Huge congratulations to 23 year old Dominika Cibulkova for her first grand slam tennis final appearance at the 2014 Australian Open. The Slovak player went head to head with world number five, Maria Sharapova in round four of the open. She wowed the crowd by coming back from one set down, going on to beat Maria. In the semifinals she beat the world number four, Agnieszka Radwanska, winning in straight sets. Although, Li Na beat her in straight sets in the final, Dominika showed the courage and fighting spirit she is well-known for. She is the first female Slovakian player to reach the final of a grand slam. If you don’t know much about Dominika Cibulkova; here’s her tennis story. She was born in Piešťany, Slovakia in May 1989. She started playing tennis when she was eight, and started competing predominantly on the ITF circuit, where she managed to win two tournaments: the Amarante, Portugal event in 2005, and the Bratislava event in 2006. Dominika employs an aggressive style that is largely founded on speed and power, and she is known to have a lot of energy on court. Over the past eight years, she has worked tirelessly, improving year upon year. In 2009 Dominika reached the semifinals of the French Open. Then in 2010, she reached the US Open quarterfinals. In 2011, she advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. In 2012, she once again reached the French Open quarterfinals. It was really only a matter of time before the fearless Cibulkova made it to her first gram slam final. When interviewed after the match, here’s what she had to say, “Right now, I’m feeling really tired, but I also feel happy. It was not easy to walk on in the finals, but I managed to play well, to give my best, and I’m really proud of myself. I have to say that Li Na played amazing tennis, and she was putting pressure on me from the first ball to the last ball...The only thing that was not working for me was my serve, and I was not able to put some first serves in. Overall, it was a good match.” We wish Dominika Cibulkova all the best for the rest of 2014, and look forward to following her progress and continued success in the tennis world.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 16:08:59 +0000
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