Will Dominika Cibulkova, the twenty-five year old Slovokian power-house, progress to her second, consecutive Australian Open final? After a comprehensive win over two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, Dominika Cibulkova once again finds herself in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam event. Remarkably, since turning pro ten years ago, Cibulkova, with four career titles, has the made the quarter-finals or better at all four slams.
At last year’s Australian Open, Cibulkova defeated her first three opponents in straights, followed by victories over Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska on the road to her first Grand Slam final. She would lose to the Chinese superstar Li Na in straight sets; but due to her formidable play over that fortnight, rose to a career high ranking of ten in the world. She is currently ranked eleventh.
She may be petite at just five-foot-three, but Cibulkova’s groundstrokes pack a powerful punch. She plays fearless, high-risk tennis and this more often than not pays dividends. Despite losing the second set to a resurgent Azarenka in the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open, Cibulkova dug deep and produced incredible, penetrating winners up the lines to secure the third set and a place in the quarter-finals. It is there where she will meet, five-time Australian Open champion and world number one, Serena Williams.
Heading into their fourth round match, Azarenka led Cibulkova 7-3 head to head, with five of their last six matches going the distance. They had not played one another since the fourth round of the 2012 French Open. On that occasion, Cibulkova was victorious in straight sets.
Dominika Cibulkova, had never beaten Azarenka on a hard court, prior to yesterday’s victory; her three previous victories were on clay. The statistics from their fourth round encounter at this year’s Australian Open are almost identical; both had the same number of unforced errors, percentage of net points won and percentage of first serves in. The difference was that Cibulkova created almost twice as many break point opportunities and converted 47% of the time. Inarguably, the stats tell the tale of the tape. This was an incredibly close, well fought match with only three points separating the two.
Cibulkova is capable of generating incredible pace both with her forehand and two-handed backhand. She is extremely agile and moves incredibly well around the court. Though she has never beaten Serena Williams in four meetings, her three set victory over Azarenka should provide ample confidence for she had never before defeated Azarenka on a hard court. Serena Williams, it should be noted, has not won down under since 2010 and has struggled this fortnight, particularly in her last two matches.
Serena looked flat, and at times somewhat disinterested, in her three set win over the gifted, young Spaniard, Garbine Muguruza who had defeated her at the 2014 French Open. Unquestionably, Cibulkova possesses the power, quickness and mental fortitude to not only challenge Serena but defeat her in the quarters on Tuesday. Victory, like the future, may be unpredictable but of this I am certain; Dominika Cibulkova versus Serena Williams will be an epic encounter!
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