Dominika Cibulkova cripples Marion Bartoli to lift the title – Mercury Insurance Open 2012
In a clash between top two stars of the event, Slovakian number one Dominika Cibulkova stunned top seeded Marion Bartoli with a breadstick at the Mercury Insurance Open 2012 on Sunday. She jolted down a 6-1, 7-5 victory against the world number 10 to capture
her second career title at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier-level tournament held in Carlsbad.
Battling each other for the fifth time, the second seeded Slovak displayed top class performance to upset Bartoli in one hour and 35 minutes. The stars last fought each other at the Kremlin Cup four years ago and after stealing this show, Cibulkova took
lead in the head-to-head series against the French number one.
The ecstatic Cibulkova stated in a courtside interview after clinching the title:
"I have to say, this was the first WTA final where I played really well. In the first set everything was going my way. My forehand was working today 100%, and also my serves and returns. So everything was just fine. In the second set I was up 1-0 and 40-0
on her serve, and I got a little bit nervous, starting to think about getting closer to the title. She's a great player and was fighting for every ball and went up 4-1, but I realized I was leading in a few of those games, so I knew I could turn it around
again. And I just kept going.”
Cibulkova thundered into the La Costa Resort and Spa and impressively brushed off all three breakpoints to keep her entire serves. After Bartoli held her serve in the opening game, the Slovak went on a six-game killing spree and pulled out the opener with
a breadstick.
Ranked 13th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Cibulkova lost her track towards the second set and after losing her serve twice, she went 1-4 down. However, the Slovak made a fitting reply and reeled off the following four games in a row, eventually
going 5-4 up. She then held her remaining serves with poise and got the breakthrough after cashing in another break chance in the last game. Cibulkova brushed off four out of six breakpoints she came across and capitalised on three out of eight break chances
to record this victory.
All in all, the 23-year-old outshined her good friend in almost every aspect of tennis. She clobbered a lower first serve share but tremendously marked 26 out of 42 points on it.
After earning the glory, Cibulkova claimed her maiden year-to-date title. Her first title came at the Moscow Premier-level event last season.
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