open title to her collection in June, 11 years after her first, and in September won her 17th grand slam singles title at the US Open.
Williams' dominance continued in Asia, where she won the WTA Tour title in Beijing without dropping a set, and she heads into this week on a 10-match winning streak at the championships having won the title in 2009 and then in 2012 after a two-year absence.
Williams said: 'It's a tough group. I have to be ready. That's the thing about this tournament and why it's so tough, you have to be ready from the first match on.'
One to beat: Serena has won more matches and more titles in 2013 than in any other year of her career
Rivals: Serena Williams, left, and Victoria Azarenka
While Kvitova especially is a dangerous opponent on a fast indoor surface, neither the Czech nor Radwanska has ever beaten Williams, while Kerber can boast one victory from three matches.
Second seed Azarenka, who has beaten Williams twice this season, is her most likely title rival, and the Belarusian is looking for her first title at the end-of-season event having lost in the final to Kvitova two years ago.
It is the first year since 2006 that all the singles players have previously competed in the championships, which is being staged in Istanbul for the final time before moving to Singapore.
Jankovic is the only player to qualify this year who was not in the field 12 months ago, with the Serbian back among the top eight of the season for the first time since 2010.
Cut above: Agnieszka Radwanska (left) and Angelique Kerber (right) get their head done for Sunday's presentation
Gentle assassin: Italy's Sara Errani (right) will hope to use extensive array of ground shots to down her opponents
Maria Sharapova, the beaten finalist last year, is the player to miss out, although the Russian did qualify but pulled out with the shoulder problem that has kept her sidelined since before the US Open.
Jankovic ended 2008 as the number one player in the world before a slow decline that saw her ranked outside the top 20 at the start of this season.
A title in Bogota and two more final appearances, both of which ended in defeat by Williams, have helped her climb back into the top 10, and the 28-year-old said of her draw: 'It's a tough group.
'Playing the championships, you are playing against the best players in the world, so every match will be tough from the beginning.
'There is no warm-up. There is no getting your rhythm. You have to bring your best performance from the start to the end. I look forward to playing in my group and doing my best.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2469739/Serena-Williams-peak-form-world-No-1-heads-eye-catching-line-WTA-Championships.html#ixzz2iMTeA6Xl
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