Having gone winless in her three previous WTA finals, Dominika Cibulkova finally got the monkey off her back in Moscow, winning her very first WTA title at the Premier-level Kremlin Cup. She escaped a 6-4 3-1 hole to beat top seed Vera Zvonareva in the quarterfinals and again rallied from a set down to win the final, beating big-hitting Estonian Kaia Kanepi, 3-6 7-6(1) 7-5.
Coming into the tournament, Cibulkova was one of only two Top 20 players without a WTA title to her name – she was 0-3 in her first three WTA finals. But by overcoming some of her toughest rivals – she had losing head-to-head records against each of her last three opponents, Vera Zvonareva, Elena Vesnina and Kanepi – she changed all that. Peng Shuai is now the only Top 20 player without a WTA title under her belt (she is 0-4 in WTA finals).
“This is the best feeling I’ve ever had. It’s the best day for me,” Cibulkova said. “I’ve been waiting for my first WTA title for so long. It’s also special because I had so many tough moments, against Zvonareva in the quarterfinals and against Kaia today. It didn’t come easily. I really had to fight for my first title.”
In Luxembourg, Victoria Azarenka didn’t lose a set en route to her third WTA title of the year, beating fast-rising Romanian Monica Niculescu handily in the final, 6-2, 6-2. Azarenka is one of eight singles players heading to the year-end finale in Istanbul this week.
Azarenka won her third WTA title of the year and the eighth of her career; it was her first title since Marbella in April, and her first final since Madrid in May. Azarenka didn’t lose a set en route to the title this week (her closest set came in the second set of her 62 64 first round win over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova).
“Monica has a unique game, a really different style,” Azarenka said. “You really have to dig deep and be patient against her, but you also have to be aggressive. If you stand there and just dig the balls back, she can beat you. So I just tried to stay aggressive and fight for every point and I’m happy how it turned out.”
“I’m very pleased to win another title,” Azarenka said. “I was improving from match to match. I came here to get matches before Istanbul and of course win the tournament – everywhere I enter, I try to be the best. Everywhere I play I give all my heart and fight for every ball and I’m glad I came through this week.”
