Dominika Cibulkova pulls off stunning upset over Angelique Kerber to win WTA Finals

Dominika Cibulkova lifts the trophy after beating Angelique Kerber at the WTA Finals in Singapore yesterday. Pic/AFP

Dominika Cibulkova lifts the trophy after beating Angelique Kerber at the WTA Finals in Singapore yesterday. Pic/AFP

Singapore: Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, who pulled off a stunning upset over world number one Angelique Kerber to scoop the WTA Finals yesterday, credited her mental strength for her winning performance.

Runner-up at the 2014 Australian Open, the former seventh seed denied Kerber a chance to end a remarkable year on a high, defeating her in a nail-biting 6-3, 6-4 final in Singapore that lasted 76 minutes.

"It's a big thing now in my tennis that I work with a mental coach. I've 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.

Biggest moment
Cibulkova turned the tables on Germany's Kerber a week after losing to her in the first of three round-robin stage matches.

"This is a big moment for me. It's the biggest moment in my career," Cibulkova said at the presentation. "It's 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 year's 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 game's elite that saw her named as this season's WTA Comeback Player of the Year.

Murray wins in Vienna
Meanwhile in Vienna, Andy Murray continued his march towards the world number one slot by winning the Vienna Open. The 29-year-old Scot swept past Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) in the final to earn his seventh title of the year.

Murray can take over the world number one ranking from Novak Djokovic if he wins next week's Paris Masters and the Serb fails to reach the final.

He can also take over top spot if he reaches the final and Djokovic loses before the semis in the French capital.

Cilic triumphs
Marin Cilic tightened his grip on the last qualifying spot in next month's ATP year-end finals with a dominating 6-1 7-6 (7/5) defeat of Kei Nishikori to win the Swiss Indoors in Basel yesterday. The Croatian triumphed in a repeat of the 2014 US Open final, where he also defeated Asia's best player.