Svetlana Kuznetsova edges out Karolina Pliskova in thriller

Svetlana Kuznetsova celebrates her 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) win over Karolina Pliskova in the WTA Finals in Singapore on Wednesday. (Photo: AFP)

Svetlana Kuznetsova, showing no signs of giving up despite the gruelling schedule she has endured in the past week, produced another thrilling comeback to win her second straight match at the WTA Finals on Wednesday.

Just two days after she saved a match point in defeating the defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, Kuznetsova again rallied back from the brink of defeat to beat US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) in a heart-stopping encounter at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium.

“I felt the support of the crowd and I couldn’t let anyone down. So I had to fight,” Kuznetsova said in a courtside interview.

“(It was) my heart. I’ve not been at my best my past years. Something changed this year and I’m just enjoying my game.”

Pliskova looked set for another big comeback win of her own when she recovered from 4-1 down in the deciding third set to lead 6-5.

But Pliskova was unable to serve out the match — as the relentless Kuznetsova recorded the eighth break of a nerve-jangling final set.

The 24-year-old Czech saved three successive match points to draw level at 6-6 in the tiebreaker, but the more experienced Russian held her nerve and won the next two points to seal a remarkable victory.

Wawrinka ends Basel loss streak In Basel, US Open champion Stan Wawrinka ended a four-match Swiss Indoors losing streak on 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.

He needed five match points to reach the second round, clinching victory with a 16th ace in a match where he struck more than 35 unforced errors.

Wawrinka had lost at the last four Basel editions in the first round; he has never passed the semifinals in a dozen previous appearances.

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.

Muller unleashed 17 aces against Dimitrov, produced 44 winners and broke three times against in his upset win over Dimitrov, the world-ranked 18 from Bulgaria.

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.