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SINGAPORE – Down a set in her first-ever BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global semifinal, Dominika Cibulkova shifted into turbo to take out No.8 seed and story of the tournament, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4. The win is guaranteed to take her at least up to a career-high ranking of No.6.

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

– Cibulkova hit through the occasion, and the pressure.

Familiar to big stages, the Slovak once struggled to maintain an aggressive mindset at the finish line of high-stakes encounters; it was just six months ago that she narrowly lost back-to-back three-setters to Agnieszka Radwanska and Garbiñe Muguruza in Indian Wells and Miami.

But Cibulkova’s mental evolution has been on full display in Singapore, and the No.7 seed resolved to play positive tennis, win or lose.

A “Come On” instead of a “POME”, but it still means the same for @Cibulkova. One game away! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/iL2afsB1dj

— WTA (@WTA) October 29, 2016

“I ended the second set really, really well,” she said after the match. “I was hitting full power and everything and I was going for it. I knew there is no other way than to go for it. I managed to put the balls in.”

Winning the last five matches against Kuznetsova made her a heavy favorite, especially considering the amount of matches the Russian had to play just to get to Singapore, let alone the semifinals. But Kuznetsova came roaring out of the gate, hitting nine winners to take the first set in 33 minutes.

“She was putting the pressure after my serve, because my percentage was really low and she was putting so much pressure from the second serve return.

“I knew I had to start serving better, I had to be the one being more aggressive on the court. I had to play my game, to be in on my forehand and to go for my shots.”

Cibulkova had caught the always-aggressive Kuznetsova’s winner total of 27 by match’s end, all the while keeping her unforced error count lower than the No.8 seed (31 to 35). Through a high-quality match, she took control when it mattered most.

“Today I managed to stay in the match, even [when] she was playing really, really good and she was overplaying me in the first set.”

A lovely dropshot from @Cibulkova. #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/an8wDqduDD

— WTA (@WTA) October 29, 2016

– Kuznetsova let distractions get the best of her.

The Russian made it through two of the tensest weeks in her career to find herself in her first semifinal in Singapore. From a break down in the third, she won four straight games and appeared on course to replicate the form that took her through the first set.

But something wasn’t right. She spoke with umpire Kader Nouni during the changeover after breaking Cibulkova’s serve in the fifth game; Nouni assured her the issue – whatever it was – wasn’t falling afoul of the rules. She proceeded to lose the final four games of the match. 

“Overall I was frustrated for other thing which I thought was a little bit unprofessional,” she said afterwards.

A red-eyed Kuznetsova came to press unwilling to specify the source of her distraction, but seemed to imply she took exception to noises coming from Cibulkova’s camp.

“She was OK,” she said when asked whether player or team caused any problems.

Ultimately, the two-time Grand Slam champion refused to blame the moment for the loss, chalking defeat up to tactical errors in the final stages of the match.

“Dominika played really good. She was really aggressive. I was short on some shots, and in the end I think she just was aggressive, and I was not.”

Still, it was a revelatory season for Sveta, who plans a well-deserved vacation after a hectic schedule through the Asian Swing.

“I’m just thinking about vacation right now and just letting [today’s loss] go. I have to go to bed and sleep, not to think about the matches, not to be nervous all the time. For the last five weeks, it was every single day I was thinking about the next day to play another match.

“So I’m dreaming of being able to relax, relax the nerves, and then I just want to have a good pre-season, and next year just to be consistent. I think I [have] got lots of confidence after finishing the year like this. I think I can do a lot of the things.”

– Cibulkova believes the best is yet to come.

Cibulkova hails from a generation that includes Grand Slam champions and former No.1s like Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, and Caroline Wozniacki. But it’s taken longer for the Slovakian dynamo to meet the expectations set by her cohort, something she blames on a lack of self-belief.

“I never saw myself as that good, or maybe not as a consistent player. He made me believe it.  He had examples and I started to believe in myself much more.”

Saturday’s win puts her up to a career-high of No.6, but Cibulkova could finish the week inside the Top 5 – a ranking threshold that doesn’t faze the 27-year-old.

The on-court interview from @Cibulkova after an amazing victory! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/qYzxlwn9Kf

— WTA (@WTA) October 29, 2016

“Right now if I’m going to be deeper than Top 10, I’ll really believe I belong there. That’s most important thing: you have to be convinced that you belong there. Then it works.”

She’ll certainly hope it works in Sunday’s final against Angelique Kerber, a match that comes just shy of three years from her first major final at the Australian Open.

“That time I was new, and playing your first Grand Slam final was really tough. I’m happy I have this experience; for me to go on the finals in Australia, I was trying to do my best but I wasn’t convinced I could really win.

“With this experience now I’m a different player. Tomorrow I will go there and just want to win.”

What did the top WTA stars have to say before play began at the Volvo Car Open? Venus Williams, Lucie Safarova, Belinda Bencic, and Andrea Petkovic all held court during a two-day All-Access Hour…

Venus Williams

On being in Charleston without Serena…
As soon as I got here, I was sad because Serena wasn’t here. I’ve had a lot of great memories with her here, and we’ve had a lot of great times. There was one year where we played all the matches on Center, and if I played first, she played second and if I played third, she’d play fourth. I don’t think there’s ever been a day like that in tennis. So I was reminiscing about that too, and a lot of good memories. There aren’t a lot of tournaments left in the United States, so just taking advantage of playing at home a few times a year is a good feeling.

On a possible fifth Olympic appearance…
Is that five already? Oh lord! I mean, it’d mean everything to me. The Olympics has always meant so much and it’s just been a joy and an honor to be a part of it. It’s been just icing on the cake with a cherry on top to be able to bring home some medal some of the time for the States. I think it’ll be surreal, so long as I have the opportunity to go – and it’s looking good, so far – I think it’ll be very emotional for me this time.

On the equal prize money debate in tennis…
There’s always going to be people who don’t think that another person should be paid equally. I think it’s important for men to get on board, because these same men have daughters, wives, sisters, and they should want those same opportunities for those people in their families. They have women in their lives who are important to them and they need to realize that when they say these sorts of things that they are also saying these things about the women in their lives and they have to really come to grips with what that means.

At the end of the day, we’re all human. We really are. So can we just leave it at that? This is what I can’t understand, why mankind has to dominate each other. I thought we were a little bit further along, but in a lot of ways I’m happy it happened because it was a little bit of a wake up call for me to not sit still and it’s made me examine what I can do more across the board, not just for women’s tennis but for women around the world. The next step is to really get men involved; we’ve rallied, fought for the right things and we’ve got women behind us, but that’s the evolution that I see.

Political leaders, business leaders, sports leaders, all sorts of leaders, we have to get men as advocates and we have to change minds. This new generation of young boys coming up, we need to change their minds, and we need to also appeal to the current men in the world. That’s how I see the evolution happening, that we haven’t done enough work to change their minds and to help them see that this is their family that they’re voting against.

Lucie Safarova

On feeling more like her old self since injuries and illness disrupted her start to 2016…
Almost there. Yeah, I mean obviously the clay will be more physical, so it will be a good test for me. But in practices I’ve been feeling pretty good, yeah.

On how she spent the time away from the tour…
You know what, there’s always something positive out of the negative. I’m never able to spend enough time with my family, so I really enjoyed that time, spending time with my nieces and doing little silly things, playing little silly games where I obviously don’t have to move. And so yeah. I saw a lot of movies, read some books. It’s been like it gives you another point of view, and now looking back at it, it’s kind of opened up my mind more.

Belinda Bencic

On dealing with increased media attention…
I see it as a positive problem to have. It’s good because when you have the attention, it means you’re playing well. I think it’s part of the process and you need to learn it. From the juniors, I had some practice with press conferences, so it didn’t come all at once. It was just more, and more, and more. It’s what champions can handle, so I’m trying to do the same.

On what she enjoys doing off the court…
I love to read. I love reading. I actually like to take normal books with me on the tournaments; I don’t like the ebooks. I have two with me here this week. I love to read crime novels; sometimes it’s scary but it’s very interesting.

On the secret to her rapid rise up the rankings…
I wish I knew the secret, but it’s just hard work. I always believed in myself, but for sure I didn’t think it’d go so fast. I don’t look so far into the future, so I don’t have big expectations. For me, I’m happy about every win; I’m as excited as I was when I was No.200 in the world, so I don’t take it for granted. I want to stay in this mindset.

Andrea Petkovic

On her most vivid memory in Charleston…
When I won it, I had a superfan. She was there at every match and she was screaming so loudly after each and every point. Before the finals, I signed a ball for her and gave her tickets to the final. She was really nice and she cheered me on. We took a picture afterwards and that was very nice.

On how good friend Angelique Kerber has dealt with Grand Slam glory…
I think she’s handled it well. Of course, she had two tournaments where she didn’t play as well as she wanted. I was at Fed Cup and it was crazy. She had so many things to do and so many media requests, a lot of things outside the court going on that were probably new for her, so she had to adjust and learn to deal with new situations. I think she handled it really well; she only had a letdown for two tournaments and then played really well in Miami again. That’s pretty good, I think.

On being at a WTA-only tournament…
I always love this period of time because we have Charleston and Stuttgart. Those are both women’s only tournaments and the fans love them. They’re always sold out and two of the best tournaments in the whole season, no matter if it’s combined or not. They always have the best matches; a lot of the best matches that we’ve seen on either the men’s or women’s side, have happened in Charleston or Stuttgart. I think that’s the reason, because people just love watching us play and we always push harder. I think the performances speak for themselves; I don’t think we need to use a lot of words considering what a few guys have said in the past. I think we just speak for ourselves.

On whether she would recommend tennis as a career to a young person…
You have to be built for it, definitely. I wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. I think you have to have a certain kind of character, be very independent and be able to embrace the loneliness at times – not only on court but also off it because there are a lot of moments where you’re just alone in the hotel room. It sounds sad, but it’s not that sad! I think it’s just part of being a professional tennis player that isn’t sold on all of the commercials.

KATOWICE, Poland – She needed six match points and more than two hours but No.5 seed Camila Giorgi is through to the quarterfinals of the Katowice Open with a win over Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

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

The big-hitting Italian was under pressure from the word go, dropping her opening service game and letting slip five break back opportunities in the next game to allow Alexandrova an early lead. History repeated itself, but this this time in favor of Giorgi – the Italian broke Alexandrova’s serve then saved four break points to even up the score at 3-3. Aided by her huge first serves – she hit nine aces during the match – the Russian took the first set 6-4.

But Alexandrova, who was playing in her career first WTA main draw, couldn’t keep up the intensity against the two-time Katowice finalist. Giorgi quickly took back the second set, and the two traded breaks early in the deciding set. Alexandrova showed plenty of fight while serving to stay in the match – she relied on her heavy first serves to keep her in as Giorgi brought up match point after match point. In the end, the Italian converted on her sixth opportunity, booking her spot into the Katowice quarterfinals with a hard-fought win.

“I’m really happy for this win today,” Giorgi said. “It wasn’t easy in the third set and I really want to say thank you to the fans for all the support. I hope everyone can come back on Friday [for my quarterfinal] and I can keep going in the tournament.”

Giorgi is set to play No.9 seed Kirsten Flipkens, who also made her way to the quarterfinals today with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Andreea Mitu, in the next round.

Things were more difficult for No.2 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova after Pauline Parmentier dealt her the biggest upset of the day. The Frenchwoman defeated her soundly 6-2, 6-0 and sent the defending Katowice champion crashing out in the first round in less than an hour.

“I was very focused from the beginning of the match,” Parmentier said. “After breaking straight away in the first game, I was really feeling good in my game. I served good, was really aggressive, and obviously it worked perfect today.”

The rest of the seeds at the Katowice Open advanced with ease, with Dominika Cibulkova, Jelena Ostapenko and Timea Babos notching straight sets wins.