Dominika Cibulkova faces a waiting game to see if she has qualified for the semifinals at the WTA Finals in Singapore after stunning third seed Simona Halep 6-3, 7-6(5), in her final match of the group stages.
The Slovakian entered the encounter with Halep aware that she had to grab a straight sets win in order to keep her Singapore bid alive after suffering back-to-back losses earlier in the week. Facing the third seed, who had her left knee heavily taped, Cibulkova got off to a perfect start by breaking to love on route to a 3-0 lead before sealing the opening set in exactly 30 minutes with little difficulty.
Cibulkova’s convincing start to the match eroded in the second set in what was a titanic game of cat and mouse. Twice Cibulkova broke to have a lead in the match before a gutsy Halep clawed her way back into contention, despite showing visible signs of pain with her knee. At 4-4, a ten-minute game saw highs and lows for both players. Cibulkova worked her way to a breakpoint on two occasions for an opportunity to serve for the match, but failed to convert. Halep fared slightly better, gradually holding serve on her fifth advantage point as the proceedings went into a tiebreaker.
Approaching the closing stages, it became evident that the match was starting to take its toll on both player’s emotions as well as their physical performance. Halep became more frustrated with herself as she struggled to find a solution to her knee problems. Meanwhile, Cibulkova was investing all she had in the match during what is her debut at the tournament. It was those investments that rewarded 27-year-old. Slamming a forehand down the centre of the court, Cibulkova nudged to her first match point. The victory was then completed after a heavy double-handed backhand shot triggered Halep to hit the ball out of the court.
“They call me fire, so there is a reason for it.” Cibulkova said straight after her must-win match. “I showed that today, it wasn’t easy to go onto the court after two losses, It is my first time here and I didn’t win a match until today.
“I really wanted to win and I knew I had to win in two sets to have a chance to reach the semifinals. I was really fighting for the second set.”
Hitting three-times more winners than Halep (32-10), Cibulkova’s all or nothing approach to the match eventually paid off. The seemingly calm approach taken to the match by the former Australian Open runner-up was not a true reflection of how she felt playing infront of the crowd at the packed Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“I wasn’t as a calm as I looked (on the court).” She admitted. “I was just focusing on the balls that I knew I had to win because if I was to loose my head, then it (the match) would go away really quickly.”
Cibulkova’s future in the tournament now relies on the result in the other match of the Red Group. If top seed Angelique Kerber defeats Madison Keys in straight sets the Slovakian has qualified for the last four. A different score will result in Cibulkova going out of the tournament and Keys qualifying.
