Kuznetsova cuts her hair during victory over Radwanska
SINGAPORE: 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.
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 looked on in stunned disbelief when the Russian gave herself an impromptu haircut early in the deciding third set, chopping 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.” PLISKOVA MAKES WINNING START
The Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova, appearing in the tournament for the first time, also saved a match point in her 6-2, 6-7(4), 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.