Dominika Cibulkova gears up for her first round match at the Qatar Ladies Open 2012 – Tennis News
Slovakian ace, Dominika Cibulkova, is all set for her first round match against the Italian star, Flavia Pennetta, at the Qatar Total Open 2012 on Tuesday. She will face the Italian for the sixth time at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier event
taking place on the hard courts in Doha, Qatar.
After a disappointing start of the 2012, the 22-year-old is aiming to lower her trail in the head-to-head series against Pennetta at this tournament. She has lost on the last four meetings against the Italian and is currently trailing 1-4 in their head-to-head
series.
“I will play my first round match in Doha on today afternoon (approx. 17h30) against Flavia Pennetta. I hope you will be able to see it live on TV. Thank you very much for your support and keeping your fingers crossed xo Domi,” Cibulkova commented about
her upcoming match on a social networking site.
Ranked 17th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Cibulkova saw a tremendous 2011 season. She grabbed a title at the Kremlin Cup in October and made a final showdown at the Generali Ladies Linz. The Slovak also reached final four at the UNICEF Open and
the Stanford WTA Premier event. Further mustering her season, she made quarter-final berths at many tournaments. However, she lost in the opening round at the Brisbane International this year. Cibulkova was then ousted in the early rounds at the Apia Sydney
International, the Australian Open and the PTT Pattaya Open before entering this tournament.
Regardless of a poor start of the season, she is bidding for her fourth WTA career title here and is fully prepared to take down the world number 23.
Pennetta made a stunning start of this season as she reached the title-round at the ASB Classic, the first WTA event of the season held in Auckland, New Zealand. However, she lost in the opening round at the Australian Open (ousted by the Russian qualifier,
Nina Bratchikova).
In their last duel with each other at the Beijing WTA Premier event in 2011, Cibulkova suffered a 1-6, 6-4, 4-6 shock at the hands of the Italian. She committed 10 double faults and several unforced errors which cost her match. The Slovak needs to improve
her defensive skills and improve her game in order to overpower the Italian.
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