Cibulkova climbs to fifth after WTA Finals
AFP
AFP, PARIS: Surprise WTA Finals winner Dominka Cibulkova has climbed three places into fifth in the latest world rankings published on Monday.
The Slovakian player pulled off a stunning 6-3, 6-4 defeat of world number one Angelique Kerber at the end-of-season tournament in Singapore.
Runner-up in the 2014 Australian Open Cibulkova was the only major mover inside the top 10 dominated by Kerber with Serena Williams in second place.
Its a big thing now in my tennis that I work with a mental coach. Ive worked with him for one and a half years. This is something very important for me, because as you can see, on the court I put a lot of emotions, and emotions just affect me, she told reporters after her win.
Cibulkova turned the tables on Germanys Kerber a week after losing to her in the first of three round-robin stage matches.
This is a big moment for me. Its the biggest moment in my career, Cibulkova said at the presentation.
Its hard to describe in words (how I feel). I have to congratulate Angelique Kerber, you are an inspiration for me to play hard this year. With hard work, everything is possible.
Kerber went into the final as the overwhelming favourite to win after taking this years Australian Open and US Open titles but the 28-year-old was powerless to stop her diminutive opponent, whose shock win capped an inspired return to the games elite that saw her named as this seasons WTA Comeback Player of the Year.
Cibulkova only just snuck into the WTA Finals, restricted to the worlds top eight players, when she won this months Linz Open in Austria but was facing an early exit from Singapore after losing her first two matches.
She only qualified for the semi-finals on a countback when Kerber did her a huge favour by beating American Madison Keys in straight sets, and Cibulkova herself and fought back from a set down to win against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
For her win over Kerber, Cibulkova was presented with the Billie Jean King trophy by tennis legend Monica Seles and a cheque for $2.05 million.
Kerber on the other hand was left wondering what went wrong at the end of a stellar year.
Oozing with self-belief after making the quantum leap from another promising player to the woman who dislodged Serena Williams at the top of the world rankings, Kerber had done everything right this week, giving up just set one in the four matches she played en route to the final.
The left-hander had won each of her last five matches with Cibulkova, but did not bank on her playing the match of her life, hitting winners from every part of the court, eliciting huge roars and gasps from the crowd.
It was a tough year with a lot of matches, so I give everything on court today, the rest (of the) energy I had left, Kerber told reporters.
Of course when Im looking back its one of my best years... I will just think about the best moments and the positive emotions.
Latest WTA rankings
1. Angelique Kerber 9.080 pts
2. Serena Williams 7.050
3. Agnieszka Radwanska 5.600
4. Simona Halep 5.528
5. Dominika Cibulkova 4.875 (+3)
6. Karolina Pliskova 4.600 (-1)
7. Garbine Muguruza 4.236 (-1)
8. Madison Keys 4.137 (-1)
9. Svetlana Kuznetsova 4.115
10. Johanna Konta 3.455
11. Carla Suarez 3.170
12. Victoria Azarenka 3.061
13. Petra Kvitova 2.840
14. Elina Svitolina 2.456
15. Venus Williams 2.241
16. Caroline Wozniacki 2.240
17. Roberta Vinci 2.190
18. Timea Bacsinszky 2.188
19. Elena Vesnina 2.094
20. Samantha Stosur 2.090
