Svetlana Kuznetsova claimed her second titanic victory in a row when the Russian outlasted Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(6) in a thrilling White Group encounter at the WTA Finals to reach the semifinals Wednesday. In the second pool match, Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska got her title defense back on track with an accomplished 7-6(1), 6-3 victory over French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, a result that eliminated the Spaniard. After battling toe-to-toe for two hours and 17 minutes, Kuznetsova collapsed in a heap on the court after sealing victory on her fourth match point with a backhand winner down the line to finally break the Czech's resistance. "With all the support of the crowd and my team, I couldn't afford to let myself and everybody down so I had to fight," twice grand slam winner Kuznetsova said. "I haven't been at my best in recent years but something changed this year... I enjoy my game, I enjoy the crowd and I feel blessed to be playing the best players in the world." Kuznetsova was the final qualifier for the elite eight-woman event when she successfully defended her Kremlin Cup title Saturday and the world No. 9 has shown incredible staying power to first outlast Radwanska Monday and now Pliskova. The victory had put Kuznetsova on the verge of sealing a semi-final spot at the year-end championships for the first time in six attempts and her berth was assured when Radwanska beat Muguruza in the late match. Service woes littered the match between Radwanska and Muguruza with three breaks apiece sending it into a tie-break which Poland's world No. 3 sealed with a spectacular backhand winner as she captured the last six points in a row. Radwanska shrugged off an early break in the second set to overwhelm Muguruza with exceptional shot-making and brilliant service returns, closing out the 96-minute contest on her first match point with her sixth break of the match. Radwanska and Pliskova meet Friday with the winner advancing along with Kuznetsova to the semis. Madison Keys, who needed to win her match to stay in semifinal contention, prevailed 6-1, 6-4 in which she never offered Dominika Cibulkova a break point opportunity Tuesday. Wawrinka ends Basel loss streak with opening win US Open champion Stan Wawrinka ended a four-match Swiss Indoors losing streak Tuesday as he saved face for seeds on a day of first-round upsets. The three-time Grand Slam winner overcame local wildcard Marco Chiudinelli 6-7 (1/7), 6-1, 6-4 in struggle lasting two and a half hours. Lithuanian qualifier Richard Berankis stunned second seed Milos Raonic 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, while Luxembourg's Gilles Muller beat sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-7 (9/11), 6-4, 6-4. In other matches, Marcel Granollers beat Swiss Henri Laaksonen 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, Italy's Paolo Lorenzi put out Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) and German Florian Mayer defeated Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4. Melzer upsets Agut Two-time former champion Jurgen Melzer upset fourth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of the Erste Bank Open Tuesday. Melzer, who won the event in 2009 and 2010, joined fellow Austrian Dominic Thiem in the second round. The third-seeded Thiem defeated Jurgen's younger brother, Gerald Melzer, 6-0, 6-3. Thiem next plays Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who converted the only break point in the final set to complete a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 comeback win over Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Defending champion David Ferrer had to play only five games to advance to the second round after Kyle Edmund pulled out with a hip injury. Ferrer next plays Joao Sousa of Portugal, who led Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 3-0 when the Uruguayan pulled out with an apparent knee injury. Also, 2011 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had 11 aces and avoided break points while beating German qualifier Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4. Also, Feliciano Lopez saved a match point before taking the last three games in a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 win over seventh-seeded Lucas Pouille. Lopez will play John Isner of the United States in the second round. — Agencies
