Into WTA Finals title match, Dominika Cibulkova continues to amaze

It was only fitting that this match went three sets and lasted two hours and 27 minutes.

At the start of the season, Dominika Cibulkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova weren’t expected to be playing in Singapore in October. And they were hardly favored to advance to the WTA Finals semis when they got there.

But here they were on Saturday after improbable runs. Kuznetsova was the last to quality for a WTA Finals berth after winning the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, and she kept her momentum going in the round-robin stage with consecutive three-set wins over Agnieszka Radwanska and Karolina Pliskova.

Cibulkova, making her first career WTA Finals appearance, looked dead and buried after dropping her first two round-robin matches to Angelique Kerber and Madison Keys. But Domi didn’t quit, and managed to squeak into the semis after defeating Simona Halep in straights.

On Saturday, when the Russian and the Slovak met for a spot in the final, Kuznetsova—the far more accomplished of the two—took control early, winning the first set 6-1 without facing a break point.

But the match was far from over, and Cibulkova was far from finished. The 27-year-old took the second set in a tiebreaker and, in the deciding third set, dug deep at 4-4. She saved two break points, held for 5-4 and broke Kuznetsova in the 10th game for a 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory.

Cibulkova won’t be favored to win the title match against Kerber, but she’s risen to challenges and exceeded expectations all year. One thing’s for sure: She won’t go down without a fight.

Pick against her at your own peril.