By Alberto Amalfi | Saturday, February 4, 2017
Yulia Putintseva rallied past world No. 5 Dominika Cibulkova to set up a St. Petersburg final with Kristina Mladenovic.
Photo credit: St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy/Formula TX
Yulia Putintseva continues her roll as St. Petersburg comeback queen.
Trailing 2-4 in the final set, Putintseva reeled off four straight games to stun second-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, and reach her first WTA final at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
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Winless in seven prior meetings with Top 5-ranked opponents, the 34th-ranked Putintseva knocked off the fifth-ranked Slovak for the biggest win of her career.
It is Putintseva’s second straight comeback win over a seeded opponent. She won four consecutive games to subdue third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5 in yesterday’s quarterfinals.
“It’s unbelievable,” Putintseva said. “I’m very happy that today the crowd was behind me. Yesterday, they supported more Svetlana and today they cheered for me. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
Continuing her quest for her first WTA title, Putintseva will meet Kristina Mladenovic in tomorrow’s final.
The 51st-ranked Frenchwoman defeated 115th-ranked Russian qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, in two hours, seven minutes.
Reigning Roland Garros doubles champion Mladenovic is also bidding for her first WTA singles title.
"She played really well in the first set, played deep and strong,” Mladenovic said. “We don’t know Natalia so well in Tour, don’t know what to expect tactically. But she is a great player, she has great potential.
"As to the two eventual finals I could play here – singles and doubles – I think, I have enough energy left. I also hope my doubles partner Daria Gavrilova will help me later today.”
Mladenovic and Putintseva have split four career meetings with Putintseva scoring a 6-4, 6-4 victory in their last encounter at Indian Wells last March.
It is the first WTA unseeded final since Peng Shuai defeated Alison Riske to win the Tianjin title last fall.