The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Cibulkova ousts Mertens, punches ticket for final
NEW HAVEN » The women’s tennis world doesn’t lack for big hitters that want nothing more than a stress-free and matchfree week before a Grand Slam.
However, Dominika Cibulkova doesn’t have a case of a pre-Grand Slam jitters.
Not only has she played in Eastbourne, the final Wimbledon tune-up in each of the last three years, but she is making her eighth appearance in the Connecticut Open which serves as the last event before the US Open.
“For me it’s much more important to have a lot of good matches under my belt than to be practicing there at the US Open for a week,” the second-seeded Cibulkova said after beating qualifier Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-3 to advance to her first final in New Haven. “It can be both sides because sometimes you practice there, it’s so many people, it’s a lot going on around. If you are not top 10, you don’t get the practice courts as long as you want. Sometimes it’s not easy there. I don’t really like that chaos around the US Open. So this is the perfect way for me.”
Cibulkova hadn’t advanced past the Round of 16 since losing in the semifinals in Doha in February. The last time she reached the final in a U.S. based event came in 2013 when she won the title at Stanford when she beat Agnieszka Radwanska, the top seed at the Connecticut Open, in a threeset final. She also topped Rad-
wanska’s sister Urszula in the quarterfinals.
Cibulkova, looking for ninth career title and playing in her 20th career WTA singles final, had to win a pair of hotly-contested matches to advance to the semifinals but against Mertens she won in just 70 minutes.
“I didn’t hesitate today at all,” Cibulkova said. “When I saw she’s reaching like this for a ball, I
was just going for it. I knew there can’t be any hesitation because she’s that kind of player that she is trying to play aggressive. I tried to not let her play her game. When I saw she’s just reaching for a ball, I knew I had to go for it.”
After rolling through the first set, Cibulkova went down 2-0 in the second set with Mertens a point away from taking a 3-0 lead. Cibulkova won four straight points to get the break. With Mertens up 3-2 and threatening to extend the match, Cibulkova willed
her way to winning the final four games as she secured a spot in her first final of 2017.
“I am excited because I didn’t win three matches in a row the whole season this year,” Cibulkova said. “It’s finally here. Before this tournament we were all setting some goals for the next few tournaments. My first goal is I want to win three matches in a row. After this one it’s finally happening, it’s finally here. That’s why I was so happy, because I reached the first goal in the first tournament.”