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Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Yulia Putintseva made another thrilling comeback at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, shocking BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion and No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. The Kazakh’s first Top 5 win helps reach her first WTA final where she’ll face Kristina Mladenovic, who also triumphed in three sets against Russia’s Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

“It’s unbelievable,” Putintseva said after the match. “I’m very happy that the crowd was behind me this time around. Yesterday they supported more Svetlana and today they cheered for me. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Putintseva was playing her first Premier-level semifinal and coming off her third career Top 10 win over No.3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, giving the more experienced Cibulkova the upper hand from the start. The Slovak worked through a few tense opening games to edge ahead by a break and take the opening set with the help of nine winners.

A well-executed drop shot by @PutintsevaYulia! ? pic.twitter.com/dJmVkAx15E

— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017

Cibulkova fell behind a break to start the second, but after winning three straight games to level the set, a first final of 2017, a career-high ranking of No.4, and a 399th career win all appeared on the cards for the reigning WTA Finals champion.

But the unseeded 22-year-old had other ideas, holding and breaking serve in quick succession to level the match, cleaning up her side of the stat sheet with 12 winners to only eight unforced errors; Cibulkova maintained an almost exact inverse, hitting eight winners to 13 errors.

.@PutintsevaYulia is pumped ? ? pic.twitter.com/W6ZBkZdqVB

— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017

The final set was reminiscent of Friday’s quarterfinal between Putintseva and Kuznetsova, as the World No.5 twice led by a break, getting within two points of a 5-3 lead.

“I never give up and always try to dictate my game no matter what. And this is what I was trying to do throughout this match.

But Putintseva continued to play her best tennis when her back was up against the wall, winning four straight games to book her first-ever WTA final in two hours and 19 minutes.

First #WTA Premier Final!

Knocks out Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/1qCILGIjIG

— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017

By match’s end, it was clear that consistency had gotten the job done for Putintseva, who matched Cibulkova in winners (27 each), but hit 11 fewer errors (43 to 32).

“It’s my first WTA final, but actually I don’t feel any pressure here. I am enjoying every moment I spend on the court.”

Waiting for her in the championship match will be Mladenovic, herself enjoying a career-best run that began with an emphatic win over Australian Open runner-up Venus Williams. The Frenchwoman back up the upset by dethroning defending champion Roberta Vinci and remained composed after losing the first set to Vikhlyantseva, a rising Russian set to make her Top 100 debut after reaching her first semifinal at a WTA Premier event.

“She’s really powerful, and all credit to her in the first set,” Mladenovic said after the match. “I was like, ‘Geez, this is going very fast.’ She was playing very heavy with her groundstrokes, and hitting a lot of winners.

“I just dug really deep and I was trying to stay positive. I said to myself that if she managed to maintain this high energy and intensity for the whole match, good job. But I’m very happy to have stayed in the match long enough to turn it around.”

Superb slice by @KiKiMladenovic! ? pic.twitter.com/pgmFWGqdDx

— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017

An unfamiliar opponent to many, Vikhlyantseva had previously pushed Mladenovic to three sets in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last summer, helping the unseeded Frenchwoman prepare for what became a three set battle.

“I think it was a very good match, high intensity from both of us. I think the difference today was my ability to maintain that intensity from first point to last. I felt that way mentally the whole match, but I could sense her start to drop her level physically, be it with footwork, and the legs. She became less precise, and because she takes so many risks from the baseline, she started to make more unforced errors.

.@KikiMladenovic advances to @Formula_TX Final!

Makes 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 comeback win over Vikhlyantseva! pic.twitter.com/uvDMsiXKr8

— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017

Mladenovic and Putintseva have played four times before, splitting their head-to-head at two wins apiece; Putintseva won their most recent meeting last year at the BNP Paribas Open in straight sets.

“She’s in great form, playing really well. She’s a big fighter, who runs down a lot of balls. I’ll have to keep playing the same way I have all week, being aggressive, coming forward, and trying to dictate play with my forehand. I’ll try to find angles and try to find my game towards the net.”

“I feel well, I feel fresh. I think that's a big improvement on my side.” -@KiKiMladenovic pic.twitter.com/bmxzehRxoV

— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017

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Bacsinszky On Secret To Swiss Success

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Timea Bacsinszky hasn’t always loved the grass. Before she returned to the tour after a three-year break, she was 3-5 in her career on the turf. “I was kind of afraid of grass for many years, but since I came back in 2013 [it’s changed].” Indeed, since her return three years ago she is 10-4 on grass with a Wimbledon quarterfinal already under her belt last year.

Bacsinszky’s first match on grass in three years came at Wimbledon qualifying in 2013. It was just the second tournament she played since deciding to return to the tour (the first being Roland Garros). “I played against Madison Brengle and I ended up winning 6-4 in the third.” Bacsinszky said during All-Access Hour at the Aegon International on Monday. “For me it was like a miracle, like coming from nowhere playing in Roehampton, which is like a potato field,” she said, much to the delight of a laughing press corp.

“All my respects to Roehampton, they are trying their best, but it’s not really the most glamorous grass court ever. With those like funny conditions, you have many courts everywhere and it’s like a bazaar. It’s like a zoo over there. I ended up winning a match. I was like, wow. And almost won my second match but I lost against Schmiedlova 7-5 in the third.”

Slowly, the always adaptable Bacsinszky, who has posted her best results on clay and hard courts, began to realize her game could flourish on grass.

“My game is quite good right now on grass because I’m able to play longer rallies if I really need to,” she said. “I know it’s not good to defend on grass, but I can be in that position to give one extra ball back for my opponent and to mix up with the spins to be able to come to the net, to be able to maybe do a chip and charge. I’m not even at 1% of Roger’s level in that, but I’m trying to improve my game and to make, yeah, everything possible what I can that can help me to play well on grass.”

Roger Federer is a seven-time Wimbledon champion. Belinda Bencic is a junior Wimbledon champion and won the Aegon International for her first title last year. Stan Wawrinka is a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist and Bacsinszky has also made the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Martina Hingis is a Wimbledon champion in singles and won the doubles title with Sania Mirza last year.

So what gives? Why are the Swiss so solid on grass? As is her wont, Bacsinszky had an interesting take.

“I think it’s not something about the surfaces but it’s more that being in the middle of Europe tennis-type-wise you have all those influences,” she explained. “The French are playing like they like the nice game, coming forward, making big shots, aesthetically nice, a lot of culture of tennis.

“Then you have the Spaniards fighting for every point, they don’t give a s***. And they just like go for every ball, try to give back so many balls, try to make work the [opponent]. Okay, you’re gonna say not every Spaniard, for sure. There are always the exceptions; Muguruza is not that type of player.

“The majority of Spaniards are like, ‘Okay, I’m going to fight for everything, and the spirit of clay court. Even if I have to chip everything, I’m going to win the match even if it’s ugly. Even if it’s playing with the other side of the racquet, I don’t care.’

“Italy can be also like this. It’s a mixture. And then you have Eastern Europe, which are based on the baseline hitting everything, going for the lines, trying to take the ball early, putting a lot of pressure.

“Why Switzerland, why we have so many maybe good players? We have all these influences. And I think that’s what it’s like in the Swiss mentality, you’re open for everything. We have to learn more languages, every kid has an education. Most of the people have a job, a decent job. They work hard. We like to work. It’s all the system which works.

“And maybe – it’s a small parallel to say that – maybe that’s why we can also play well on grass, because we are open minded. We say, ‘Okay, we are gonna fight for every point. We are gonna try to hit balls. We’re gonna try maybe new things and we are going to accept the situation and how it is.’ And so we go for it.”

But for Bacsinszky it’s more than just about being Swiss. A child of Hungarian immigrants, she traces part of her her autonomous drive – her Twitter hashtag motto is #limitless – to her parents.

“My mom and my dad were, when I was a kid, telling me you have to fight for what you have, you have to fight for who you want to be, it’s not only given. You have to go and work for what you really want to get. It’s probably why also I’m restless. If I commit to something, I really want to go to my maximum. I never know where my limits are, where my maximum is, but I’m trying to seek it.

“It’s probably because of the Hungarian influence, because they have been beaten so many times in war. They were such a big empire. But we are also quiet population. In Switzerland, you don’t say, ‘Oh, I’m a proud Hungarian.’ Other countries, they would all the time have the flags and stuff. But Hungarians are I believe in foreign countries they are really super quiet.

“I have this will and probably it’s coming from that. You have to fight. Like my dad fought to get away from Romania. He was Hungarian but in the Hungarian minority of Romania, and he couldn’t pass the borders and had to arrange a marriage in order to get out. I mean, political refugee.

“It was really tough. My mom had an easier situation, but I know it wasn’t easy for them. And I grew up with that. So that’s why I fought all the time for everything, what I did. It’s probably because of that.”

Click here to read more about this year’s Wimbledon Contenders, courtesy of WTA Insider.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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