Stephens shaken but bounces back to win

SLOANE Stephens battled back from dropping the first set to love to reach the finals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals.

The sixth-seeded American will meet Elina Svitolina in the final after beating Karolina Pliskova 0-6 6-4 6-1 in Singapore.

The Czech was quickly into her stride, coasting through the opening set in 31 minutes, and continued her dominance by taking the first two games of the second.

Then the fightback started as Stephens reeled off the next three games before Pliskova broke back to level at 3-3.

Stephens broke back immediately and served out to take the set 6-4 and level the match.

The deciding set started with a pair of breaks but then Stephens took over, winning the next five games to secure victory in two hours and 27 minutes.

“I came out here a little bit nervous and I was not really feeling the ball,” Stephens said after the match on court.

“I knew playing Kaja Pliskova was going to be a really tough match.

“I mean, when you say you are going to ‘give someone a lesson’ – she was absolutely working me today.

“I had a bit of an adrenaline dump after I finally won one game – I was really fired up, so I was like ‘come on, let’s do this. I can win one game, maybe I can win two, then three.’ I just started to feel the ball a little better.

“Again, all credit to her. I just tried to stay in it and get as many balls back as I could. I am just really proud of my fight today.”

Earlier, Svitolina reached the biggest final of her career as she overcame Kiki Bertens in three sets.

The number six seed wore down Bertens to advance with a 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-4 victory in two hours and 38 minutes.

“It was such a tough battle today and I am very happy I could win in the end. It means a lot to me,” Svitolina said on court after the match.

“I think physically, in the end, it was just about running and chasing every ball down.”