I set a goal of cracking the world top three at the beginning of this year, so to finally meet it in the year-end finale is a pretty nice way to finish the 2013 season.

To be honest, I think I missed quite a few opportunities to reach that goal earlier in the season, but they all seemed to somehow slip away.

After the China Open I had a long talk with my coach, Carlos Rodriguez, during which he informed me of scenarios for clinching the No 4 and No 3 rankings if I made the semifinal and final, respectively, at these Championships. And I was happy to see him greet me with a three-finger salute after my semifinal win over Petra Kvitova.