Sloane Stephens lost the opening eight game of the match but managed to beat Karolina Pliskova 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 to advance to the Championship Match in Singapore. She will meet Elina Svitolina aiming to extend her 2-1 lead in the head to head record. 'When you say you're going to give someone a lesson, well, she was absolutely working me today" said Stephens in her on-court interview. Karolina Pliskova played an almost perfect set to open the encounter. “I’m so tight,” said Stephens when she called down Sly Black for a chat after falling behind 0-3 to start the semifinals. But she failed to find her game and struggled to control her forehands when Pliskova offered her hard and deep returns down the middle. "I think my game is just completely fine. There is no reason to panic or there is no reason to just feel bad about something. I think my shots are both pretty solid, so I can play anywhere," said Pliskova after beating Petra Kvitova in the final round-robin clash. "I think I didn't felt this way kind of in off-season, so I feel just pretty relaxed. My serve is fine, so positive". Such relaxed approach produced her second bagel of the season: in six one-sided games, Pliskova hit nine winners to Stephens' four and four fewer errors, seven to eleven. Coach Rennae Stubbs looked even more satisfied when the former world number one delivered a backhand winner with an extremely sharp angle and followed it with a running second down the line to break and make it 8 consecutive games. "It is so nice to see Karolina Pliskova playing this well. She's been searching for this level for over a year now, "she said during her press conference earlier this week. The Czech could not close out a game at 40-15 and Stephens managed to break back as Pliskova gifted her a forehand error. Her scream of relief suddenly brought the American back into the match. She saved a break point and then held to level at 2-2 and moved ahead for the first time in the match with a forehand winner and her first ace of the match, clinching the second consecutive break. “You have to decide how hard you’re going to work right now to win this set. Not the match, the set. You know you can break her serve.” said coach Rennae Stubbs. When she's called on the court, she explained in the press conference reserved to coaches earlier this week, "getting the right thing out there in 90 seconds is really important. So there are things you don't want to forget, so it's really important to write it down. [But] you just have to bring Kaja back to the positive of what's happening out there and see the positives and what's been going on. So it's bringing a player back to what they're doing well. A lot of players concentrate on the bad things and not the good things, (it)'s bringing them back to the now". Pliskova applied exactly what coach Stubbs suggested her to do, broke back immediately to level at 3-3 but lost her edge in the very next game. She continued to struggle in finding her range on serve and forehand, so Stephens could seal the second set and open the decider with a sudden break. Pliskova lost her discipline from the baseline, put 42% first serves in and closed the set with 21 unforced errors to Stephens' 16. This became the first time both semifinals have gone to the distance at the WTA Finals since 2004 Stephens is one of the tour leaders in first serve percentage, injected more pace in her first deliveries in the second set, a smart change from a fierce competitor who, as she explained after her victory over Angelique Kerber, feels particularly proud of her battling spirit. "I think I just competed rea,lly hard" she said detailing what she''s you most proud of this season. "I stayed solid every match. Obviously the conditions were kind of neutral for everyone. The court is a little bit slow. I knew from the start I was going to have to battle and every match was going to be a tough one. It's not every day or every tournament that you play three top-10 players in a row or four top-10, whatever it is now. Yeah, just get out there and battle and play as hard as you can and whatever happens, happens". The 2017 Us Open champion broke immediately to begin the decider as Pliskova definitely lost discipline from the baseline and netted an easy forehand on the final break point of the game. Tensions surfaced dramatically. Stephens lost her serve at love, Pliskova gifted a second break on another netted forehand to return a neutral ball and called down Stubbs for a tactical chat. She insisted on a key concept, as she often did in her on-court talks she almost implored Pliskova to get her legs going. But those legs looked completed exhausted and Stephens, more assured, kept a steadier pressure from the baseline making the final set a one-way traffic to her own advantage<doc-sep>A steely Sloane Stephens lost the opening eight games before turned it around in the second set to storm home 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 55 minutes A steely Sloane Stephens lost the opening eight games before turned it around in the second set to storm home 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 55 minutes (AFP Photo/Roslan RAHMAN) Singapore (AFP) - Sloane Stephens dug deep to produce the "best comeback" of her career in a stunning semi-final triumph against Karolina Pliskova in Singapore, an epic turnaround she believes can provide inspiration in the future. The former US Open champion was shell-shocked after losing the opening eight games to the red hot Pliskova. But a steely Stephens turned it around in the second set before storming home 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 55 minutes. Stephens will meet fellow unbeaten player Elina Svitolina in the WTA Finals decider on Sunday. The American said she could draw on the match when under adversity in the future. "I think so, definitely. Comeback wise, I think that was the best comeback of my career," Stephens told reporters. "In this situation on this stage, the semi-final, trying to make the final... there was a lot on the line." Stephens admitted to being humiliated after losing the first set in just 31 minutes. "I was like... I'm going to lose 0 and 0. This is so embarrassing," she said. "I just tried my best, and it ended up okay. "To get that game at 2-1 was crucial and then I just kind of worked my way back from that." After memorably winning at Flushing Meadows in 2017, Stephens vowed to prove her Grand Slam breakthrough was no flash in the pan. A French Open finalist this season, Stephens is making a successful debut at the prestigious eight-player WTA Finals. "I think my biggest thing was obviously after the US Open last year, everyone was, like, oh, she's a one-hit wonder," she said. "I think this season I just really wanted to play a little more consistently. I think I did that throughout the year. "Obviously ending this tournament here, (in the) final, I think will help me going into 2019."<doc-sep>Late last week, we ranked the eight women in the WTA Finals heading into the event. We had Naomi Osaka as the contender most likely to win and Elina Svitolina at the very bottom. Well ... Osaka left Singapore without a single W, and Svitolina is a semifinalist. Please pass the salt and ketchup -- the crow is being served. Svitolina might be one of our readers, because shortly after she demolished Petra Kvitova in her opening match, she dedicated the win to those detractors. "I want to take this win as one to go forward, and for all those people and haters that were saying I don't deserve to be here and I'm, you know, not good." Touché. Given how badly our predictions went the first time around, we've given ourselves a chance for redemption. Without further ado, our final four predictions for those still left in the Singapore field. Sloane Stephens went 3-0 in the round-robin stage of this year's WTA Finals. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Power Ranking heading into WTA Finals: 5 Round-robin record: 2-0 (def. Osaka, Kiki Bertens, Angelique Kerber) Semifinal opponent: Karolina Pliskova It didn't seem quite fair. After posting a pair of impressive three-set wins over US Open champion Osaka and upset specialist Bertens, Stephens' fate was still undecided when she faced Kerber on Friday in the final round-robin match. But Stephens took care of Kerber swiftly, 6-3, 6-3. The performance was enough to make the American the favorite to win the WTA Finals. The keys for Stephens this week has been her patience, resilience and the relatively slow court speed, something she acknowledged after her win over Kerber. "This court is a bit of a neutralizer," Stephens told the crowd. "I think that's helped me a little bit." The surface has allowed her to make full use of her excellent movement and grind-it-out game and should certainly help returning Pliskova's dominant serve and all-around powerful game. 2. Elina Svitolina Power Ranking heading into WTA Finals: 8 Round-robin record: 3-0 (def. Wozniacki, Pliskova, Kvitova) Semifinal opponent: Bertens Last year, defending champion Caroline Wozniacki humiliated Svitolina in the round-robin stage, allowing her just two games. That was then. On Thursday, Svitolina clinched her semifinal berth with a win against Wozniacki. Like Stephens, Svitolina made it to the semis undefeated. Svitolina always has had trouble navigating Grand Slam draws and logging wins against elite players. But players often overcome seemingly mental challenges with technical or tactical changes. "I think she's still playing similar [to last year], but maybe she was missing much more before," Pliskova said in press after their match earlier in the week. "Maybe she improved a little bit the serve. Otherwise she's just defending." "Just" defending? That dogged defense could pay off in the form of a title for Svitolina, especially against the harder-hitting Bertens, who doesn't have the same level of patience as her opponent. 3. Kiki Bertens Power Ranking heading into WTA Finals: 3 Round-robin record: 2-1 (def. Kerber, Osaka; loss, Stephens) Semifinal opponent: Svitolina The mobile, 6-foot Bertens is a real opportunist, and that's a great quality in a tennis player. She made the elite-eight field only because of No. 1-ranked Simona Halep's withdrawal with an injury but has proved she belongs. Bertens started the year ranked No. 31, climbing her way up to No. 9 the hard way -- with quality wins against elite players, including a string of 10 consecutive victories versus top-10 players. That ended Wednesday versus Stephens. That match was a compelling struggle, featuring the kind of high-risk tennis that makes Bertens so dangerous. She smacked 24 winners while committing 47 unforced errors (Stephens had 18 and 37, respectively). But the match, like so many featuring players like Bertens, hinged on a few key points. Bertens' brand of no-holds-barred tennis can be unnerving for anyone, especially on big occasions. It's just matter of whether she can rattle an opponent who has not dropped a match this week. No. 4 Karolina Pliskova Power Ranking heading into WTA Finals: 4 Round-robin record: 2-1 (def. Kvitova, Wozniacki; loss, Svitolina) Semifinal opponent: Stephens Pliskova started great this week with a retribution win against the woman who ousted her in the semifinals last year, Wozniacki. Pliskova's massive serve enabled her to save all 10 break points she faced. But you rarely win major tournaments against top players with offense alone. In Pliskova's second outing, she lost a marathon 15-minute minute, 10-deuce game in the first set to Svitolina, mainly because of the Czech's return of serve -- notably her inability to convert any of six break points. "This game, I could have won it, it could be different, but it was not," Pliskova said afterward. "Maybe I should not think about it too much, because I think it had a big influence on the first set." Pliskova still qualified, beating countrywoman Petra Kvitova (0-3), but the prognosis is clear: A gifted defender like Stephens will always pose questions Pliskova might not be able to answer. Semifinal predictions Stephens def. Pliskova (Stephens leads series 2-1): The only way for Pliskova to win is if she has an outrageously good serving day and Stephens contributes by playing poorly or freezing up in tiebreakers. Stephens in two sets. Bertens def. Svitolina (series tied 1-1): Even though we have Svitolina ranked higher here based on how she's played this week, we're calling for the upset. Svitolina has historically faltered in pressure situations. Bertens, on the other hand, seems to love stepping up. Bertens in three close sets. Final prediction Stephens def. Bertens (Stephens leads series tied 2-0): They played a close one in the round robins, and there's little reason to think the outcome won't be similar Sunday.<doc-sep>
A stunned Sloane Stephens lost the opening eight games before turning things around in the second set A stunned Sloane Stephens lost the opening eight games before turning things around in the second set (AFP Photo/Roslan RAHMAN) Singapore (AFP) - A gutsy Sloane Stephens recovered from early embarrassment to storm past Karolina Pliskova on Saturday, setting up a mouth-watering WTA Finals decider against in-form Elina Svitolina. The former US Open champion triumphed on Saturday against an inconsistent Pliskova 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 55 minutes in Singapore. A stunned Stephens lost the opening eight games before turning things around to win 12 of the next 15. The hard-hitting Pliskova started red hot in what loomed as a one-sided contest before Stephens fought back with relentless hustle as the Czech went off the boil. "I think obviously today was a great comeback,' Stephens told reporters. "I just made a couple extra plays on the ball. Tried something a little different. When I did that, it worked." Pliskova said she produced her "best set" of the year before the dramatic change. "I don't think I did that many things wrong in the second set," she said. "Obviously, I lost a little bit energy in the third set." It was an unexpected result after Pliskova's early domination through power and precision to blitz through the first set in 31 minutes. She pinpointed the lines to totally rattle a flustered Stephens, who uncharacteristically made a slew of errors. After surviving an early break point, the one-way traffic continued in the second set with Pliskova breaking in the second game against a dejected Stephens. The humiliation ended for Stephens when she broke Pliskova's previously impregnable serve in the third game and then started to find her range. Pliskova's first serve deserted her as a composed Stephens forced a decider and her momentum continued by capturing a break to open the third set. Stephens rolled through against a slumping Pliskova to complete a monumental turnaround, as the former world number one fell in the semi-finals for the second straight year. - Svitolina through - Earlier, a determined Svitolina overcame the relentless power of Kiki Bertens, continuing a dogged quest for her first WTA Finals triumph. Story continues Svitolina outlasted the world number nine 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 in two hours and 39 minutes to continue her bid to make amends for a lacklustre early exit last year. Her defensive prowess wore down Bertens, who blasted 41 winners but made 63 unforced errors. It ended a fairy tale run for Bertens, who only qualified days before the tournament when world number one Simona Halep withdrew from injury. "I think physically I was a little bit stronger... pushed myself a little bit more maybe mentally," Svitolina told reporters. "I think only a few points decided the third set because we both were playing good tennis." Bertens said Svitolina's defensive skills forced her into playing ultra-aggressive. "I knew that I had to play that kind of game, but that comes also with a lot of mistakes," she said. "In the end she was just a more stable player." The world number seven drew first blood when Bertens double-faulted on set point, as the Dutchwoman threw her racquet in frustration after a first set riddled with 21 unforced errors. Bertens regrouped and was on the brink of levelling it up at 40-0 in the 10th game but cracked under the pressure. The 26-year-old recovered in a tense tiebreak to force a decider and the twists continued in a pulsating third set. Svitolina was unable to consolidate the break in a marathon 13-minute second game but hit back immediately against Bertens' erratic serve, becoming the first ever Ukrainian to qualify for the decider.