Tennis: Kuznetsova Beats Pliskova In Thriller

SINGAPORE, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Oct, 2016 ) - Svetlana Kuznetsova, showing no signs of giving up despite the gruelling schedule she has endured in the past week, produced another thrilling comeback to win her second straight match at the WTA Finals on Wednesday.

Just two days after she saved a match point in defeating the defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, Kuznetsova again rallied back from the brink of defeat to beat US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova 3-6 6-2 7-6 (8-6) in a heart-stopping encounter at Singapore's Indoor Stadium.

"I felt the support of the crowd and I couldn't let anyone down. So I had to fight," Kuznetsova said in a courtside interview. "(It was) my heart. I just love. I've not been at my best my past years.

Something changed this year and I'm just enjoying my game." Pliskova, who saved a match point in her opening match win against Garbine Muguruza, looked set for another big comeback win of her own when she recovered from 4-1 down in the deciding third set to lead 6-5.

But Pliskova was unable to serve out the match -- as the relentless Kuznetsova recorded the eighth break of a nerve-jangling final set.

The 24-year-old Czech, seven years younger than Kuznetsova, saved three successive match points to draw level at 6-6 in the tiebreaker, but the more experienced Russian held her nerve and won the next two points to seal a remarkable victory - this time, without having to cut her own hair mid-match, which she did in her win over Radwanska.

Kuznetsova had already defied the odds just to get to Singapore for the prestigious end-of-season championship, only sneaking into the elite eight-player field after winning the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Saturday.

She hopped straight on a plane, made the long flight to Southeast Asia to take her place in the tournament and was already exhausted when she arrived but is now on the verge of reaching the semi-finals.

Muguruza was due to play Radwanska in Wednesday's late night White Group match. If Radwanska wins, Kuznetsova will advance to the semi-finals regardless of how she performs in her last group match on Friday.