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The WTA Finals ended on an appropriate, if not entirely satisfying, note Sunday in Singapore. Pulled to her right by Angelique Kerbers so-so forehand, Dominika Cibulkova stepped over, adjusted to an extreme western grip and laid into a cross-court forehand. When the ball smacked the net tape, it had enough spin to crawl over and die on Kerbers side of the net.Due largely to the mental yips, Cibulkova had failed to convert three previous match points. But serendipity earned her the fourth, and a 6-3, 6-4 upset of top-ranked Kerber in 1 hour, 16 minutes. It ended the official WTA tournament year on a surprising note.I have no words, the elated winner chirped in her on-court interview afterward.She wasnt the only one.Kerber stood by, eyes glazed, through the trophy presentation. It seemed that her mind seemed a million miles away, which was not a bad place to go under the circumstances.Granted, Cibulkova played exceptionally well in the final, while Kerber never got a handle on her game. On the other hand, its fair to wonder what on earth Cibulkova was doing playing in the final. The details constitute a pretty strong case against the hybrid round-robin/knockout format, which will also be employed by the ATP in a few weeks at its own year-end shootout.Lets set the table: Cibulkova, who will rise to No. 5 on Monday, is a useful player. A pugnacious, energetic, 27-year-old Slovak, she has been to the quarterfinals at every Grand Slam event. She has played in one major final, losing the 2014 Australian Open title match against Li Na. Cibulkova rode that achievement into the top 10 but soon after went into a terrible slump.Consistency and loss of nerve have always been Cibulkovas bugaboos, and those are precisely the qualities that separate Grand Slam champions from the puzzling contenders and also-rans. You have to win seven consecutive matches over two weeks against a (presumably) escalating class of player to triumph at a major. Its a monumental ask.Round-robin based events allow a player with a loss, or even two (as weve seen for the second year in a row in Singapore), to win the championship. Kerbers record in this weeks WTA Finals?was 4-1; Cibulkova finished 3-2, but shes the champ. It turns the most fundamental premise in tennis upside down.You have to take a close look at Cibulkovas run to really appreciate all the irony in this scenario. Kerber bested Cibulkova in the first round-robin match for either player. Then Madison Keys crushed Cibulkova, giving up just five games. With the first two rounds of the round robin complete, winless Cibulkovas path to qualifying for the knockout stage was barely more than a mathematical oddity. She had to beat WTA No. 4 Simona Halep in straight sets and Kerber had to beat Keys in straights as well.After Cibulkova did her part with a win against Halep, she wouldnt even watch or track the Kerber-Keys match on a live-scoring module. She went shopping and, as she told the press before the final, got the news that she had qualified when she returned to the hotel: I started to get messages like, Congratulations, you are there! We were just jumping and really, really happy.Playing with house money against Kerber, Cibulkova hit the jackpot: She put 83 percent of her first serves into play, and her winners-to-unforced errors stats were nearly a reverse image of Kerbers. Cibulkova had 28 winners to 14 unforced, while Kerber had 14 and 23, respectively.Furthermore, Cibulkova created an interesting template for how to play the top-ranked player. She served predominantly down the middle, keeping Kerber from taking charge with her return. When returning, Cibulkova went after Kerbers weakness, her second serve. Cibulkova played from on or inside the baseline, took time away from Kerber, found the angles and kept the ball deep. Well see more women trying to implement those tactics come January.Its no wonder Kerber looked so disenchanted after the match. When the players tell the media that they take all their rivals seriously, theyre just reciting from the media-training handbook. A player who wins has every right not to want to go back out and play the person she has just defeated again, for even greater stakes.It wasnt easy, after two losses to play Halep, Cibulkova said. First two matches I was a little unlucky. Today I was lucky.It might have been the understatement of the week. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Nike Shoes Black Friday 2019 . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/ .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Wholesale Nike Shoes Black Friday . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Fake Nike Shoes Black Friday . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. PITTSBURGH -- Connor McDavid skated into the faceoff circle and looked up and there he was: his childhood idol Sidney Crosby.The NHLs future vs. the NHLs present. And as mature as the Edmonton Oilers rising 19-year-old star can be on the ice, even he was a momentarily starstruck by the Pittsburgh Penguins captain. The proof came in what happened next.It was pretty funny that I take the opening draw against him and have him snap it back, McDavid said. I dont even think I got my stick on it.The jitters vanished almost instantly. McDavid more than held his own in his first meeting with the two-time MVP, picking up three assists. The Penguins, however, rallied for a 4-3 victory behind Conor Shearys two goals, including the winner with 1:42 left.Every game were down two we still think we have a chance to win, Sheary said. Nothing was different for us tonight.Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin also scored for Pittsburgh while Matt Murray stopped 25 shots in his first home start since Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.Crosby was held without a point for the first time this season but helped start the deciding sequence by creating a turnover behind the Edmonton net eventually became a goal when Oilers forward Benoit Pouliots clear attempt smacked off Sheary and by Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot.I dont know who whacked it, but it ended up in the back of the net, Sheary said.The Penguins won their fourth straight and remained unbeaten in regulation (6-0-1) while also praising McDavid and the upstart Oilers, who are atop the Pacific Division by playing a blazing end-to-end game that dares opponents to keep up. McDavids line provided all three goals, with Jordan Eberle getting two and Patrick Maroon getting the other, all on set-ups by McDavid.He doesnt need a lot of time and space, Crosby said. Its one thing to kind of watch games and see it, but out there you can really tell he needs no time and space at all. If youre even with him, youre in big trouble so you better make sure youre a step ahead.The Penguins took a 1-0 lead 1:557 in on Shearys goal before McDavid went to work proving what the fuss was all about.dddddddddddd He kickstarted a mini 2-on-1 with Eberle and slipped a short crossing pass to his teammate that Eberle buried over Murrays glove 14:23 into the first. McDavid was a blur less than three minutes later, racing into the Pittsburgh zone then weaving his way around defenseman Brian Dumoulin before finding Maroon.Theyre quick, theres no question, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. They play a similar game to us. I thought we handled it just fine. I thought the pace of the game was fast. It was an exciting game to be a part of.The Penguins, fresh off a 3-0-1 road trip fueled by a resurgent Crosby, briefly found themselves flat-footed trying to keep pace. Talbot turned away a 4-on-1 break to set up an Edmonton rush that ended with Eberle skating in alone on Murray before sending the puck past the sprawled goaltender.Pittsburgh recovered to tie it, with Hagelin burying a rebound late in the second to bring the Penguins within a goal and Malkin tying it 5:33 into the third with a backhand deflection. The Penguins kept the pressure up late, resulting in Shearys second of the night and third of the season.Theyre never out of a game, McDavid said. You can be up 3-1, but they have so much offensive firepower and they can find a way either way, no matter what.Game notes Pittsburgh has three third-period comeback wins, tied for the most in the league. ... The Penguins scratched F Tom Kuhnhackl and Ds Chad Ruhwedel and Steve Olesky. ... Edmonton scratched Fs Zack Kassian and Taylor Beck and D Dillon Simpson. ... The Penguins went 0 for 3 on the power play. The Oilers were 0 for 2. .. Pittsburgh has a 12-game unbeaten streak (9-0-3) against the Oilers dating back to Dec. 5, 2007.UP NEXTEdmonton: Returns home to face Dallas on Friday.Penguins: Continue three-game homestand on Thursday against Minnesota. ' ' '