Sabine Lisicki struggles past Dominika Cibulkova in the opening round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
German wildcard, Sabine Lisicki made an upset by defeating world number 27, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, at the Porsche Tennis Arena at Stuttgart, Germany on Tuesday. The 155thranked
Lisicki outplayed her opponent in straight sets 7-5, 7-6(2), in two hours and four minutes to advance to the second round of the $721,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournament.
21-year-old German continued her good form this season, reaching the third rounds at Miami and Charleston and making an impactful start at Stuttgart. She toiled hard in both of the sets to overcome her strong opponent, eventually
registering her 13th win of the running WTA season. Lisicki proved her dominance in every segment of the game and fully capitalised upon the silly mistakes of her opponent to seal victory.
The most eminent feature of Lisicki’s game was her magnificent serve. She delivered just 61 per cent of her first serve on target but clinched 34 of 45 points on it and fired 14 thudding aces along with it. Cibulkova recorded just
one ace in the whole matchup and spilled out six double faults to end on the losing side. Her below par serve of 48 per cent didn’t give her any competitive advantage in the game and she suffered five break points at the hands of the German opponent.
The crafty German had 16 break opportunities and she converted just five of them en route to victory. Lisicki had a cautious start to the opener, playing calculated ground strokes and avoiding risky manoeuvres to get her eye in
the game. She clinched 12 of 16 points on her first serve and successfully saved three out of five break points she faced. The German broke her opponent’s serve three times in the opening set while dropping her serve on two occasions before she sealed the
first set at 7-5.
The contest became more intense in the second set as Lisicki clouted 10 aces to exert extreme pressure upon the Slovak. Cibulkova coughed five costly double faults in the second set but remained competitive in the game by winning
crucial points on regularity. Both contestants exchanged two serve breaks each to propel the score to 6-6, to enforce a decisive tie breaker round. Complete German dominance was witnessed in the decider as Lisicki closed the second set at 7-6(2), to step in
the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Up next for Lisicki is an even tougher competitor, the world number 6, Li Na of China, who outclassed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, in the first round at Stuttgart.
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