Dominika Cibulkova reflected on the biggest triumph of her career after producing a stunning display >to beat Angelique Kerber to the WTA Finals title.
The Slovakian was in superb form as she recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the World No. 1 in Singapore on Sunday to mark her first outing at the tournament in style.
Having never won a grand slam, the 27-year-old — who was beaten in her first two matches — had little doubt where this win ranked for her.
"I have no words. Coming here for the first time, winning the biggest tournament of my life right now," she said. "I just remember the match point. I put the ball over the net and it just went in and it was the happiest moment in my life."
Cibulkova lost to Kerber in the opening match and suffered defeat to Madison Keys, before sealing a semifinal spot with a win over Simona Halep. And yet on Sunday she fell to the floor in celebration after seizing on her fourth championship point when a forehand clipped the net and landed out of Kerber's reach.
Cibulkova added: "It wasn't easy to go on the court after two losses and to play against Halep, but I was just mentally really strong. I knew I played well in the first two matches and was just a little bit unlucky. And today you could see I was really lucky at the end. So I think everything all just came together in one moment for me."
Beaten finalist Kerber offered her congratulations to Cibulkova and added: "I had an amazing year, I won two grand slams and it was one of the best years in my career. I gave everything on court, everything I had left, and I would like to say thank you to my team. We had an amazing year."
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