Cibulkova upsets Kerber to win WTA Finals title

“Because last five weeks, I was thinking about next day to play a match every single day”. The question was simple: how can she balance her ambition without being blinded by it?

Cibulkova was presented with the Billie Jean King trophy and a cheque for US$2.05 million, the biggest payday of her life, for her Singapore win and has already started working out how she and her husband are going to spend their windfall. Having not served an ace but having topped the first serve percentage stats, it was easy to see why – placement had Kerber on the back foot from the start.

There were some anxious moments too for Cibulkova at the end.

“At the end I was lucky!” “I’ve been really working to being focused, to being calm and to being just positive on court and this is the biggest improvement I’ve made”. I belong there and I’m really, really strong. I always said to my coach that I could have a chance like this one, I always believed in me‘.

– Kerber comes up short but Singapore was still a breakthrough.

The Slovakian finally got tight, putting in two nervous points at 15-40, and Kerber played incredible defense.

In the doubles finals Russian Olympic champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat US Open winners Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova 7-5 (7-5), 6-3. After a run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, she married in July. A few times in the second set I had – there was few times I was like, “Okay, this can’t be happening”.

She followed that up with a comeback victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-final before defeating Kerber.

“I have no words, coming here for the first time, the biggest tournament of my life”, Cibulkova said. She sat in last place in the Red Group at that point and she needed to both win her last match and hope for a favorable result in another one that she had no control.

“Now I know how to go out there with all the pressures I have on my shoulders”.

She told reporters: “I don’t care what people thinks”. I had just one goal. I was going after it.

Her mood had clearly not improved when she faced the media soon afterwards, saying initially that unspecified distractions off the court had bothered her before adding another cryptic comment. She won more majors and more matches than any other woman this season. That sets up a title match between the Slovak and the German, one that represents a career opportunity for each player. And there was nothing more for Kerber to do than tip her cap.