Angelique Kerber has reached the final of the WTA Finals with a comprehensive 6-2 6-1 victory over defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska to set up a title showdown against Dominika Cibulkova.
The German has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with victories at the Australian and US Opens to usurp Serena Williams at the top of the world rankings and after another dominant display, she will be favoured to cap her season with the Singapore title on Sunday.
"I was trying to be focused on every single point because playing against her is so tough, so I just made sure I played my game and was aggressive," Kerber said. "It's amazing to think that I will be in the final in Singapore."
Watch NOW TV
Watch Sky Sports for just £6.99. No contract
Kerber gave her Polish opponent no free points, forcing Radwanska into playing an extra shot on every rally, the constant pressure leading to another break in the seventh game, enough for the German to claim the opener.
Radwanska struggled to come up with any answers as the consistent Kerber ran away with the contest against her dispirited opponent with four more breaks of serve.
In the first semi-final, Cibulkova continued her debut at the WTA Finals with a thrilling 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 victory over world No 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
"This is my first time here and it's one of my dreams come true, just incredible," world No 8 Cibulkova said.
"In the first set she blew me away, so I was able to change things up and won because I was more aggressive on the court."
The Slovakian, who had won their last five encounters, threatened on Kuznetsova's first service game but some strong forehands bailed out the Russian, who then edged ahead when she broke in the third game.
Kuznetsova continued to press Cibulkova at the start of the second set but the Slovakian stepped up her intensity levels to manufacture her first break of the match in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead.
The third set was punctuated with several swings in momentum before Cibulkova followed up a gutsy hold from 15-40 in the ninth game to seal victory with another break.
Cibulkova qualified for the year-ending championships for the first time after tournament wins in Kotowice, Eastbourne and Linz.
Check our game-by-game updates from Andy Murray in the final of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis this Sunday or catch the action, live on Sky Sports 5 HD from 12.45pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment