Tennis News

SINGAPORE – There may have been no final set haircut, but Svetlana Kuznetsova underlined her box office status at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global on Wednesday evening with a thrilling victory over Karolina Pliskova.

Watch interviews and highlights from Singapore on the WTA Facebook page!

Kuznetsova withstood a spirited late comeback from No.4 seed Pliskova to eventually prevail, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(6), and confirm her place in the semifinals.

“After my journey here, and all the support of the fans and my team, I couldn’t let everybody down,” Kuznetsova said to Andrew Krasny in her on-court interview. “It’s from my heart. I have not been at my best these past years, but something just changed this year.

“I enjoy my game, I enjoy the crowd, I’m playing against the best players in the world and I really appreciate and am blessed to be here today.”

This rediscovered joie de vivre has been evident for all to see in recent weeks as Kuznetsova embarked on an improbable late push for a Finals place. The Russian went from Asia to Russia in a desperate scramble for points, and so far her body is standing up to the arduous schedule.

Against Pliskova she started slowly, struggling to keep up with a blistering baseline assault. A couple of double faults gift-wrapped the decisive break in the first set, and when she fell behind in the second her prospects looked bleak.

This setback merely roused her into life, a more subtle approach starving the Czech of pace and sparking a run of four straight games. Skipping around second serves and buzzing to all corners of the court, the World No.9 levelled the match with another break before surging ahead in the decider.

The outcome, though, remained in the balance until the last. From 5-3 down, Pliskova went for broke, dragging herself back into contention only to fluff her lines when serving for the match at 6-5. In the tie-break, it was Kuznetsova’s turn to get jittery, watching three match points come and go. At 6-6 she carved out another, following a swinging a serve out wide with a forehand into the open court. This time there was no mistake, as she dragged Pliskova out of position just enough to send the next backhand beyond her reach.

For much of her 20s, Kuznetsova was a fixture at the year-end Finals but never made it beyond the round-robin stage. Now, on her sixth visit, the 31-year-old has finally broken her duck after defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska’s victory over Garbiñe Muguruza confirmed she would top the White Group.

On Thursday, Radwanska and Pliskova will battle it out to determine who joins her in the last four.

SINGAPORE – “If you could turn the last week you’ve had into a movie, what would you name it?”

That was the question posed to an exhausted, punchy Svetlana Kuznetsova after yet another epic three-set comeback victory at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, this time over big-serving Karolina Pliskova.

“The Life of a Hustler: the Nonstop Life,” she laughed in her post-match press conference.

“I’m just, I don’t know, a workaholic I guess. But I do love this life and enjoy it, and I feel I’m really blessed to be here and to be able to win matches.”

Given the nonstop, rollercoaster past few weeks that Kuznetsova’s had, the name makes perfect sense.

Last to arrive, first to advance.

It’s been seven years since the last time Kuznetsova competed at the WTA Finals, and after ending the long drought the Russian made sure that her return was fittingly dramatic.

She snagged the eighth qualification spot on the last possible day – the very last day of the WTA season, in fact – with her win in the final of the Kremlin Cup. Her victory also knocked out Johanna Konta, who was waiting in Singapore and would have qualified by default if Kuznetsova hadn’t won the title.

Now, Kuznetsova continues to tear through the draw in Singapore and is already breaking new ground: she’s 2-0 in the group stage and, as a result of Agnieszka Radwanska’s win over Garbiñe Muguruza, she’s through to the semifinals at the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. She’s the first player to secure a semifinal spot, too.

17,086 miles, 1600+ minutes.

If Kuznetsova looks a little tired on court, it’s only understandable.

Her journey to Singapore was anything but straightforward, taking her from New York to Wuhan, and then to Beijing, Tianjin and Moscow before she landing in the Lion City. Along the way she racked up a dizzying 17,086 miles (27,497 kilometers) of travel.

She played for four weeks straight while chasing a qualifying spot for the WTA Finals, and spent more than 27 hours on court (more than 1600 minutes).

Those 27+ hours weren’t easy, either; Kuznetsova has played 30 three-set matches this year and recorded a WTA-leading 22 three-set victories. In fact, 46.6 percent of her matches in 2016 have been decided in three sets, including six during her post-US Open campaign.

So how much energy does Kuznetsova have left in the tank? How far can she go in Singapore?

Your guess is as good as hers:

“If I would know, I would answer that,” Kuznetsova joked during the press conference. She looked completely exhausted, but that was fine – that’s off the court.

“I can be tired now, it’s okay. Sometimes it’s okay.”

Take a nap, Sveta. You’ve earned it.