NEWS » finished. I have been successful on two occasions now, b

SINGAPORE -- Top-seeded Angelique Kerber struggled to defeat seventh-seeded Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3 on the opening day of the WTA Finals in Singapore on Sunday.Kerber, who secured the top ranking last month, battled Cibulkova for 2 hours, 17 minutes before the Slovakian finally succumbed.It was a really good match from both of us, especially the first set, Kerber said. Its a good start to the tournament like this, where you knew you had to play your best to win.Earlier on Sunday, third-seeded Simona Halep won the first match of the round-robin portion of the tournament by taking a 6-2, 6-4 decision over sixth-seeded American Madison Keys.In Red Group action, Kerber and Halep stand at 1-0, while Keys and Cibulkova are at 0-1.On Tuesday, Kerber will play Halep, while Cibulkova and Keys, both making their WTA Finals debut, will play each other.Kerber posted 29 winners and 32 unforced errors to 36 winners and 34 unforced errors for Cibulkova.Cibulkova dropped serve in the opening game of the match, which initially allowed Kerber to establish a 4-2 lead in the first set.Kerber didnt hold on to the advantage, surrendering her own serve on a second double-fault in the eighth game.That sent the first set to a tiebreaker, where the German eventually prevailed.At the beginning I was too excited, but after a few games I started to play my game, Cibulkova said. It was a really tough one, really close, and in these kind of games its about the small details.Cibulkova dominated the second set, racing to 4-0 lead.In the third, Cibulkova was temporarily in charge with a 2-0 lead, but lost five of the next six games to end up on the losing side of the result.Its been a stellar season for Kerber, who won her first two Grand Slam titles at the Australian and US Opens, and also brought home the Olympic silver medal from Rio.Kerbers never journeyed beyond the round-robin stage of the WTA Finals in three previous appearances in 2012, 2013 and 2015.In the opening match, Keys played erratic tennis throughout the 69-minute contest, losing serve on four of 10 break points faced.I definitely think there were some nerves, Keys said. I think one of her strengths is making you feel like you have to go for more and take the risks. I think sometimes she makes me uncomfortable and I back away from playing my game.Keys held serve in the opening game of the match, but then saw Halep win the next five games for a 5-1 lead in the first set.Halep lost an initial 4-2 lead in the second set, but from 4-4 won the final two games.The Romanian reached the final here in 2014 and now holds a 5-1 head-to-head record against Keys.I think I played exactly what I had to play against her, Halep said. I was focused. Everything went as I wanted, so Im happy. Air Max 97 Cheap China . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Cheap Nike Air Max Website . Hey!" 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Mahmudullah was celebrating his sides four-run win over Chittagong Vikings, but the tension that was palpable when he was asked to defend six off the final over didnt wear off even after the post-match presentation. The Khulna Titans captain said that his primary target was to keep Mohammad Nabi off strike but ended up taking his wicket off the last ball.This was the second time Mahmudullah sealed a tense win off the last over. In their first game against Rajshahi Kings, Mahmudullah took three wickets. Here too, he had three scalps and conceded just one run to take his side to No. 2 in the points table.I dont know, it just happened, Mahmudullah said when asked about he managed to defend six runs all over again. My hands are still sweating. I just tried to keep [Mohammad] Nabi off strike, but the Chaturanga [de Silva] wicket was also important. I got a lot of confidence after giving away a single off the first ball and then getting that wicket with the next ball.I dont want to bowl in the death overs but had to do so because my main bowlers had their spells finished. I have been successful on two occasions now, but it can be different in the next game. But I am ready to take the chance again.ddddddddddddut the emotion was contrasting in the Chittagong camp where captain Tamim Iqbal was livid. He didnt single out anyone but he questioned the batsmens mindset after they wilted in the final over.We will keep losing if we play this sort of cricket, he said. Maybe the batsmen doesnt have problem with skill but theres definitely something wrong in his head if he doesnt understand something after sending 20 messages. We dont deserve to play here if we have to do spoon feeding at this level. I dont want to say the name, but I am talking about the batsmen.He praised Mahmudullahs nerve for bowling a tight final over of a chase, but said that it was for Chittagongs to lose, and they did. The match Riyad bhai won them, can only happen once every ten games. But he must be doing something right, now that he has done it twice, he said. Credit goes to him because he bowled well but I think we are more to blame for losing this game. We had two set batsmen in the middle with just six runs to win. ' ' '