Kuznetsova edges Radwanska in thriller

Pliskova makes winning debut

SINGAPORE, Oct 24, (AFP): Svetlana Kuznetsova hacked off her own hair with a pair of scissors and burst into tears before saving a match point and beating the defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5 1-6 7-5 at the WTA Finals on Monday.

Despite appearing on the verge of exhaustion and close to breaking down, Kuznetsova somehow summoned up the energy to win her opening round-robin match in dramatic fashion, less than 48 hours after she qualified for the prestigious end-of season championship.

Spectators at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium looked on in stunned disbelief when the Russian gave herself an impromptu haircut early in the deciding third set, asking the umpire to get her a large of pair scissors before proceeding to chop off the end of her ponytail and tossing the loose strands onto her seat.

“It was bothering me a lot. I was trying to put it behind my headband, but my hair is very thick and heavy,” Kuznetsova explained.

“When I was hitting the forehands every time I would hit a good shot... it would hit my eye every time and I had struggle.

“I thought, ‘ok, what’s more important now? My hair, which I can let grow, or the match? I thought, ‘okay, I’ve got to go for it right now’, and that’s it.”

Radwanska said she didn’t even realise her opponent had cut off her locks during the match.

“I didn’t even know that,” she told reporters. “Good thing she didn’t cut her anything else. I think hair is not very important.”

Later, at the next change of ends, Kuznetsova returned to her seat and began to cry, sobbing into her towel before she regained her composure, wiping the tears from her cheeks and returning to the court to continue a gruelling contest which lasted almost three hours.

Her efforts looked to have been in vain when she dropped her serve to fall 5-4 behind and Radwanska got to match point but the Pole, who blew a 4-1 lead in the opening set, squandered her lone opportunity and Kuznetsova reeled off the last three games to register one of the bravest wins of her career.

“It’s what you have inside of you, something comes from the heart,” Kuznetsova said. “I always work very much and then being on the court, I knew I have to stay tough. You always have a chance to come back.

“I was trying as much, as hard as I can to fight and just be there.”

A two-time grand slam winner, Kuznetsova was appearing in the WTA Finals, restricted to the world’s top eight players, for the first time since 2009 but the physical and emotional effort of qualifying appeared to take its toll.

The 31-year-old needed to win the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Saturday to leapfrog Britain’s Johanna Konta for the last spot in the field then had to fly straight to Southeast Asia just to be ready to play her opening match.

The Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova, appearing in the tournament for the first time after reaching the US Open last month, also saved a match point in her 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 win over French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.

Pliskova trailed 5-2 in the deciding third set after Muguruza had come from a set and a service break down to get on top, but rediscovered her form in the nick of time and won the last five games on the trot to take the victory after two and a half hours. on Saturday, which coach Carlo Ancelotti dubbed their best first-half display this season.

Bayern broke a three-match winless streak by thrashing PSV Eindhoven 4-1 last Wednesday in the Champions League, before beating Gladbach, but Rummenigge says they must maintain their current winning form at the Allianz Arena.

“The first-half display was perhaps the best performance of the season, which deserves praise, but in my experience, not too much,” said Rummenigge.

“We must do exactly the same again on Wednesday.”

Augsburg lost 2-1 to Freiburg on Saturday in Germany’s top flight, but travel the 80 kilometres to Munich buoyed by results against Bayern in recent years.

They have won two of their last five games against Bayern and beat Pep Guardiola’s side in both 2014 and 2015 under ex-coach Markus Weinzierl, who is now in charge of Schalke.

Bayern, who beat Borussia Dortmund on penalties in the 2016 German Cup final in May, have lifted the trophy a record 18 times.

Their only fitness concern is Franck Ribery, who sits out the match with a leg injury.

Dortmund, who came back from two goals down to draw 3-3 at Ingolstadt on Saturday in the league, host second-division Union Berlin at Signal Iduna Park also on Wednesday.

Borussia have a lengthy walking wounded list with captain Marcel Schmelzer and Raphael Guerreiro out, while Sven Bender, Marco Reus, Neven Subotic and Erik Durm are all working their way back after injury.

Bayer Leverkusen, another of Germany’s Champions League representatives who were beaten 3-0 by Hoffenheim on Saturday in the Bundesliga, must be wary of third division Sportfreunde Lotte, who knocked Werder Bremen out in the first round.