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SINGAPORE – Garbiñe Muguruza ended her breakout season with one last win at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, ousting an on-fire Svetlana Kuznetsova and blitzing the Russian in the final two sets of a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory.

Read how the match unfolded in the WTA Insider Live Blog.

– Muguruza wanted this win.

For a player who won their first Grand Slam and ascended to a career-high ranking of No.2 just four months ago, few eyes were on Muguruza heading into Singapore.

“I suffered a lot in the last month,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I was wondering if I’m going to qualify, if I’m not going to qualify. I really wanted to qualify.

“I had the opportunity to go to Linz to play, and then I twisted my ankle and it was drama for me.”

The drama continued at the WTA Finals; down a set to Karolina Pliskova in her first round robin match, the Spaniard roared back and got perilously close to victory, only to lose the last five games.

“It was a very tough tournament. I had a match point in my first match; then the second match [against Agnieszka Radwanska] was tough.”

Mathematically out of contention to advance into the semifinals, there was little more pressure on Muguruza than the amount she put on herself.

“I have to be honest. Going into this match, it was extremely hard for me. Minutes before I was like, ‘This is going to be is difficult one for me.’

“At the end it was about my desire of wanting to be here and competing against the best. It became a challenge for me today, to see how I was going to react.”

Losing a decisive first set to Kuznetsova, who already qualified first in their round robin group, the reigning Roland Garros winner reacted well, dropping just one more game and hitting 31 winners to end her week with a 1-2 record.

“For sure a victory like today’s is going to keep me a little bit happier. I felt I took my opportunities in this one. Well, it was too late, but I still did it!”

A season of ups and downs put extra emphasis on an ostensibly low-stakes match; from her emotional reaction on court and in press, it was clear how much the win meant to her.

A relieved @GarbiMuguruza gets a win at 2016 @WTAFinalsSG. And nice words from @AndrewKrasny. #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/zJYNXmfJwE

— WTA (@WTA) October 28, 2016

– Fatigue finally caught up with Kuznetsova.

The Russian had already advanced into the semifinals. For the first time in two weeks, she didn’t need to win a match to keep her season alive. Kuznetsova pointed to that inherent lack of intensity as being crucial to the loss on Friday.

“I’ve done the most important job in the past matches,” she said after the match. “You definitely don’t want to lose a match. You try to fight.

“Sometimes the lack of energy just won’t let you do that.”

Still, she noted her superb level of tennis in the first set, and how it only took a few tight games in the second set to turn things towards the Spaniard.

“I want to give credit to Garbine because I think she played way better in the second and third set.

“I don’t feel exhausted like that or something. But of course, to push yourself to the limit, you got to really go hard. I just want to do it tomorrow, try to do my best.”

She’ll have her opportunity tomorrow in the semifinal, where she takes on another surprise semifinalist in Dominika Cibulkova. Trailing 3-5 in their head-to-head, Kuznetsova’s lost her last five matches with the Slovak, including a three-set thriller at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

“I do remember quite a bit of that match. I know I will try to make the changes on what I think didn’t work for me in that match.

“Of course, obviously, I’m not going to tell it now,” she added with a smile.

Garbine on the scene. @GarbiMuguruza takes a near 13 minute game. 2-0 in set 3 #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/llIXns86bZ

— WTA (@WTA) October 28, 2016

– Muguruza is looking towards 2017.

It may be too soon for any player to sum up their season right after their last match, but Muguruza had a clear picture of what went right and wrong in 2016.

“I started the year thinking, ‘Okay, this is an important year for me. I finished well last year. Let’s try to keep doing well.’

“But the results weren’t there at the beginning, so I was like struggling. I was like, ‘Man, I’m practicing and doing everything and I am not winning matches.’ So it created a lot of frustration.

A top drop shot from @GarbiMuguruza. #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/nxuEqkuomr

— WTA (@WTA) October 28, 2016

“I calmed down and then finally had the results, but then everything changed. All these responsibilities, all these emotions. It was hard for me to deal with this for the next tournaments. But I wouldn’t change anything, obviously.”

She’ll have to spend the off-season adjusting to what she cannot change, but after a heavily scheduled season, the former World No.2 will be looking to relax over the next few weeks.

“I didn’t really plan things because I didn’t know when I was going to finish here. Right now I’m just going to see how many days I have, see where can I go, who’s available.”

What she hopes will emerge will be the “dangerous opponent” she believes herself to be.

“I don’t really care who’s in front of me. Obviously the situation and the tournament, these can affect me, but I always think I have a chance to win.”

BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain – 21-year-old Madison Keys is one win away from reaching the Top 10 for the first time in her young career, ousting teenager Jelena Ostapenko, 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2, to reach her first semifinal at the Aegon Classic.

Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“I think I’ve been playing pretty well this week,” Keys said during her on-court interview. “I had a bit of a slow start in the first set, but I’m happy to be coming back tomorrow.”

Keys is coming off a career-best clay court season, one that saw her reach her first red clay final at the Internazionali BNL d’italia and the second week of the French Open. Back on her beloved grass courts, the American has gone from strength to strength, weathering the storm from a streaky Ostapenko to secure victory in just under two hours.

Ostapenko defeated two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in the previous round, and was on course to back up the upset early on, edging ahead by a break and eventually taking the first set in a tie-break.

“It’s tough being on the tour for this long and being at the old age of 21; these 19 year olds are tough!” she said with a laugh.

Jelena Ostapenko takes the opening set tiebreak vs Keys 7-6(1)! #AegonClassic https://t.co/GrCcq41gOr

— WTA (@WTA) June 17, 2016

Falling behind a break of serve to start the second, Keys rebounded in style, hitting 43 winners to 30 from the young Latvian, and only 21 unforced errors in the three-set thriller.

“I think I just took a breath and took time away from her a little bit better. At that point, it’s either change tactics or go on to the next tournament.”

The American later elaborated in her post-match press conference.

“This year, I’ve settled into my emotions a little bit more and have been able to play a lot calmer, which I think has helped me make smarter decisions, which in turn maybe makes me look a little bit more mature.”

3rd set!@Madison_Keys battles back to force a decider vs Ostapenko 6-7(1), 6-4! #AegonClassic https://t.co/QHi0Jgygjk

— WTA (@WTA) June 17, 2016

Breaking serve six times, the 2015 Wimbledon quarterfinalist raced out to a double break advantage in the decider and held her nerve to book a semifinal encounter with Carla Suárez Navarro, who pusted reigning Australian Open champion, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

Should Keys reach the final, she will be assured of a Top 10 debut, becoming the first American to do so since Serena Williams in 1999. The last time three Americans were ranked inside the Top 10 was all the way back in September of 2005, when the Williams sisters were joined by then-No.2 Lindsay Davenport.

“Both are tough. I’ve obviously played Angelique quite a few times. I don’t think I’ve played Carla as many. But no matter what it’ll be a tough match, so definitely looking forward to it.

“Right now I’m just focused on the semis, and if things go well, maybe I can add to my title count!”

BIMRINGHAM, Great Britain – 2014 finalist Barbora Strycova came back from a set and a break down to snap CoCo Vandeweghe’s grass court winning streak, defeating the American 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the final of the Aegon Classic Birmingham.

Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Both players had a rough road to the semifinals, having to play their second round and quarterfinal matches on the same day due to the rain delays that wreaked havoc on the schedule earlier in the week.

Strycova, who’s also in the semifinals of doubles, perhaps faced a tougher task than most.

“I had three matches yesterday and I won all of them,” the Czech said after the match. “Physically it wasn’t easy. But it was the same for [Vandeweghe], she played two matches yesterday. Mentally it wasn’t easy as well, but I just managed to be a little bit better.”

Vandeweghe, who had been on an eight-match winning streak on grass, started off the match in top form and raced ahead to a 5-0 lead. She grabbed the first set 6-2, then earned an early break in the second set.

.@CoCoVandey races through the opening set vs Strycova 6-2! #AegonClassic https://t.co/tZaIjKHxUx

— WTA (@WTA) June 18, 2016

Staring down the barrel of Vandeweghe’s booming serve, Strycova dug her heels in and scratched out a break back to erase the American’s lead. From then, the Czech peppered her game with everything to frustrate Vandeweghe – hitting more drop shots and attacking the second serve – and turned the match completely around.

Vandeweghe’s most trusted weapon – her powerful serve – seemed to abandon her late in the match and she struck a double fault to go down a break once more in the third set.

After two hours and nine minutes, Strycova sealed her fourth match point with an ace, booking her spot in the final.

“It was a rollercoaster I have to say,” Strycova said. “Coco was playing really well in the first set and really fast, and I had to just hang in there.

“In the second set I just tried to win as many serves as I could and then it turned a little bit. I tried to fight every point I could and it turned to my side.”

Earlier in the day, Madison Keys, Strycova’s opponent in the final, clinched her debut into the WTA’s Top 10 by virtue of her win over Carla Suárez Navarro. However, Keys isn’t the only one who made a big ranking move today. Strycova moved up two spots to No.28 with her semifinal run, projected to reach No.22 if she takes home the title.

But first she’ll have to turn around a losing head to head record – it’s been almost two years since Strycova’s scored a win over Keys.

“In the last three weeks I lost to [Keys] twice, so I’ll just try to play the best tennis that I can and try to do something different to the previous matches,” Strycova added.

“It’s going to be such a different match though because it’s on grass.”

Second #AegonClassic Final for @BaraStrycova! ? https://t.co/crP6v2a3LH

— WTA (@WTA) June 18, 2016

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $776,878
Draw Size: 48 main draw (16 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, June 18 – Sunday, June 19
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, June 19
Singles Final: Saturday, June 25, 1pm GMT
Doubles Final: Sunday, June 25, after singles final

MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@BritishTennis – LTA handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #AegonInternational and #WTA.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Former champion Agnieszka Radwanska returning to tournament for the 10th time as top seed.
· Roberta Vinci is No.2 seed while defending champion Belinda Bencic is No.3 seed. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is also in the draw, as are two of last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinalists, Timea Bacsinszky and Madison Keys.
· There have been nine different champions in the past nine years in Eastbourne. Six of the nine are in the field this year – Bencic (2015), Keys (2014), Elena Vesnina (2013), Ekaterina Makarova (2010), Caroline Wozniacki (2009) and Radwanska (2008).
· Click here to see the draw in full.

WILDCARDS:
Naomi Broady (GBR), Tara Moore (GBR)

EASTBOURNE, England – Caroline Wozniacki stepped up her Wimbledon preparations with a confidence-boosting win over Alizé Cornet at the Aegon International Eastbourne on Sunday.

Watch live action from Eastbourne this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Playing just her third match since March, Wozniacki showed few signs of rustiness, briskly pocketing the first set then coming from a break down in the second to complete a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

The Dane is currently ranked at No.35 in the rankings – her lowest position since May 2008 – after missing much of the season with an ankle injury. And after making her return in Nottingham last week she is refreshed eager to test her mettle ahead of the year’s second major.

“I feel confident on my feet, I’ve worked really hard to get into the best shape possible and do a lot of stability work, so now I’m feeling comfortable on my ankle and the grass,” Wozniacki said.

“It’s nice to be on a nice court with a great crowd and also to get another match in before Wimbledon. I’m just excited every time I go on court now.”

In the other three opening round matches there were wins for Jelena Ostapenko, Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic.

Ostapenko continued the good form that took her to the Birmingham quarterfinals by prevailing in her all-teenage battle with Daria Kasatkina, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Babos edged out Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 7-6(3), while Mladenovic prevailed in an equally close encounter with Yanina Wickmayer, 7-6(6), 6-4.