As It Happened: Kuznetsova Roars Into White Group Lead In Singapore
WTA Insider | In the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, relive Svetlana Kuznetsova’s thrilling win over Karolina Pliskova in three grueling sets.
WTA Insider | In the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, relive Svetlana Kuznetsova’s thrilling win over Karolina Pliskova in three grueling sets.
SINGAPORE – Out of the 16 semifinal scenarios that could have come to fore in the Red Group, only one involved No.7 seed Dominika Cibulkova reaching the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in her debut appearance. By knocking out No.3 seed Simona Halep, 6-3, 7-6(5), she did all she could do to make that lone scenario happen on Thursday, outlasting the Romanian and playing her best tennis of the week to keep herself in semifinal contention.
With Angelique Kerber’s straight-set win over Madison Keys, Cibulkova advances into her first Singapore semifinal after a statement victory from the Slovak.
Read how the match unfolded in the WTA Insider Live Blog.
– Cibulkova shows off her refined mental toughness.
The second set was crucial for both women. Win it, and remain in contention for the semifinals; lose it, and book your first ticket home.
Cibulkova admitted she very nearly did that before taking the court on Thursday.
“I was like, ‘Okay if I lose today, tomorrow we fly for holidays.’ So we booked…well, no, we didn’t book the flight, but it was like, ‘Okay, if I lose today we fly tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. to holidays.’
“So I just give everything into this match today. I knew it could be possibly the last. All the circumstances made me play really well today.”
Perhaps the mind game helped her stay focused through the tensest set of the week, but even that is a symptom of a successful tenure with a sports psychologist, whom she began working with last year.
“I was playing such good rallies, and then somehow she’d put the ball back again. There were few situations I was like, ‘Okay, I want to leave the court. This is unreal.’
“That’s what made me so strong, the mental toughness, that I knew I cannot lose even one point. I had to just think about what I want to do on the next point. That’s what made me win the second set. It was extremely tough mentally and physically, but tennis-wise, it was such a high level.”
Out of challenges is @Cibulkova, as she didn't realize that. What drama! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/QuEF6CDaEp
— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016
Out of challenges late in the second set, Cibulkova refused to be rattled, and gamely won the last three points of the second set’s sudden death.
“The pressure of me winning in two sets, that’s what made me like, ‘Okay, breathe and just forget it.’ Because I saw the ball was in. I think I have a good eye. I knew it was in.
“Maybe in a different match, different time, it would make me go crazy and I could lose two, three points likes this and the set would be over. I knew I cannot do this right now. I just had to refocus. This is what I’m talking about, the mental strength I had today.”
– Halep ends the season how she started.
Injuries and illness plagued the start of Simona Halep’s 2016, to the point where she hardly thought it possible to return to Singapore in the spring. Sporting a left knee strapping against Cibulkova, there were some clear movement issues for most of the match, which, while it made her fight all the more impressive, it kept her from taking the aggressive stance necessary to take the second set.
“I think she saw that backhand is not very strong because of the leg,” Halep said in press. “It was not easy for me to push.”
Not wanting to talk too much about the injury, Halep heads into the off-season with plenty of positives: another Premier Mandatory title at the Mutua Madrid Open, a return to the Top 3 after dropping as low as No.7, all under the umbrella of a successful tenure with coach Darren Cahill.
“You're doing a hell of a job!” @Darren_Cahill tells @Simona_Halep! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/imCRrVkiu4
— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016
“This tournament was a bonus for me. At the middle of the year I said that I cannot qualify because I was very far after four months, tough four months.
“But once I qualified I say that it’s a bonus, and I have just to give everything I have. I didn’t have enough to qualify in the semis, but it was a good experience again, third year in a row, so it’s a good thing.”
Heading back to Romania to visit her newborn niece, Halep plans to revamp her pre-season with a trip to Australia with Cahill.
“The plan is to go to Australia in December. Before he is coming to Romania, so we will mix. I wanted to change something and get used to that time, weather before Shenzhen and before Australia.”
“Danke, Domi!” – @AngeliqueKerber, probably. pic.twitter.com/b8hM69GUr1
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 27, 2016
– Core team key to Cibulkova’s success.
A tennis player is often only as good as his or her team, and Cibulkova has spent years bonding with hers, headed by longtime fiance – now husband – Michal Navara.
“He’s really important. He’s there for me. Sometimes when there are tough, tough times he can make me see the other side. You know, he always says, ‘Okay, the life is not that bad, you know.’
“He can make me sometimes be more relaxed. Even if I lose a match, he can make me see different things. That’s what really helps me. There are so many things that he’s helping me with, but this is one of them.
“He’s really one of the biggest positive energy in our team.”
.@Cibulkova with her #WTAFinals Kids Fan Club! pic.twitter.com/EGx9IaSbQw
— WTA Finals Singapore (@WTAFinalsSG) October 27, 2016
Accenting her team this week in Singapore is the addition of both parents – Cibulkova typically travels with just one or the other to any given tournament – and it’s clear the Slovak’s passion and determination is genetic.
“My father, after my win today, he jumped down and again the security took him away. He’s a little bit emotional. You can see me on the court. I get emotions. Maybe probably it’s from him I get these emotions.
“Do you remember Stanford when he jumped down on the court? Yeah, today he didn’t get on the court but he jumped down from the stands.
“Mostly I’m looking in my box. My coach, they are more calm. But I’m happy my parents are here with me and they can see me playing a great tennis at the WTA Finals in Singapore. When I was starting playing tennis it was never, never in our dreams to be here.”
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska before her opening round match at the Qatar Total Open.
Watch as Caroline Wozniacki takes us through a Qatari tea ceremony and shares her favorite tea sweets!
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on Jelena Jankovic in the first round of the Qatar Total Open,
DOHA, Qatar – Zhang Shuai recorded one of the biggest wins of her career, overcoming No.5 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 to reach the last eight – her fourth on the Premier level – at the Qatar Total Open.
Muguruza, who was playing her second match of the day – overcoming Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay 6-3, 6-2 after their rain delayed match – quickly found herself in trouble against the Chinese No.1 – herself having to beat Timea Babos earlier in the afternoon – in the first meeting between the pair.
“I woke up thinking that I was going to have a very tough day,” Muguruza said after. “This morning I warm up at 9:00 in the morning. I played pretty good the first match. The second one, Zhang played very well. The conditions were difficult. There was a lot of wind. She was finding her shots. At the end I think was two points difference and they went to her.”
Thunderous hitting from the baseline saw Zhang secure back-to-back breaks of the former French Open champion’s serve for a surprise early 4-1 lead. Muguruza’s fighting spirit helped her break back to love and restore parity as a tight opening set went to a tie-break.
It was the impressive Zhang from there, nailing an impressive 83% of first serves to take the opener as Muguruza double faulted on set point.
.@zhangshuai121 claims an epic rally! @QatarTennis pic.twitter.com/oOgyNEfoAA
— WTA (@WTA) February 15, 2017
The second set followed a similarly tight pattern but this time it was Muguruza with the crucial break at 4-2 as Zhang hit a forehand long, the single break proving sufficient for the Spaniard to serve out and take the match to a deciding set.
The former Australian Open quarterfinalist staved off three break points before breaking herself with a forehand onto the line.
With Muguruza struggling on her second serve, Zhang broke yet again and consolidated for a 5-2 lead but the Spaniard is not a grand slam champion for nothing and roared back to level at 5-5.
What an upset!@zhangshuai121 ousts Muguruza 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-5! #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/00mkn0hr03
— WTA (@WTA) February 15, 2017
Zhang, making only her third appearance at Doha, was not to be denied and a further break at 6-5 sealed the win and her best showing to date. The win marked her fifth career Top 10 win and first of the season after previously earning wins over Dinara Safina, Petra Kvitova, and two over Simona Halep in 2016.
Up next for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai semifinalist is either No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova or Caroline Garcia. Meanwhile Muguruza said she is looking forward to moving on to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“I think I’m going to go as soon as possible,” she said. “I want to go in Dubai, try to have a few days of training, recovery take it very seriously. I think Dubai is a big tournament this year for us. I want to do well there.”
Samantha Stosur was the latest player to send a seed out of the Qatar Total Open, beating eighth seed Barbora Strycova 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
DOHA, Qatar: Former World No.1 Angelique Kerber admitted that she did not play well in her defeat to Daria Kasatkina in the Qatar Total Open – but was quick to pay tribute to her young opponent.
The top seed for the tournament was ousted 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 by the Russian teenager, who also knocked her out of the Apia International in Sydney in January.
“I was not feeling the best today – I’m trying to find my rhythm,” the 29-year-old said in her post-match press conference.
“But she [Kasatkina] plays good. I make too many mistakes in the important moments. I think it was, for sure, not my day.”
.@DKasatkina is having a stormer in the deciding set! #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/3o2rUZe5CE
— WTA (@WTA) February 16, 2017
Kerber was let down by a proliferation of unforced errors in her 4-6, 6-0, 4-6 loss, but refused to blame it on the Doha rain delays affecting her concentration.
“Of course, the weather, it can happen like this,” she said. “I think this is not a big deal. Of course, we have to wait a lot, but yeah, this is not a big deal, I think, for us players.”
The German now turns her attention to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which begins on February 19.
“First of all, I have to get ready again and feeling good because, yeah, I was not feeling very good in the last few days,” she admitted. “I think this is the most important thing for me right now. Then, of course, looking forward to the next week [in Dubai].”
DOHA, Qatar – No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova survived double duty on Friday, winning her first match against No.3 seed Dominika Cibulkova, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, to reach the final of the Qatar Total Open.
Pliskova had already made it through a quarterfinal encounter with Zhang Shuai between multiple rain delays, but an even bigger test loomed in the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion, whom she’d never beaten in three previous encounters.
“I’m really excited, especially after what a long, tough day it’s been,” she said during her on-court interview. “Having two wins today is amazing, and I just beat Domi for the first time in my life. It was tough conditions, and so I don’t think it was the best tennis out there. But it’s a win, so it counts.”
.@KaPliskova levels the opening set vs Cibulkova 4-4! #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/zlcuZGLdUL
— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017
The forecast favored the Slovak for most of the week, as she was the only of the four semifinalists to make it through on Thursday. That advantage appeared evident from the outset, but Pliskova soon found her rhythm, recovering from an early break to win the final four games of the opening set.
Undeterred, Cibulkova raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second and held on to level the match and take the momentum into the decider.
.@KaPliskova holds!
Dominika @Cibulkova will serve to send this into a 3rd set! #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/h8ZDlrtxse
— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017
A tense finale followed as the pair traded confident service games until 3-3, when the World No.5 held two break points. With the help of a career-best serving day (21 in the match), Pliskova saved both in quick succession and, with the wind at her back, swept the conclusion after nearly two hours on court.
In all, Pliskova maintained impressive numbers from the back of the court, hitting 40 winners to just 16 unforced errors, and just one double fault in the face of those 21 aces.
.@KaPliskova reaches @QatarTennis Final!
Battles past Cibulkova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/WpKPTg21fP
— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017
“That definitely gave me more confidence,” she said of the crucial seventh game, adding, “and then getting on this side of the court, I got to play with the wind, so that helped, as well. I knew I had a chance to break her, and I did; I always believe I can break her, so I’m really excited to win the third set.”
Standing between Pliskova and a second title of 2017 is the winner of the second semifinal between former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig.
“Right now, I’m just really happy. I’m going to rest a little bit now, enjoy that I won two matches in one day – that doesn’t happen every day! Then I’ll get ready for the final.”
Welcome to the @QatarTennis Final @KaPliskova! pic.twitter.com/ELyL3yvHHK
— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017
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