As It Happened: Kerber Battles Past Radwanska In Second Singapore Semifinal
WTA Insider | In the second WTA Insider Live Blog of Semifinal Saturday, World No.1 Angelique Kerber defeated defending WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska.
WTA Insider | In the second WTA Insider Live Blog of Semifinal Saturday, World No.1 Angelique Kerber defeated defending WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska.
Cibulkova currently sits ninth on the leaderboard – just behind eighth-placed Johanna Konta. And she went some way to securing her place at the WTA Finals by seeing off Pavlyunchenkova, 7-6(3), 6-4.
The Russian did her best to stay with the No.2 seed, though, taking the first set to a tie-break and coming back from 4-1 down and saving multiple match points to win the ninth game in the second set.
She was determined not to lose the title she won in 2015 when she beat Anna-Lena Friedsam. Cibulkova won out, though – and put herself in prime position to book her Singapore slot.
“I knew it was not going to be easy,” Cibulkova admitted afterwards. “She won this tournament, so she’s feeling good here. I tried to play my good tennis. It was not easy to finish both sets, but I was really strong mentally.”
New WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova is about to step up into the Top 5 rankings – and for the first time in her career, she genuinely feels she belongs there.
An interview with Samantha Stosur after her first round win at the Volvo Car Open.
SINGAPORE – Ahead of the defense of her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global title, wtatennis.com runs down 10 need-to-know facts about Poland’s finest, Agnieszka Radwanska…
1) Champion returns
Radwanska returns to Singapore for the sixth consecutive year – the longest active streak on the tour. Last year she finished the season in the best way possible, facing off against Petra Kvitova to win the WTA Finals championships match, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
2) Rank outsider
It might seem incredible, but right up until the US Open, Radwanska was still in with a shout of taking the World No.1 spot if she’d won the tournament. She arrives in Singapore as World No.3 after another year characterized by its consistency.
3) Early exit
Radwanska doesn’t have a great track record at the US Open, and this year was no different – she fell in the round of 16 at the hands of Ana Konjuh. She’s put a positive spin on that, though: she thinks that the early exit from the Slam gave her additional time to prepare for the Asian Swing, in which she once again excelled.
4) Cool in China
That’s been the case this year. Radwanska reclaimed the China Open title with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Johanna Konta, crowning a dominant week in which she did not lose a single set. It was her 20th career singles title, third of the year.
5) Success in Asia
Asia has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Radwanska, who has won half of her 20 career titles there, including five of her last six.
6) Difficult defense
Radwanska is very well aware that it will be difficult for her to retain her title. “It’s the goal of everyone to qualify for the WTA Finals, and I’m happy to be returning to defend my title,” Radwanska said. “I’ve played at Singapore for a few years now, and qualifying again this year means I’ve had a great season – to be in the Top 8. It won’t be easy to defend my title, but that’s the goal. It will be exciting and a challenge to see different names and faces in this year’s field.”
7) Fabulous in fall
History is on her side, though – her tour record in the past five years shows that after the US Open she is the most difficult opponent to beat. Last year she went 17-4 in the Asian swing, winning all three WTA titles of the year in that stretch – and boosting her ranking from No.13 to No.5.
8) Five star
That meant she maintained her proud record as a fixture in the top five ranking slots – she dipped out in 2014, when she finished the year as World No.6.
9) Mandatory magic
After her win in Beijing this year, Radwanska became the fourth active player with three or more Premier Mandatory titles, joining Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.
10) Major performer
Radwanska is one of four players to have reached the round of 16 at all four majors this year (along with Serena Williams, Madison Keys and Carla Suárez Navarro).
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One week on from a painful opening night defeat to Kerber, Cibulkova gained revenge in spectacular fashion, powering to a 6-3, 6-4 victory in an hour and 16 minutes.
“I have no words, coming here for the first time, the biggest tournament of my life. I still don’t know how I won, I put the ball over the net and it went in; it’s the happiest moment of my life,” Cibulkova said in her on-court interview.
Cibulkova dominated from the outset, bossing the baseline exchanges to romp through the first set. There was no let-up in the second, as the Slovak continued to attack anything remotely short with gusto.
At 3-3, the pressure paid off, the German firing wide to slip a break behind. For all the spectacular winners from the back of the court, arguably the most impressive aspect of the World No.8’s performance was her serve; a remarkable 83% first-serve percentage neutralized Kerber’s famed return game.
The only wobble came as she closed in on the biggest title of her career. Three match points came and went before Lady Luck intervened, the ball clipping the tape and dropping dead onto Kerber’s side.
“It wasn’t easy to go on the court after two losses but I was mentally very strong and I knew I played well in the first two matches, I was just a little bit unlucky. Then at the end I was lucky!”
The masterclass – which featured 28 winners and only 14 unforced errors – was a fitting end to a dramatic debut at the WTA Finals.
After falling in three sets to Kerber in her opening round-robin match, she was roundly beaten by Madison Keys to leave her hopes hanging by a thread. However, victory over Simona Halep in her third outing saw her sneak into the semifinals, where she then staged a brilliant comeback against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Cibulkova is the second player in a row after Agnieszka Radwanska to win the WTA Finals after only one victory in the three round-robin games. She is also the first debutante to lift the title at the season-ending showpiece since Petra Kvitova in 2011, and the achievement will see her climb to a career-high No.5 when the new rankings are released on Monday.
An interview with Venus Williams after her win in the second round of the Volvo Car Open.
SINGAPORE – Set to enter the Centre Court arena for her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global debut is Karolina Pliskova, the Girl on Fire.
“It’s crazy, because that month in the States really changed everything,” she told WTA Insider after clinching qualification at the China Open. “I don’t know how far down I was on the Road to Singapore leaderboard before Cincinnati – pretty far, I think!
Down at No.17, to be exact, Pliskova was on no one’s Singapore short list in early August. But the Czech youngster quickly began cutting that ranking in half thanks to a blistering run at the Western & Southern Open, where she blitzed future No.1 Angelique Kerber for her second title of the season, and the biggest of her career.
“With my style, things can change a lot if I win a tournament or two.”
The winds of change blew at gale force speeds two weeks later. Rolling into the second week of a major tournament for the first time, she saved a match point to oust Venus Williams at the US Open, and became the fourth woman to beat both Williams sisters at the same Slam.
Roaring into her first Grand Slam final with a straight-set win over top seeded Serena, she finished second to Kerber in one of the best matches of the year, all but clinching the spot in Singapore she so narrowly missed 12 months ago.
“Last year was totally different,” she recalled with a wry smile. “I spent the whole season on the Road to Singapore, by the end, I was playing badly. So I didn’t make it.”
Tough weeks in Tokyo and Wuhan delayed the inevitable, but even after cementing her place among the Elite Eight, Pliskova was still ready to play, battling past young rival Daria Kasatkina in a tense third set tie-break.
“I was just praying to make it through one or two rounds because I knew I’m on the cut and only need a few points to get it. There’s always pressure, but I’m happy I made it, and able to win today after finding out last night. It confirms that I belong there.”
The tour’s ace leader will not only make her WTA Finals debut in singles, but also in doubles alongside partner Julia Goerges. Playing a sparse schedule but peaking at big events, Pliskova’s doubles season mirrors her singles, even if her approaches to the two disciplines are radically different.
“You can always improve things in doubles if you’re not feeling it in singles. I would maybe practice a few serves anyway after singles, so it can be a big help, where you can make improvements and practice there.
“I’m always in for doubles, and as long as it’s fun, and we’re winning, it’s good.”
Under the roof and away from the elements at the Singapore Sports Hub, her laser-like swings and unapologetic offense should be well suited to the indoor conditions. The 24-year-old knows where her strengths lie; playing for her first WTA Finals crown, she won’t be afraid to use them.
“For me, I still have one plan to play; I have to be aggressive otherwise I don’t have any chance to win.”
The Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai gets underway on Tuesday, Elina Svitolina and Timea Bacsinzsky among those hoping to make a winning start to their final event of 2016.
Sara Errani takes on Samantha Stosur in the third round of the Volvo Car Open.