Li Na dumps Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-final round – Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2012
Last year’s Roland Garros winner, Li Na, cruised through the world number 17, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, in the quarter-final brawl of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday. The ninth ranked Chinese tennis ace overcame
the late resistance from her Slovak opponent to wrap up victory in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(4), advancing into the semi-finals draw of the tournament in style.
Being a part of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier 5 clay-court swing, the contest was played on the outdoor courts of Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. Li was already rated as the hot favourite for winning the matchup and
she came up to the expectations in an assertive manner. The 30-year-old Chinese veteran registered her third consecutive victory over Cibulkova in singles encounters, attaining a 3-0 lead in the head-to-head series against the Slovakian.
"On the tour nobody gives a match to you," Li said. "It's hard to stay at a high level all the time. In just a second your mind can go somewhere else, and that can be a problem for me - I'm not worried about my forehand and backhand.
But I'm happy I was able to finish it in the end today."
With the Roland Garros French Open about to begin by the end of this month, Li is finally getting her vintage form on the clay courts. The Chinese number one is 21-7 in the current season and is getting through the final phase
of her preparations for her Grand Slam title defence in France.
"I'm feeling good this year though. And I will go back to Roland Garros not feeling too much pressure - yes I will be defending my title but I'm the champion and should feel great when I go there, and just enjoy the tennis."
She is slated to face the ninth seed American power house, Serena Williams, in the semi-final battle of the Rome Masters on Saturday. Serena made it through to the final-four of the tournament after the unseeded Italian, Flavia
Pennetta, pulled out of her quarter-final clash on Friday. The world number two, Maria Sharapova and the 11th ranked German, Angelique Kerber, are the other two semi-finalists of the tournament.
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