Slow and Steady: Radwanska ends year on highest note at WTA Finals

SINGAPORE—About five months ago, Agnieszka Radwanska was very angry. She had been stunned by 83rd-ranked Annika Beck in the first round of Roland Garros, was ranked outside the Top 10, and in her mind was not playing well for the first time since she turned pro in 2005.

Ten years after she began her career, Radwanska felt like she had nothing to show for it.

But that's when things changed. Her play improved on grass—she reached the semis of Nottingham, the final of Eastbourne, and the semis at Wimbledon—and little by little, her confidence returned. After the U.S. Open, she won titles in Tokyo and Tianjin. And by the end of the season’s final tournament, in Singapore, Radwanska had something big to show for it all. In the biggest win of her career, Radwanska defeated Petra Kvitova, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, to win the WTA Finals.

“Unbelievable,” said Radwanska. “I didn't really expect this at all, especially [after] the beginning of the year, it was not great.

“I think the good sentence is...‘Doesn't matter how you start, matters how you end.'”

The 26-year-old went 1-2 in round-robin play but produced her best tennis when it mattered most. She has been in plenty of big matches before (Radwanska was wonderful for much of the 2012 Wimbledon final, when she stretched Serena Williams to three sets before losing), and has won some significant titles, in Montreal, Miami and Beijing.

But the season-ending championships is a different type of test. The top eight players show up (this time with the exception of No. 1 Williams, who decided to skip the rest of the year after the U.S. Open), and they all know that it’s the best of the best. A title is significant at any tournament, but in the WTA Finals it means that you are not only good enough to play with all the game’s greats, you are also good enough to beat them.

Yes, Radwanska did not have to beat the all-time greats this week, but she surpassed world No. 2 Simona Halep, world No. 3 Garbine Muguruza, and the two-time Grand Slam champion Kvitova. A number of former champions were in Singapore watching Radwanska bend down low for her unorthodox shots and kiss the lines once she hit them: Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and Tracy Austin. All of them thought Radwanska had a shot to win on Sunday, but Kvitova was 6-2 against her. Plus, especially indoors, Kvitova could overpower her less hard-hitting opponent.

Kvitova swung away and attacked the net frequently. But she was up and down overall, while Radwanska was remarkably consistent, ending the contest with 15 winners to just five unforced errors. Kvitova smacked up 41 winners, but she also racked up 53 unforced errors.

In the first set, Radwanska skipped along and raced around, going side to side and moving forward like the wind. Kvitova had a game plan: Don’t engage Radwanska and grind out points with lengthy rallies. So the Czech attacked, rushing toward the net, returning second serves towards the lines, and attempting to pull Radwanska way off the court. But it didn't matter, as she kept missing.

“I was a little bit frustrated for sure,” Kvitova said. “I knew the game plan and what I should play, but I just couldn't do that. I was trying to play aggressively, but I miss very early and I couldn't really stay longer in the rally.”

When Radwanska took the first set 6-2 and led 3-1 in the second, it looked like she was about to cruise towards the title. But all of a sudden, the lefty's ferocious forehands found their range, her first serve was pushing Radwanska well outside of the box, and her net charges paid dividends. Kvitova did it all, winning the set 6-4 with a murderous forehand return winner.

The third set was a toss up, but importantly, Radwanska kept her nerves in check. She also held her serve—Radwanska doesn't have a big serve, but she possesses pinpoint accuracy, even with her first ball.

At 3-3, Radwanska could have grown discouraged after Kvitova fought off two break points by ripping two forehands and screaming with joy. But Radwanska, who can hit her crosscourt backhand for hours, wasn’t missing. Kvitova, on the other hand, fluffed an easy backhand to get broken to 4-3.

Kvitova fizzled, and a few minutes later, Radwanska had won the tournament. She cried tears of joy.

“It means everything,” Radwanska said. “Maybe in the last point then you always kind of shaky, but I think I was just playing my best tennis until the end.”

The WTA’s season-ending championships began back in 1972, and every winner has won a Grand Slam title except for Germany’s Sylvia Hanika in 1982. A few of the champions won the tournament before they went on to win their first Grand Slam. In 2005, Amelie Mauresmo won it; a couple months of later, she won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Maybe Radwanska is ready to shine.

“Well, for sure give me more confidence, especially that in a Grand Slam you have to win [against] and beat couple of top players in a row,” said Radwanska, who will end the year at No. 5. “I think here it's even harder because just eight of us and you don't have any first rounds to used to the courts. But definitely a good start. I'll definitely try to do that next year.”