MOSCOW, Russia – Svetlana Kuznetsova kept up her chances of booking a spot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global by beating Alizé Cornet, 6-4, 7-5, to reach the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup.

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The Russian entered this tournament knowing that she had to win the title to book a place for Singapore. In the early exchanges, Kuznetsova made all the running, missing the chance to break in the first game before pushing Cornet even further in her next service game, but the Frenchwoman saved five break points in an epic that lasted nigh on 13 minutes.

With Kuznetsova rattling through her own games on serve, she was able exert more and more pressure on Cornet and finally got the break that she richly deserved after to go 3-2 ahead.

Having worked so hard to get ahead, Kuznetsova threw up an error-strewn game and handed the break to Cornet with a shot into the tramlines. Both players suddenly became more comfortable receiving and after the No.1 seed had restored her advantage, a sloppy backhand into the net put the players back on level terms. A fifth straight break gave Kuznetsova a 5-4 lead, and she finally regained her composure to hold when serving for the set.

.@SvetlanaK27 breaks thrice to win the first and already once again to open the second @kremlincup_eng https://t.co/kRsZ9udpkC pic.twitter.com/gSuniOhsJB

— TennisTV (@TennisTV) October 19, 2016

The World No.9 carried her momentum into the second set, breaking Cornet’s serve for the fourth time in a row with forehand volley.

Kuznetsova failed to hang onto this advantage, however, she closed out the match at the second time of asking to take a place in the quarterfinals. There she will face Timea Babos, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Kristina Mladenovic.

“I think I was playing more against myself. I couldn’t find an exit from the situation,” Kuznetsova said in her post-match press conference. “I was winning and created situations, and when I had an advantage. Instead of keeping playing I began indulging my game. It was psychological: me against me.

“Not sure I played against Babos. I hope to play better than today. Well, the way I played today certainly won’t let me relax!”

Kuznetsova needs to win the title this week in Moscow in order to capture the final spot in the WTA Finals field of eight. Anything short of a title run for the Russian will result in Johanna Konta grabbing the final spot.