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On Oct. 3, citing a left knee injury, Serena Williams bailed from her last match before the BNP Paribas WTA Finals, granting Samantha Stosur a walkover in the quarterfinals. "I don't know yet," Serena said of her participation in the year-end championship in Singapore. But hey, it was only a relatively minor event in Beijing, and Serena -- particularly at the age of 33 -- seems to require a larger stage to summon top-shelf adrenaline. When doubt and drama are swirling, Serena usually manages to thrive. Shamil Tarpischev, the head of the Russian Tennis Federation, gave her another chilly blast of motivation when he referred to Serena and her sister Venus as the "Williams brothers" on Russian state television recently. Serena termed the comment "sexist and racist."  Tarpischev -- who later said he was joking -- was fined $25,000 by the WTA and relieved of any official duties for a one year. "I've done the best that I can do, and that's all I can say," Serena said. "So I just wasn't very happy with his comments. But the WTA and the USTA did a wonderful job of making sure that -- in this day of age, 2014 for someone with his power, it's really unacceptable to make such bullying remarks." After one day of practice in Singapore, she tossed aside the knee brace she was wearing. A week later, on Monday, she did the same to Ana Ivanovic, avenging an Australian Open loss with a formidable 6-4, 6-4 victory. The oldest player in the field looked just fine, despite those initial health reservations. On Wednesday, she meets No. 4-ranked Simona Halep in a match you can see on ESPN3. A quick Singapore primer for those of you who are not following along closely at home: This is a round-robin event that features the top eight players over the course of the season, minus the retired Li Na. The Red Group: Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard. The White Group: Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki. The players in each group play round-robin matches against each other, sending the best two players to the semifinals. There, the No. 1 seed from one group plays the No. 2 from the other. The winners meet in Sunday's final. Based on the early returns, Serena will be difficult to beat. Ivanovic came in with a WTA-leading 56 match wins -- well ahead of Serena, Sharapova and Carla Suarez Navarro -- and carved out a crucial break point at 4-all in the first set. But she missed a difficult volley and Serena held serve. Ivanovic double-faulted (one of seven) to give Serena the set and, ultimately, the match. It was the 16th consecutive win for Serena in this year-end tournament, who has won the title in her last three appearances (in 2009, 2012 and 2013). Martina Navratilova holds the record with 21 straight in the WTA championships. In this day of ever-increasing parity in professional tennis, Serena remains the contrarian. Her career record against the rest of the field in Singapore is a scorching 50-4. The count against Halep is 3-0, but they did not meet this year. Halep beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-3 on Monday in a clash of newcomers to the tournament. Nevertheless, Bouchard (20) and Halep (23) produced the most Grand Slam match victories this year, at 19 and 17, respectively. Serena? She had 13, including all seven at the US Open. After Halep's opening-round win, she did not sound overly confident about beating Serena. "I cannot say that I expect something," Halep said. "I have nothing to lose. She's No. 1 in the world and the best. I believe that I have a chance, but you know, it's tough to say that I can win." Serena, meanwhile, is trying to salvage what for her has been a rocky season. After going a remarkable 78-4 last year and winning two Slams, she came back to the field. In September, she won that US Open title, her 18th Grand Slam singles crown, tying Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. She's hoping this event will lay a solid foundation for 2015 -- and beyond. Serena was asked in Singapore if it was possible she could play another four years, which would bring her to the age of 37. "I don't think about it," she replied. "I go day by day, hour by hour. Lately I've just been living my life minute by minute, just trying to get through each minute. Obviously, I'm entered in tons of events next year, and obviously the year after is the Olympics. "I have goals for myself, so I just wanted to kind of try to see how far I can get in terms of reaching my goals, and see what happens." If she can find enough doubt and drama, what happens is likely to be good.
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