Petra Kvitova and Agnieszka Radwanska advanced to the title match at the WTA Finals Saturday after upset victories in semifinal matches in Singapore.
Fomer Wimbledon champion Kvitova had claimed just a single win in the round-robin phase, but proceeded to dispatch five-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova 6-3 7-6.
The first semifinal had seen Poland’s Radwanska battle past Spanish world number three Garbine Muguruza 6-7 6-3 7-5.
Both Sharapova and Muguruza had advanced to the knockout stage by winning their groups with 3-0 records and were heavily favored to be battling it out for the prestigious end of season trophy.
he first time.
“I didn’t expect this, for sure,” Kvitova admitted after her stunning victory.
“I had two losses in my group, and I couldn’t really believe I would play the semifinals. And I knew Maria would be strong today — she played so well in the round robin group, so I expected a really tough match.
“But I knew I had the game to beat her, and that I really had to keep trying today,” the Czech star told the official WTA website.
Kvitova had big success on the Sharapova service, breaking the Russian three times in the first set and then recovered from 5-1 down in the second, winning five straight games before claiming the tiebreak.
Kvitova will be bidding for her second success in the tournament, while Radwanska is in her first final at the sixth time of asking.
“I have no words to say really,” Radwanska said.
“I didn’t know if I could come back after that first set, but I think it was a great match from the beginning until the end, so many rallies and a lot of running. I’m just so glad I could win this match in the end.”
It was her 50th win on the WTA Tour this season, but she has a losing 6-2 record against Kvitova.
Consolation for rising star Muguruza will be an appearance in the doubles final alongside fellow Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro. They will face top-ranked pair Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in Sunday’s final.
On the men’s ATP Tour, old rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will contest the final of the tournament in Basel.
Nadal underlined his recent improvement with a 6-4 7-6 win over Richard Gasquet of France in their semifinal.
Federer, bidding for his seventh title at his home event, later beat American Jack Sock 6-3 6-4 in just an hour.
As reported by CNN