Kuznetsova wins after on-court haircut

Svetlana Kuznetsova snipped off part of her braid with scissors during a changeover before going on to beat defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5, Monday at the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore. The sheared hair remained on her chair for the rest of the match.

Trailing, 2-1, and down a break in the third set, Kuznetsova, without the benefit of a mirror, took scissors to the back of her head and chopped away. “It was bothering me a lot,” said the Russian, who asked the umpire to have scissors brought to the court.

“When I was hitting forehands, every time I would hit a good shot it would hit my eye.”

She added: “I thought, ‘OK, what’s more important now, my hair, which I can let grow, or the match?’ ”

Although it was an unusual sight for fans, Kuznetsova isn’t the first player to cut their hair on court.

Andy Murray cut the front of his hair during a defeat to Rafael Nadal at the year-ending 2015 ATP Finals in London. Boris Becker trimmed his bangs during a four-set Wimbledon semifinal win over Ivan Lendl in 1988.

Tomas Berdych’s chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals were dealt a blow as Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia defeated the 10th-ranked Czech, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-5, in the first round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. Berdych held the eighth and final qualifying spot for the season-ending tournament coming into this event but could now be overtaken by David Goffin and Marin Cilic, who are both playing in Basel, Switzerland, this week.

Kei Nishikori made a winning return after three weeks out injured, beating Dusan Lajovic, 7-5, 6-1, in the first round of the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel. Nishikori, who retired with a glute muscle injury at the recent Japan Open, got the prime match slot after the opening ceremony at Roger Federer’s hometown tournament, which is missing the seven-time champion and Nadal, who both ended their seasons because of injury.