Dominika Cibulkova stuns Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the semis – UNICEF Open 2011
Another surprise for the tennis fans at the Autotron Park in Rosmalen, Netherlands, as the fifth seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia defeated the world number 12, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the quarter-final of the UNICEF
Open on Friday noon.
The enthralling contest continued for two hours and thirty four minutes before the second seeded Russian got defeated in the third set of the match at 5-7, 6-4, 2-6, to end her voyage at the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournament.
The game remained evenly poised throughout as both contestants exhibited the best of their skills to take down their opponent. Cibulkova faced tough time from the Russian rival in the opener but she eventually manoeuvred her way
to clinch the first set, only to drop the next one to let Kuznetsova in the game. The Slovak competitor finally wrapped up victory in the final set to book a place in the semi-final of the tournament.
Intense tennis was witnessed in the opening set of the match, with both women showing their aggressive intent. Serve breaks were exchanged early by the two contestants before the scores got levelled at 5-5 and a timely break point
from Cibulkova left her serving for the set later. The Slovak easily served out of the opening set at 7-5 and got one up in the contest.
Kuznetsova bounced back very strongly in the following set and reeled off 14 out of 18 first serve points to transfer the pressure upon Cibulkova. The Slovak broke her opponent’s serve once but had to suffer two break points from
Kuznetsova in return and had to submit the second set at 4-6 to level the contest with one set a piece.
A brilliant display of sheer class and resilience was seen from Cibulkova in the final set, as she stung two serve breaks to conclude victory at 6-2, disposing off the second seeded Russian from the UNICEF Open. Cibulkova will
square off against the seventh seed Roberta Vinci of Italy in the semi-final of the tournament later this week. The Italian upset the third seed, Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, in the quarter-final of tournament to book a date with Cibulkova for
a place in the final.
Tags: