Svetlana Kuznetsovas hard-fought 3-6 6-2 7-6 victory over Karolina Pliskova maintained her winning run at the WTA Finals in Singapore. Adidas Superstar 80s Metal Toe . Despite having never progressed past the group stage of the season-ending tournament on five previous occasions, a second victory of the week has given her the best possible chance of progress to the last four. Most of those following the season finale of the WTA Tour will have given this match only a cursory glance, awaiting the more tempting fixture of Garbine Muguruza and Agnieszka Radwanska, but those who tuned in were rewarded with a lengthy battle, and compelling comeback story. This year, Kuznetsova qualified at the last possible moment, scraping into the draw with a title defence in Moscow and arriving as an outsider. Just as she did in her opening match of the event, during which she came from a match point down to topple reigning champion Agnieszka Radwanska, the Russian discarded the form book, and fought hard for a well-deserved victory. Kuznetsova secured qualification for the Tour Finals by retaining her title at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow After a poor start, allowing Pliskova to tear into a one set lead, Kuznetsova could have gone one of two ways: clearing her mind and staging an improbable comeback, or crying at the change of ends and hacking off her own hair. She chose the former, levelling the pairs head-to-head with a win which places her at the top of the White Group in Singapore. In case you missed it Kuznetsova cuts off her own hair en route to Radwanska upset Over three sets of wonderful shot-making, the pair traded blows, their similar games producing some big serves, deft finishes at the net, and intelligent wrong footing of the other.Pliskova, in particular, was reading the game beautifully, frequently setting up an open expanse of court into which to play an easy winner. Elsewhere in Singapore Kerber remains undefeated, and Keys records maiden victory The world No 5 has matured significantly over the past couple of seasons, most notably in developing fluid movement belying her height, and a fearsome weapon in her cross-court forehand.Pliskova dominated the first set, Kuznetsova the second, and - as both players noticeably tired - the third became a draining affair, littered with errors, double faults, and misdirected net play. The Russian was swiftly up 4-1 in the final set, before her opponent wrested the match back under control, gifting herself the chance to level the fixture.A lengthy deuce - punctuated with several crucial net cords - was eventually seized by Kuznetsova, breaking down Pliskovas game with a series of unreturnable shots down the line. Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic won just two fewer points than Kuznetsova in a hard-fought match Just when the result appeared settled, the youngster broke back, lashing several breathtaking groundstrokes past her flagging opponent to level the match at five all.A break, and then a break back: as the clock showed two hours, the match segued into a war of attrition, the scores levelled, and a tie break was ushered in. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Two match points slipped from Kuznetsovas grasp, as she faltered at 6-3, before an unrelenting Pliskova took the scoreline to 6-6 - levelling, not only the tie break, but the entire match at 94 points apiece.Experience told, however, and the Russian - who had fought so very hard to appear in Singapore at all - was not prepared to relinquish the victory. With a startlingly accurate cross-court backhand, she secured the tiebreak 8-6, falling to the ground in elation. You can watch Premier League and EFL Cup football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! Also See: Kerber wins again in Singapore Wawrinka scrapes through in Basel Sky Live: Murray v Klizan Injured Edmund out of Vienna Adidas Neo Lite Racer Baratas .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. Adidas Ultra Boost Mujer . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. http://www.zapatillasadis.es/zapatilla-eqt-running.html . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Mikayla Boykin was in middle school, already an emerging basketball star in Clinton, North Carolina, when a college coach came to watch her in open gym.Playing one-on-one against her brother Michael, who is 13 months older, Mikayla refused to back down. The game got so physical that the two youngsters nearly came to blows.I was thinking, This is not good for my family, said mom Nicole Boykin. My husband called the college coach to apologize. But [the coach] said, I loved it! [The coaches] loved her competitiveness.Michael Boykin is now a 6-foot-1 freshman guard at Division II Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina.Mikayla, a 5-9 senior combo guard at Clinton High, is rated much higher and has a scholarship to Duke. Despite missing the past two high school seasons due to knee injuries, shes the No. 20 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100 for the 2017 class.As a freshman, Boykin showed what she could do, averaging 26.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.2 assists for a 24-4 team. She was the player of the year in Sampson County and made second-team all-state.In my 16 years of coaching, shes by far the best player Ive ever coached, Clinton coach Chris Owens said. Shes the type of leader who makes teammates better.Boykin, healthy once again after enjoying a successful AAU season this past summer with the Carolina Flames, seems poised to have a big senior year.When she first got back from injury and was only at 70 percent, she was still the most explosive player in the gym, Flames coach Arne Morris said. Thats how talented she is.Cheerleader for a dayThe Boykin parents -- Tim and Nicole -- had it all figured out after the birth of their first two children.Tim, a former high school football and basketball standout, was going to pal around with their eldest child, Michael, and take him to the gym. Nicole was going to put Mikayla in cheerleading and, once she got older, they would get their nails done and take shopping trips to the mall.There was just one problem: Mikayla was having none of that.Mikaylas brief cheerleading career started at age 4 at a football game ... and ended a couple hours later.She sat on the floor and folded her arms, Nicole said. She didnt do even one cheer.At halftime, Nicole approached her daughter to find out if Mikayla knew the cheers. As it turns out, Mikaylas ability to memorize cheers was not the problem at all.Here was the issue: I always did stuff with my brother, Mikayla said. It felt awkward not to be on the football field with him.After Mikaylas protest, the Boykins got the message. Her cheerleading career ended abruptly, and she signed up the next day to play basketball at her local recreational league.Mikayla and Michael immediately became a dynamic one-two punch on the basketball court. In many games in their early years, they would score all of their teams points.By the time Mikayla was in seventh grade, she had become a big deal in recruiting, according to her father. At a middle school game, Mikayla had a 33-point fourth quarter while Duke and North Carolina coaches sat in the stands.And by the summer of her eighth-grade year, Mikayla had committed to Duke.Morris, her AAU coach, was concerned she was making her big decision too early.I saiid, Are you sure? Thats when I saw how mature she was, Morris said. Adidas Superstar Supercolor Baratas. She broke it down for me. She was thinking of what kind of job she could get after basketball. She was thinking of the connections she could make at Duke.Mikayla is from a small town. Its one of those places thats tough to make it out of, but she recognized the value of a Duke degree.Tim Boykin said academics have long been a priority for Mikayla, who has a 4.0 weighted GPA and wants to major in business administration. She wants to own a company with her brother, who is also majoring in business.There is nobody that we know personally who has come from Clinton and gone to school at Duke, said Tim, emphasizing how special this is for his daughter.She is looking at college like a trade-off: Im going to trade you my basketball skills, and [Duke] is going to teach me what I want to learn. Stronger and better?Mikayla likes to rap and often comes up with lyrics along with her dad. How good a rapper she is depends on who you ask. Teammate Ashlyn Williams said Mikayla often tries to trick her by telling her she created a rap that actually already belongs to an artist such as Drake or Meek Mill.With basketball, however, there is no denying Boykins talents. Williams said she first met Boykin five years ago at an open gym. Williams had already heard about Boykins skills -- Clinton is a small town of about 9,000 after all -- but she hadnt seen her play.When Williams walked into the gym, it didnt take her long to find Boykin.She was shooting 3-pointers in warm-ups and barely missing, Williams said. It was pretty obvious who she was.I introduced myself, and she said, Im Mikayla. I said, Yeah, I kind of figured. But as gifted as Boykin is, she has had to deal with considerable adversity. In the summer after her freshman year, she went up for a layup, and her left knee buckled during an AAU tournament in Tennessee.I blacked out, Boykin said. There were 20 seconds that I still dont remember. I dont remember my mom coming over.When I actually got myself together, I just saw the Duke coaches staring at me from across the court. They looked calm, like they knew I would be OK.Boykin wasnt so sure.For the first month after ACL and MCL surgery, she was depressed, according to her mother. But after that, she got on track and made it back for the 2015 AAU circuit. Thats when she was reinjured when she bumped knees with an opponent in a Virginia tournament, causing her to miss her junior season.Now Boykin is back, and she claims her left leg is even stronger than her right. Shes hoping to lead Clinton to its first state title since 1990.However, she and her teammates now have a new issue to deal with -- Hurricane Matthew, which tore through North Carolina, ripping through the roof of the Clinton gym. The court was flooded, and Clinton likely wont be able to use its home gym this season.Boykin, who works a part-time job at a local park, donated money to a fund that helps victims of the hurricane.It hurt me to look around and see a lot of people flooded in, Boykin said. I wanted to help with the cause. Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '