Kuznetsova beats Radwanska in epic clash

Sharapova exits from top-100 WTA rankings as per rules

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the oldest singles player at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals in the absence of Serena Williams, drew on all her reserves and saved a match-point to beat defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in a two hours, 48-minute marathon yesterday in their White Group match.

The win stretches Kuznetsova’s WTA-leading three-set match victories to 21 this season.

Kuznetsova arrived in Singapore just a day before the match — the latest of the eight singles players — having booked her berth only after winning the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Saturday. It is her first WTA Finals appearance since 2009. The world No. 9, a two-time Grand Slam winner, showed little signs of fatigue and jet lag, starting brightly as she rallied from 1-4 down to take the first set 7-5.

Sharapova’s ranking

Meanwhile, Russian star Maria Sharapova, currently suspended on doping-related charges, will return to the singles rankings following her performance at three tournaments next year, a senior official with the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) said in Moscow. According to the new rankings released by the Women Tennis Association (WTA) yesterday, the former World No. 1 dropped out of the global top-100 female tennis players, reports Efe.

“Sharapova’s departure from the WTA rankings list is a matter of technical detail,” RTF Vice-President Alexei Selivanenko said.

“She needs to take part in at least three tournaments in order to regain her stance in the ranking list.”

“She lost the minimal required quota (to stay in the ranking list) of three tournaments since she had not played since the beginning of this year,” Selivanenko added.

Sharapova has been allowed by the International Tennis Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x8) bt Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x2) 7-5 1-6 7-5 Federation (ITF) to play in exhibition matches before her ban expires. She has been serving a two-year suspension for violation of anti-doping regulations since January 26. However, the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled October 4 to reduce her suspension term from 24 to 15 months.

The right-handed player is now eligible to officially return to the tennis courts from April 26 next year.