Moscow: Dominika Cibulkova rallied to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in the opening singles on Saturday to give Slovakia a 1-0 lead over Russia in the Fed Cup World Group semifinals. Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia was scheduled to play Maria Kirilenko in the second singles match on indoor clay at Krylatskoye Ice Stadium.
Pavlyuchenko broke decisively in the 11th game to take the first set. Cibulkova led 4-0 to comfortably win the second, and she broke in the seventh game of the decider before closing it out on her first match point when Pavlychenkova returned wide. "I wasn't aggresive in the first set and the real match for me started from the second set," Cibulkova said. "I found my rhythm and served much better. I can say it was an extremely tough match."
Pavlyuchenkova, who won her fourth career title two weeks ago at Monterrey in Mexico, said she couldn't find her rhythm and struggled with the switch from a hard court to clay. "It was a tough match, both physically and mentally," Pavlyuchenkova said. "Dominika has played a very good match. After making quite a number of double faults in the first set, she improved her serve in the second set and gave me practically no chance in the third."
Four-time champion Russia has reached the semifinal stage for the seventh consecutive year. Slovakia is in its first since winning the title in 2002. The winner will face two-time defending champion Czech Republic or Italy
08:50 PM, Apr 20, 2013
Moscow: Slovakia chose the experienced Daniela Hantuchova over the higher-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova to back up Dominika Cibulkova against Russia in their Fed Cup semi-final this weekend. Cibulkova will open against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, followed by Hantuchova playing Maria Kirilenko in the second singles on indoor clay at Krylatskoye Ice Stadium. Rybarikova was picked in Friday's draw in doubles, which concludes the semi on Sunday. She and Jana Cepelova will face Russia's...
06:14 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Moscow: Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will face Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in the opening singles of their Fed Cup semi-final on Saturday. Maria Kirilenko was nominated to play Slovak veteran Daniela Hantuchova in the second singles on indoor clay at Krylatskoye Ice Stadium In doubles, which concludes the semi on Sunday, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina will face the Slovak pair of Magdalena Rybarikova and Jana Cepelova. Russia beat Slovakia 3-2 in...
04:47 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Cibulkova had to gift Vesna Dolonc the win, despite leading 6-4, 5-4, when she was overcome by an apparent leg muscle strain. ...
11:43 PM, Feb 09, 2013
Moscow: Ana Ivanovic will face Samantha Stosur in the semifinal of the Kremlin Cup after straight-set victories Friday. Ivanovic beat Vesna Dolonc 6-4, 6-1, while the top-seeded Stosur defeated Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3. Stosur won six consecutive games in the first set but trailed 3-1 in the second set. She recovered with a break in the sixth game and later served out the match at love....
05:37 PM, Oct 19, 2012
Moscow: Defending champion Dominika Cibulkova advanced to the second round of the Kremlin Cup, rallying to beat Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Tuesday. The fifth-seeded Slovakian, who won her second career title in the United States in July, struggled in the first set, losing four consecutive games. But she broke Makarova in the 10th game of the second set to stay in the match and soon jumped...
06:48 PM, Oct 16, 2012
Carlsbad: Top-seeded Marion Bartoli rebounded from a poor first set for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over qualifier Chan Yung-Jan on Saturday that sent her into the final of the Mercury Insurance Open. The Frenchwoman will face second-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, a 7-6 (8), 6-1 winner over Russia's Nadia Petrova in the other semifinal. Bartoli had 20 unforced errors and seven double-faults in the first set before she straightened out her...
02:06 PM, Jul 22, 2012
Paris: Victoria Azarenka was knocked out of the French Open fourth round on Sunday and could now lose her world number one ranking, while Novak Djokovic narrowly avoided following her to the exit. Belarussian Azarenka was beaten 6-2, 7-6 by Slovakian 15th seed Dominika Cibulkova and must wait to see if Russian Maria Sharapova will claim the top spot. Sharapova, who meets unseeded Czech Klara Zakopalova in the last-16 on...
11:46 PM, Jun 03, 2012
Paris: Victoria Azarenka did damage to her racket but failed to have much of an impact on her opponent. The No. 1 seed at the French Open fell 6-2, 7-6 (4) to 15th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova on a windy, gray day at Roland Garros where the world's top-ranked player hardly looked the part. Azarenka, who won the Australian Open to start the 2012 Grand Slam season, pulled out a first game...
07:19 PM, Jun 03, 2012
Dinara Safina downed Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets. ...
07:57 PM, Jun 04, 2009
Maria Sharapova left the French Open after losing to Dominika Cibulkova. ...
01:04 AM, Jun 03, 2009
Dinara Safina has now won 27 of her last 30 matches. ...
06:01 PM, Aug 04, 2008
