The 2017 WTA Finals wrapped up on Sunday with the singles and doubles finals in Singapore. Firstly, it was a surprise doubles final with Andrea Hlavackova and Timea Babos up against Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson. From a set down, Hlavackova and Babos won their biggest title together, 4-6 6-4 10-5.
I thought Hlavackova’s experience prevailed in the Champions tiebreak – she was the only player not to double fault and she owned it at the net with a handful of excellent putaways. It was Babos finished with a fine volley. Their joy at the end was infectious!
In the singles final, Caroline Wozniacki won her biggest WTA title, defeating Venus Williams in the final for the first time in her career, 6-4 6-4. It was an exciting final with a super high quality first set and a roaring comeback from Williams in the second set.
Wozniacki scored the first break of the match with a fine forehand winner to lead *3-1 in the first set.
Williams broke straight back and then leveled up at three games all. The American was ultra-aggressive and looked to come forward.
Wozniacki broke again at 4-3 on a thrilling rally – the pair dueled it out with cross-court forehands before Wozniacki went down-the-line with the forehand winner. The Woz forehand has been one of the most improved shots of the year.
Wozniacki served for the first set at *5-3 – Williams broke straight back to 15 with a game of ferocious winners.
Sadly Williams couldn’t hold to stay in the set with four forehand errors. Wozniacki 6-4 first set.
A sad end to what had been a sensational first set of tennis – these stats are amazing!
This was beginning to feel a tad like the Wimbledon final as Wozniacki raced into a 5-0 second set lead with just too many errors from Williams.
There would be a final twist as Wozniacki backed off a tad and Williams reeled off four straight games. Williams got back on serve after this extraordinary point that really got the crowd going!
Again, Williams couldn’t hold on and get to 5-5 as Wozniacki broke again for the title. Absolutely dreadful camera work at the end – how they could miss the handshake and shoot Wozniacki’s box is beyond me!
Thankfully there was a shot of a nice hug between the pair.
Slightly nervy at the end but all in all, an excellent performance from Wozniacki to cap off a super week. I think she has improved her game so much since reaching world number one. Her game is still built on the foundation of being solid, but she’s improved her serve and forehand significantly, and is definitely more positive and looking to do something in the rallies other than just retrieving.
I thought Williams played a great first set and was extremely resourceful to try and combat the slow surface and to dictate the rallies with angles and net charges. The American had a really tremendous tournament. She really deserved to end this year with at least one title but just not to be! It was a decent final to end a so-so week in Singapore. I thought the tournament ended on a high and that the last three matches all had their moments.
So that’s it for Singapore! I’m kind of relieved the tournament is over which I think is a sign that I am ready for a break. Zhuhai starts next week but I am undecided as to whether I will cover it. I have a few off-season posts to come and then i’ll be hibernating…
Moo's Tennis Blog 
I feel like Caroline Garcia was the real story of the championships but credit to Wozniacki for being aggressive and really working on her serve and forehand. We’ve seen this happen before with her though she’s always ended up becoming defensive again.
LikeLike
Alicia Molik on the commentary seemed very confident that Wozniacki was going to win a Slam next year. Can’t say i’m entirely sold just yet.
LikeLike
If she plays in next year’s slams like she’s done in this tournament she’s definitely in with a chance IMO – she made the final of the US Open before being beaten by Serena (I think it was 2014).
LikeLike
Definitely. I think key is whether Wozniacki stays fit and healthy, which she has spoken about a lot in terms of having such a great season. In the past, she’s always come unstuck against a big hitter at a Slam.
LikeLike
I don’t see it. But then I didn’t see Kerber winning two either, so…
Be interested to see whether the old guard (Serena, Venus, Sharapova) can be real contenders at the Slams in 2018. Will the 20 somethings like Muguruza, Pliskova, Halep and Svitolina continue to dominate with those three back in the game. Could Azarenka, Radwanska or Kerber mount a comeback to the top end. Or will we see some more young blood emerging Ostapenko Style?
LikeLike
Yes, Caroline’s been a No 1 before but everyone’s saying she’s an even better player now than she was then (more aggressive and attacking).
Congratuations to her for winning the Finals anyway, although Venus did really well to come back in the second set. I thought that once the score got to 5-0 it was all over, but Venus won four games in succession before Caroline finally secured the win.
LikeLike
Great play from Julia to clinch the title in Zhuhai today! CoCo began well and was 5-2 up in the first set but fell off towards the end and the second set was pretty much one way traffic.
Nevertheless, both players end the tournament with career highs; CoCo makes the top 10 for the first time, whereas Julia reaches No 14.
LikeLike
What an incredible end to the year for Julia! 👏👏👏
LikeLike
Yes, nine matches won in succession and two consecutive titles (this one without dropping a set); it couldn’t have been better for her. I’ve long believed that Julia was an underachiever in the game but now (and apparently with a new team behind her) she’s showing what she can do. She ends the season as the German No. 1.
Credit to CoCo as well; obviously she’s worked hard this year but it’s also clear that she made a smart move in engaging Pat Cash as her coach. Nice hug at the net between her and Julia too.
LikeLike