SINGAPORE -- The WTA Finals ended on a surprising note, with Dominika Cibulkova beating top-ranked Angelique Kerber?6-3, 6-4 for the title. The Slovakian ended a remarkable season by Kerber, who won two Grand Slam trophies and reached the final of a third.With the win, Cibulkova moved up to the No. 5 ranking in the world and showed she will be a legitimate threat moving forward. Heres what else we learned during the weeklong year-end championships:1. Womens tennis has never been more exciting: Yes, its more exciting and unpredictable than the ATP. These WTA Finals were a roller-coaster ride from start to finish because of the competitiveness between the players. Svetlana Kuznetsova only qualified by winning the Kremlin Cup final the day before the WTA Finals kicked off in Singapore, and both she and Karolina Pliskova had to save match points to win their opening round-robin matches. Cibulkova snuck into the semifinals despite losing two round-robin matches, but it could just as easily have been Simona Halep or Madison Keys in her place. From start to finish, the WTA Finals were filled with exciting, topsy-turvy matches.?2. Despite the loss, Kerber could be a long-term successor to Serena Williams: Despite losing the final to an inspired Cibulkova, Kerber only enhanced her growing reputation. Oozing with confidence and comfortable with her new status, the 28-year-old navigated her way to the final with clinical efficiency, dealing with everything that came her way. Even in the final, when Cibulkova played the match of her life, Kerber almost pulled it out of the fire, saving three match points before Cibulkova got a lucky break with a net cord that ended the contest.3. The days of wunderkinds winning Grand Slams could be a way off: Serena may have won her first major as a teenager, but her biggest legacy may end up being inspiring older women to stick at it for longer. Although the grueling round-robin nature of the WTA Finals should in theory benefit younger players, it instead favored the more experienced brigade. The four youngest players in the tournament were all eliminated after the round-robin phase, and the four semifinalists were all 27 and older.4. Madison Keys is a work in progress, but the wait could be worth it: Still just 21, she was the youngest player to qualify and clearly has all the weapons to dominate her opponents, with a thunderbolt serve and ferocious groundstrokes. The trick for her now is to get her temperament right, but she appears to have a good head on her shoulders. She admitted that her nerves got the better of her at times in Singapore but was mature enough to recognize thats an area she needs to fix. She also took note of what was happening on the other side of the net, watching how the older European players went about their business and consoling herself in the knowledge they also took their time before breaking through.5. Theres still a place in the game for smaller players: At 5-foot-3, Cibulkova could be riding in the Kentucky Derby if she werent such a good tennis player. But what she lacks in height she makes up for with sheer tenacity, with aggressive groundstrokes and never giving up, fetching more balls than a golden retriever. Hers was a win for the sports romantics, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to win the biggest tournament of her life at a time when most everyone is resigned to thinking that big is better.Emmitt Smith Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Daryl Johnston Jersey . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/Elite-Roger-Staubach-Cowboys-Jersey/ .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Emmitt Smith Youth Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Larry Allen Cowboys Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2.PITTSBURGH -- Jeff Locke didnt have his best stuff Sunday. He didnt need it to shut down the majors worst team. Locke allowed three hits over seven innings, Pedro Alvarez homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates won for the eighth time in 10 games, 1-0 over the Houston. Locke (4-1) won his fourth straight decision and gave up one run or fewer for the fifth time in his past eight outings. He struck out four and walked three. "Pitched is the imperative word," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Locke. "He was behind a number of counts, his first-pitch strikes were below 50 per cent... but, that being said, he didnt give up anything. He was able to put a foot down, get balls on the ground when we needed them." In his past six outings, Locke has allowed 21 hits and seven earned runs over 37 innings (1.70 ERA). Despite allowing the leadoff man to reach four times, Locke permitted a runner to reach second base only once. "There were some pitches early on that were real good pitches that I felt I had real good command of, but there were times in the game that I fell behind 1-0, 2-0 and put them in some pretty good hitters counts," Locke said. "But I was able to make pitches and use the defence." The notoriously streaky Alvarez pushed his average above .200 for just the second time since the second game of the season. His eighth home run came on the first pitch and was an opposite field line drive down the left field line in the fifth. Alvarezs most recent homer was Friday -- a titanic shot that reached the Allegheny River. Hurdle quipped that his third baseman followed up arguably his longest career home run with perhaps his shortest. "I just remember hitting it and knowing that it was going to be fair," said Alvarez, who also walked in the second and flied out to the wall in centre in the seventh. "But I didnt know if it was going to carry as much as it did." Alvarezs longball -- his third in eight games -- was the lone mistake by Astros starter Lucas Harrell, who lost his third consecutive decision despite allowing four hits and one walk in seven innings. Through 6 1-3 innings, Alvarezs home runn and Sniders double were the only balls to leave the infield off Harrell (3-5), who had a single in a rare plate appearance for an American League pitcher.dddddddddddd "Today felt like the first game this season that I dominated both sides of the plate with my sinker," Harrell said. "(Catcher Carlos Corporan) did a great job with his homework. He had a really good game plan and I just followed along." Pittsburghs other chance at scoring came the prior inning, when Travis Snider was thrown out at the plate by centre fielder Brandon Barnes on a two-out single by Gaby Sanchez. The throw easily beat Snider, who had doubled, and Sniders shoulder to the chest of Corporan did not jar the ball loose. Off to their best 44-game start since 1991, the Pirates (26-18) have the National Leagues third-best record. They won despite the absence of outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who was a late scratch because of soreness in his right knee. McCutchen said he was put at ease after an examination by medical personnel Sunday and that he expects to play in the Pirates next game Tuesday. Hurdle said he could have used McCutchen in an emergency. A day after his 13-game scoreless streak came to an end, Mark Melancon worked a perfect eighth and Jason Grilli finished with a 1-2-3 ninth for his majors-leading 17th save. The Astros, who won in 11 innings Saturday night, did not have an extra-base hit. "Their guy (Locke) did a good job," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "He changed speeds, pitched to both sides of the plate and kept us away from the barrel. Sometimes youve got to tip your cap and give credit to the other guy." NOTES: Astros SS Ronny Cedeno was scratched from the lineup late Sunday morning because of a sinus infection. ... Houston has won three of its 11 series played this season while Pittsburgh is 8-2-2 in its past 12 series. ... The Pirates are off Monday but then play on 16 consecutive days. They open up a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on Tuesday. ... Astros LHP Dallas Keuchel will make his third start of the season in the opener of a three-game series in Kansas City on Monday. ' ' '