Svetlana Kuznetsova: Russian rolls back years to reach WTA semis
The oldest player at the WTA Finals at 31 years of age, the Russian, who didn't qualify for the event until Saturday and had to fly 5,000 miles from Moscow to reach Singapore, once again came back from the brink against a younger rival.
Having saved a match point in a dramatic victory over defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska in her opening match, Kuznetsova dismantled the booming serves of US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 in the white group on Tuesday in Singapore.
'From my heart,' the ninth-ranked Kuznetsova said in a court-side interview, when asked to explain her resurgence this season.
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A few hours later, Kuznetsova qualified for her first WTA semifinals after Radwanska ousted French Open winner Garbine Muguruza from the group stages with a 7-6, 6-3 win.
'I have not been at my best these past years, but something has changed this year and I just enjoy my game, I enjoy the crowd and I enjoy playing the best players in the world,' said Kuznetsova, a 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open winner who is now back in the top 10 for the first time in six years.
'Here to fight'
A physically exhausted Kuznetsova, a former world No. 2, sent social media into overdrive two days ago when she cut off part of her ponytail as she trailed Radwanska in the final set.
Kuznetsova ended up beating the Pole from a match point down, just 48 hours after qualifying for Singapore at the last-minute following her Kremlin Cup win.
READ: Kuznetsova's ponytail slice
When asked by reporters after the match what she would call a movie of her life in the past week, she said 'Life of a hustler.'
Serve dismantled
In her second group match, Kuznetsova dismantled the serve of the 24-year-old Pliskova.
The tall Czech, the WTA ace leader this year with more than 500 aces, had fired off 14 aces in her previous match but only managed three against Kuznetsova.
After splitting the first two sets, the crowd at Singapore Indoor Stadium was in for a wild ride in the decider as both women failed to pull the trigger.
Kuznetsova played a passive service game as she led 5-3, while Pliskova failed to serve out the match at 6-5. Kuznetsova then missed three match points at 6-3 in the tie-break before going on to win on her fourth with her 24th winner of the match.
'I was just not putting first serves in at all,' Pliskova told reporters after the match. 'She was pushing me from the second serve and in the important moments, she played better than me.'
READ: Angelique Kerber closes in on semi-finals
Muguruza out
The WTA Finals have been a tournament to forget for Muguruza, who was eliminated from the group stages after two losses.
In her opening match against Pliskova, Muguruza let slip a double break lead in the third set before missing a match point.
The Spaniard, a fierce striker of the ball capable of beating anyone if her game is on song, has been inconsistent since beating Serena Williams in the finals of Roland Garros for her first major in June.
She was knocked out out of the second round at Wimbledon and the US Open and has only reached one semifinal since her breakthrough in Paris.
After losing the first set in a tie-break 7-6 (7-1) to Radwanska despite serving for it at 5-4, Muguruza's coach, Sam Sumyk, used an expletive and told her to 'fight, all the way.'
Although Muguruza later told him she was fighting 'very hard', she had no answer to Radwanska's repertoire of trick shots and lob volleys and lost the match on her 37th unforced error. Her opponent made only 12 mistakes.
Radwanska is now 1-1 at the WTA Finals and faces Pliskova in two days' time in the knowledge that on six occasions, a player has gone on to win the WTA Finals despite losing a round-robin match.
'Here to fight' After losing the first set in a tie-break 7-6 (7-1) to Radwanska despite serving for it at 5-4, Muguruza's coach, Sam Sumyk, used an expletive and told her to 'fight, all the way.' 'I was just not putting first serves in at all,' Pliskova told reporters after the match. 'She was pushing me from the second serve and in the important moments, she played better than me.' 'I have not been at my best these past years, but something has changed this year and I just enjoy my game, I enjoy the crowd and I enjoy playing the best players in the world,' said Kuznetsova, a 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open winner who is now back in the top 10 for the first time in six years. In her opening match against Pliskova, Muguruza let slip a double break lead in the third set before missing a match point.
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