Radwanska vs. Kvitova in WTA Final – Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic will chase her second WTA Finals title after outplaying third-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the semifinals Saturday in Singapore.
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Fifth-seeded Radwanska’s previous best results were two semifinal finishes in 2012 and 2014.
Radwanska – despite a losing record in the Red Group round-robin phase, including defeats to Maria Sharapova 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 and Flavia Pennetta 6(5)-7, 4-6, before defeating Simona top-seeded Simona Halep 7-6(5), 6-1, claimed her first WTA Finals title.
Both players had their serve broken in the second set and when Kvitova hit back to level it at 3-3 the momentum had swung, another break of serve later in the set setting her up to take it 6-4.
Radwanska, who lost twice at the round-robin stage and upset Garbine Muguruza in the semis, came from a break down in the deciding set to win a tense final in two hours and five minutes.
Kerber, who needed to win only one set to qualify, did not mask her disappointment and indicated she was distracted by people audibly calculating her match progress during a changeover.
“I had a few great matches here”, she said.
Radwanska would move ahead 3-2 before giving another break to Kvitova, but the Pole rallied to take the final three games, clinching the title with a break to love.
“I felt like I took my foot off the gas, started the second set aggressive in the court forcing her to go for a little much, and then felt like I backed up a little bit”, Sharapova added. Navratilova said she didn’t understand how the demands of the position, and Radwanska realized she’s more comfortable working exclusively with longtime coach Tomasz Wiktorowski.
Agnieszka Radwanska finished off her year in stellar fashion as she defeated Petra Kvitova to lift the Billie Jean King Trophy in Singapore as the champion of the WTA Finals.
Kvitova struggled to keep up with her fast game, her 16 unforced errors gifting Radwanska a huge advantage as the first set ended 6-2. “I think that was the biggest day in my life”.
Final round matches in soccer tournaments are played at the same time to ensure all teams chase the win, while avoiding the possibility of opponents making pacts to guarantee qualification.
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“I don’t think there is an answer for that”. Taking stock after the match, Kvitova said, “I felt like the first set she just crushed me and I didn’t really have any chance”. Of course I had my chances in the second set, but it doesn’t matter how I won. She also possesses a great record in finals, winning seventeen of the twenty two she’s contested, including all three this year in Sydney, Madrid and New Haven.
