Kerber edges past Cibulkova at WTA Finals
World number one Angelique Kerber overcame stern resistance from Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova to win her opening match at the WTA Finals.
The German, 28, won 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 as the eight-player, season-ending event got under way in Singapore.
Romanian third seed Simona Halep beat American sixth seed Madison Keys 6-2 6-4 in the other match in the red group.
“Domi is a tough opponent – I knew that I had to play my best tennis,” said top seed Kerber.
“I was trying to stay positive in the third set, play my game, be aggressive and just go for it. I was also really concentrating on getting my first serve in. It was a really close match.”
The round-robin stage will continue on Monday, when Poland’s defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska plays Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Czech Karolina Pliskova takes on Spain’s Garbine Muguruza.
Two players from each group will progress to Saturday’s semi-finals.
| WTA Finals singles draw |
|---|
| RED GROUP |
| 1. Angelique Kerber (Germany) |
| 3. Simona Halep (Romania) |
| 6. Madison Keys (USA) |
| 7. Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) |
| WHITE GROUP |
| 2. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) |
| 4. Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) |
| 5. Garbine Muguruza (Spain) |
| 8. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) |