SINGAPORE – Dominika Cibulkova stunned World No.1 Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 to win the biggest title of her career at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The win vaults the 27-year-old to a career-high No.5 in the rankings and snapped a five-match losing streak to the German.
Three thoughts on a dramatic end to the WTA Finals:
– In a season defined by small margins, Dominika Cibulkova proved the poster-child.
The 2016 season kicked off in earnest when Kerber, then-ranked No.6, survived match point down to Misaki Doi in the first round of the Australian Open, only to go on and stun No.1 Serena Williams to win the biggest title of her career.
Then comes Cibulkova, who survived the group stage in the rarest of circumstances, needing to beat Simona Halep in straight sets in her final match while also needing Kerber to beat Madison Keys in straight sets to put her through. It was the only scenario out of 16 on that day that would move the Slovak into the knockout phase and she pulled it off.
From there Cibulkova battled her way through the title, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in three tough sets and then play her best match of the tournament to outplay Kerber, winning both matches on let-cord winners.
In a dramatic final game, Cibulkova nervously squandered two Championship Points from 40-15 up only to engage in jaw-dropping rally after jaw-dropping rally.
In the face of Kerber’s relentless defense, Cibulkova did what she had done all week. She gripped and ripped and hit through her nerves. Her bravery was finally rewarded on her fourth Championship Point, when she fired a desperate forehand that ticked the top of the net. The ball was suspended in air for what felt like seconds as both women waited to see which side of the net it would favor.
It fell on Kerber’s side of the court. Cibulkova fell to the ground in disbelief. As the old cliché goes, fortune favors the brave. And there was none braver in Singapore than the smallest woman in the field.
– Cibulkova turns the page on a nervous past.
Cibulkova is a veteran of the tour, part of the generation of players that includes Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, and Agnieszka Radwanska. Watching her over the years the tension would be a constant during her matches and the nerves would kick in at the most inopportune time.
That was old Domi. Welcome the new Domi.
“On the court I put a lot of emotions, and emotions just affect me,” Cibulkova explained. “This is something I started to learn how to deal with emotions and not let down myself; just to keep focused, and this is all about. I really work hard on it.
“Now I see this mental part for me, it’s like going to practice and actually practice on the court. As I practice on the court I practice on these things. As you can see, it’s working.
Cibulkova’s 2016 has been all about conquering the mental side of the game. She’s always been, pound for pound, the biggest hitter in the game. But her emotions could get the best of her and the rest of the locker room knew. She often wanted it too much and would strangle the life out of potentially career-defining wins.
Cibulkova tried to address the issue by hiring a mental coach a year and a half ago. The question was simple: how can she balance her ambition without being blinded by it? Over the last 16 months she has proven her mettle, whether it was getting the best of Radwanska in an epic three-set battle at Wimbledon, or coming through in her Singapore qualifying campaign by making the Dongfeng Wuhan Open final, winning the Generali Ladies Linz in a must-win campaign, or scrapping through to advance to the semifinals in Singapore.
The nerves looked like they might get the better of her in her first two Championship Points in the final. Instead of panicking after her shock misses, she shot a smile both to her box and to herself. That moment of relaxation allowed her gutsiest tennis to come through in the end.
“I don’t blame myself that I got a little bit nervous on the first two match points, because I think only very, very few people wouldn’t get when you have a match point for the biggest tournament of your career.
“But the way I handle it after, it shows that I really change. I belong there and I’m really, really strong.”
– Kerber comes up short but Singapore was still a breakthrough.
Before this year, Kerber had never made it out of the group stage at the WTA Finals. She conquered that milestone by going undefeated in the Red Group this year. In a high-pressure match against No.2 seed and defending champion Radwanska, she lost just three games. But on a day when she did not have her best, she finally ran into an inspired opponent.
This is not the first time this has happened to Kerber this season. In two big finals this season, at the Rio Olympics and Western & Southern Open, she looked to be cruising towards victory before the nothing-to-lose swinging of her opponent felled her.
“She has the best defensive game for now in the world,” Cibulkova said. “But I knew I have my shots that I can beat her with; that was my forehand today. My serve today, I was serving really, really well. Few games I played with my serve and I then was going for my forehand.
“I just knew what I have to do. I think I didn’t let her into the match really today with my aggressive game. I had just one goal. I was going after it. I think it was tough for her to do something on the court today.”
But despite the loss, Kerber finishes her 2016 season with another message to the field. She won more majors and more matches than any other woman this season. She was the tour’s most consistent winner and her balance of counter-punching and defense made her the toughest out in tennis.
To beat her in a big match you have to seize the match from her vice-like grip, hope she’s off her game, and play one of the best matches of your career. That’s precisely what Cibulkova did on Sunday night in Singapore. And there was nothing more for Kerber to do than tip her cap.
“I gave everything,” Kerber said. “I mean, it was a tough year with a lot of matches, so I give everything on court today, the rest energy I had left.
“Of course when I’m looking back it’s one of my best years. I think when I will go home now I will just think about the best moments and the positive emotions.”
