Stunning WTA Finals triumph for Radwanska
Print Edition
Agnieszka Radwanska wept tears of joy last night as she claimed the biggest title of her career with a tense WTA Finals victory over Petra Kvitova.
Radwanska, who lost twice at the round-robin stage, came from a break down in the deciding set to beat an injury-impeded but gritty Kvitova 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in two hours and five minutes in Singapore.
The 26-year-old Pole, who was a late qualifier for the eight-player season finale, was highly emotional after winning the prestigious and highly lucrative title at her seventh attempt. “A few weeks ago, I didn’t even know that I had any chance to be here, and there you go. In the final day winning. An incredible day for me,” she said. “That was the biggest day of my life.”
Radwanska looked stunned and covered her face with her left hand after an error from two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova handed her the Billy Jean King Trophy and US$2.05 million first prize.
It was the first time that anyone had won the eight-player season finale after losing two matches in the round-robin stage. “It just means everything — it was my first final (at the tournament) and it couldn’t have been any better,” Radwanska said.
The Pole dominated the first set but Kvitova hit back to win the second and take it to a decider at an increasingly tense Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Radwanska went down a break early in the third but she snatched back control and saw off a gritty fightback by Kvitova, who seemed hampered by an injury to her heavily strapped right leg.
Asked after the match if she was in pain, Kvitova said: “A little bit but it was okay”.
Radwanska’s route to the title was full of twists and turns. She only qualified for the WTA Finals a week before it started when she won the Tianjin Open in China. And her tournament began poorly when she lost her first two matches to Maria Sharapova and Flavia Pennetta, before her tournament started to fire when she beat top seed Simona Halep.
Even so, Radwanska needed Sharapova’s straight-sets over Pennetta to reach the semis but she grabbed her chance with both hands, upsetting world No. 3 Garbine Muguruza.
With her 17th title, Radwanska moves to US$21.3 million in career earnings and will finish the year as No. 5.
In the final of the doubles event, top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza claimed a ninth title of their first season together with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Spain’s Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro.
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