Dominika Cibulkova has confirmed that she will not play another tournament until the French Open.
The Slovakian produced an array of impressive results to reach her maiden Premier Mandatory final at the Madrid Open. In the Spanish tournament, the former Australian Open runner-up defeated top seed Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Garcia, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Sorana Cirstea and Louisa Chirico to reach the final. The run has made her the lowest ranked player to reach a final of a Premier Mandatory tournament since the induction of the WTA Roadmap in 2009. Her fairy tale run came to an end after succumbing in straight sets to Simona Halep in the final.
“I was playing much better in the second set. I was much more aggressive, going for the shots, and just not playing a lot of crosses,” a reflective Cibulkova said about her performance.
“That’s what I should have done from the middle of the first set. I started a little bit too late.”
Unlike Halep, Cibulkova will not be playing in next week’s Rome Open. Based on her old ranking of 56th, she didn’t receive an automatic place in the main draw. The Slovakian could have played in the qualifying draw, but has decided not to. Instead, she will fly back home for a couple days of rest before she prepares the French Open, which will start on May 22nd.
“Now I just want to get some rest and prepare for Roland Garros because my game on clay it is really coming together.” She positively said.
The two-week break is nothing new for Cibulkova, who planned it before her performance at this week’s Madrid Open. The French Open brings back happy memories for Cibulkova, who defeated Maria Sharapova in straight sets reach the semifinals in 2009. She also reached the quarterfinals in 2012.
Cibulkova will now rise to 26th in the world, her highest position in the rankings since March 2015. Last month the 27-year-old won her first WTA title in almost two years after defeating Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the final of the Katowice Open.
