Number 10 seed Dominika Cibulkova overcame a hard-fought match Barbora Strykova 6-3 3-6 6-4 in two hours and 28 minutes in the final quarter final to claim the final semifinal spot at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Cibulkova and Strykova met for the first time in their careers. Both players were forced to play their two third-round matches on Thursday because of yesterday’s match. Strykova came back from one set down to beat Jelena Jankovic 1-6 6-4 7-5 in the first of two scheduled matches, while Cibulkova beat this year’s US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova 6-2 6-2.
Strykova won all her matches in Wuhan in the third set and this took a toll on the Czech player.
Cibulkova got the only break in the fourth game at deuce to take a 3-1 lead. Strykova earned three break points at 2-4 but Cibulkova saved them to hold her service game to clinch the first set.
Cibulkova went up a set and a break in the first game of the second set but Strykova fought back by winning three consecutive games thanks to two straight breaks in the second and fourth games. Cibulkova broke back in the seventh game to claw her back to 3-4 but Strykova broke again in the next game before serving out for the second set to 30 to force the match to the third set.
Cibulkova trailed by a break twice in the decisive set but broke back immediately both times. The Slovakian star clinched the decisive break in the 10th game to 15 to win the third set 6-4 as Strykova sent her backhand into the net.
“I was a little bit down in the second set but I knew that I could still pull out a few games and play well. I just wanted to win really badly and it was pushing me forward. I wasn’t nervous about it, it just gave me the power to go and stay focused until the end of the match”, said Cibulkova.
Cibulkova will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in tomorrow’s semifinal. Thatnks to today’s win Cibulkova has boosted her chance to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore. The Slovakian player is now ranked seventh in the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
“It’s gonna be another tough match. I really need to get ready, have a good rest now, and just prepare for tomorrow”, said Cibulkova.
