Dominika Cibulkova dismisses Shuai Zhang in 1st round – China Open 2011
Slovakian world number 22 Dominika Cibulkova thrashed Chinese Shuai Zhang in straight sets of 6-0, 6-2 during the opening round of the China Open 2011. Battling on outdoor hard courts of the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China,
the 22 year-old Slovak got the upper hand after simply sixty one minutes of play against the 22 year-old Chinese.
The first to open the initial round was Zhang but unfortunately she was not able to hold onto her service game and double faulted during the second serve to endorse a game to her opponent. Mean while, it was a great opportunity
for Cibulkova, who not only won on her opponent’s serve but also held her own to lead with a mini break. She further went on to capitalize on a second break point and further increased the gap to 3-0.
From there onwards Cibulkova chose an assertive style of play and not only won on her won service games but also on her opponent’s service games to seal the opening set with a bagel win.
The second set was again opened by Zhang and she again was unable to win on her service game. While the Slovak was on a power play, as she capitalized on the break point and then held her serve to successfully place herself on
the scoreboard at 2-0.
It seemed she would again muster a bagel victory as she benefitted from another double fault at the hands of the Chinese but that notion was left when the Chinese made a comeback by breaking her opponent immediately in the next
game to reduce the deficit to 1-3.
Not letting the other to take a competitive edge the players again broke each other back to back in the following two games. However, the deficit was not completely reduced and the scoreboard rolled to 4-2, Cibulkova was still
leading with a break and game.
By the end of the fifth game, Cibulkova was quick to capitalize on a break point for the last time in the seventh game and now had secured her lead with a 5-2. As she served for the match in the eighth game, she expertly managed
to hold her serve and clog the set with a deftly 6-2 victory over the Chinese.
The players had contested twice prior to this event and in both their meetings Cibulkova had conquered the head-to-head score with a 2-0. Meeting for the third time, Cibulkova further increased the head-to-head deficit to 3-0 and
was able to secure a place in the second round of the event.
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