ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Li Na swept past the ailing Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-1 to earn a place in the semifinals of the WTA Championships at the expense of the second-ranked Australian Open champion on Friday. The fourth-seeded Li will play 2011 champion Petra Kvitova, who came from behind to beat Angelique Kerber 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3. Azarenkas loss meant Jelena Jankovic advanced to the semis before she had to play Sara Errani later Friday. Errani won that match 6-4, 6-4. Jankovic will play defending champion Serena Williams. Williams swept her group on Thursday. Williams has a 7-4 career edge over Jankovic, while Li and Kvitova are tied 3-3. Azarenka hurt her back while serving in the sixth game of the first set and was clearly in pain for the rest of the match. She took a medical timeout and received treatment during several changeovers but stayed on court despite being hardly able to move and wincing in pain, at one moment coming to tears. "I just wanted to try to do my best for the fans who came and watched our match, for respect for my opponent. It was just about trying to do the most you can out there," Azarenka said. She did win one game with some ferocious serving, but mostly stayed in the middle of the baseline and tried to hit quick winners if the ball came her way. "You know, in the end of the day, its my decision what Im going to do," Azarenka said. Azarenka said her back suddenly seized up as she tried to serve hard but that the trainers told her there was no structural damage. The fifth-seeded Kvitova, a former Wimbledon champion, led 4-1 before Kerber battled back to level at 5-5. In the tiebreaker, Kerber kept up the pressure on Kvitova, who double-faulted to set up three set points for her opponent. Kerber converted the first with a service winner. In the second set, Kvitova broke for the second time in the seventh game by first playing a crisp volley winner and then hitting a powerful return. "The beginning of the second set was really tough. She had a lot of chances," Kvitova said. "I just tried to play my game, play some winners, and go for the net." There were three straight breaks at the start of the third, before Kvitova fought off two break points to go up 3-1. She sealed the win thanks to two straight errors by Kerber. Kerber was seeded eighth after the withdrawal of third-ranked Maria Sharapova because of a shoulder injury. Kvitova had to withdraw from last years tournament with an injury after the first match. "I gave everything I could today," Kerber said. "Of course, Im a little bit disappointed, but Petra was playing very well in the important moments. My serve was not really the best today, but yeah, I was just trying everything." Li, who lost to Azarenka in the final of the Australian Open and in both previous round-robin matches at the WTA Championships 2012 and 2011, said her toughest challenge Friday was mental. "I mean, today the match is not about tennis, about fitness ... because I thought maybe after the first set she will give up or retire, but she still try to continue to play," Li said. "I think its tough because I have to focus, hope all time, because you never know what happen on the court." In the Australian Open final, it was Li who was in trouble. She twisted her ankle and hit her head in a stumble before losing in three sets. "Next time we both have to be healthy on the court," Li said. Li won the group 3-0, while Azarenka finished 1-2. Azarenkas loss meant Jelena Jankovic advanced to the semis before she had to play Sara Errani late Friday. Jankovic will play defending champion Serena Williams in the semifinals. Williams swept her group on Thursday. Although she did not play, Williams did appear on court, to collect the award for finishing the year as No. 1 in the world. Williams has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the third time in her career after 2002 and 2009. Li is through to her first semis in three appearances in the elite event that brings together the top eight women. Despite failing to reach the semis, Azarenka said she was pleased with her year. "Im No. 2 in the world. I had great results in the big tournaments and I had injuries," Azarenka said. "So, its that balance of good and unfortunate. I think I can learn a lot from these little things to prevent maybe some of the injuries." Kvitova finished 2-1 in her group and Kerber was 1-2. Adidas NMD XR1 Heren .ca. Hi Kerry, Love reading your column and loved watching your analysis on the TSN broadcasts!And were now in Round 2! Bruins! Canadiens! We know all about the great games of the past from the players, the broadcasters and the writers. Adidas NMD R2 Dames . Blatter, a 75-year-old Swiss executive who has been in office since 1998, was handed a final four-year term as head of footballs governing body in a vote at FIFAs congress. He won 186 votes out of 203 ballots. http://www.nmdbelgie.com/kopen-yeezy-boost-350-v2-sale.html. Three days after falling to Hamilton, Abbotsford scored three goals in 53 seconds en route to a convincing 5-1 win over the Bulldogs Saturday in American Hockey League play. Yeezy Boost 350 v3 Belgie . Although Spain could still advance out of the group stage, the game may have signalled the end of the run by a generation of Spanish stars whose quick passing, "tiki-taka" style delighted the world and helped them win the last three major tournaments. Yeezy Boost 350 v3 Goedkoop . The No. 23 seed at the first Grand Slam event of the tennis season has worked out all the details, from his training regime right down to where hes going to eat dinner.ERIE, Pa. -- Joel Wigle scored 7:22 into overtime as the Erie Otters edged the host Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 3-2 on Tuesday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. Connor Brown and Andre Burokovsky also scored for the Otters, who swept the second-round series 4-0, while Brendan Gaunce and Kurtis MacDermid each tacked on two assists. Darnell Nurse and Sergey Tolchinksy supplied the scoring for the Greyhounds, who led 2-0 midway through the second period before surrendering three unanswered goals. Eries Devin Williams made 31 saves for the win as Matt Murray stopped 35-of-38 shots for Sault Ste. Marie. --- STORM 4 KNIGHTS 2 LONDON, Ont. -- Phil Baltisberger and Robby Fabbri each had a pair of goals as Guelph doubled up the Knights to take a 2-1 lead in their second-round pairing. Kerby Rychel chipped in with three assists for the Storm while Justin Nichols made 39 saves for the victory. At the other end of the ice, London netminder Jake Patterson gave his club a chance to win by turning aside 47-of-50 shots.dddddddddddd Bo Horvat and Chris Tierney scored for the Knights. --- GENERALS 3 PETES 1 PETERBOROUGH, Ont. -- Daniel Altshuller stopped 36 shots as Oshawa held off the Petes to go up 3-0 in its Round 2 matchup. Cole Cassels scored twice for the Generals, including one into an empty net, while Aidan Wallace added another empty-net goal in the final minute of regulation. Greg Betzold scored the lone goal for Peterborough. Petes goaltender Andrew DAgostini kicked out 28-of-29 shots in defeat. --- COLTS 2 BATTALION 1 BARRIE, Ont. -- Zach Halls short-handed goal at 8:03 of the second period stood up as the winner as the Colts took Game 3 against North Bay for their first win of the second-round series. Jake Dotchin also scored for Barrie, which trails the series 2-1. Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves for the win. Alex Henriksson scored for the Battalion. North Bays Jake Smith stopped 30-of-32 shots in a losing cause. ' ' '