Madrid: Cibulkova Interview
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova after her win in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open.
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova after her win in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open.
MADRID, Spain – Qualifier Louisa Chirico continued her run at the Mutua Madrid Open, coming out on top in Thursday’s quarterfinal encounter with fellow surprise package Daria Gavrilova.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Madrid right here on wtatennis.com!
Prior to the start of the tournament World No.130 Chirico was not even sure she would make it into the qualifying draw, but after sneaking in thanks to a couple of late withdrawals she has grasped her opportunity with both hands.
Considering the American was contesting only her second WTA quarterfinal – and first at a Premier event – she cut a remarkably relaxed figure throughout, finishing strongly to close out a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory.
“It’s been pretty cool from the beginning really,” Chirico said in her post-match press conference. “I actually wasn’t in the draw. I don’t know – yeah, I wasn’t in qualies when I landed in Madrid.
“We landed at 10 minutes to 4pm, which is when the cut closes. We were like, ‘Can you call the supervisor? Am I in?’ Lucky enough to make it in and then qualify and get to where I am now. So it’s been a really exciting ride so far, but I’m not finished.”
Having profited from late withdrawal of Victoria Azarenka in the previous round, Chirico’s freshness told as the contest wore on. In the first set tie-break, the 19-year-old played the more assured tennis and in the second upped the ante, finding the lines with increasing frequency – she finished with an impressive 27 winners – to canter towards the finishing post.
Chirico is the first American teenager to make the last four of a Premier clay court event since Ashley Harkleroad at Charleston in 2003. There she will face either Dominika Cibulkova or Sorana Cirstea.
Regardless of the result in that match, Chirico is guaranteed a place in the Top 100 next week. Although for the time being her attention is on the here and now.
“I haven’t actually looked at any of the rankings or the points yet, so I usually don’t do that in the tournament until afterwards,” she added. “But, yeah, so I am just focusing on what I have to do for my next match really. All that stuff will take care of itself – afterwards I’ll enjoy that.”
Highlights from the round of 16 action at the Mutua Madrid Open.
MADRID, Spain – Dominika Cibulkova had to do things the hard way once again to conquer Romanian wildcard Sorana Cirstea, coming back from a set down to find her spot in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Madrid right here on wtatennis.com!
Cibulkova is no stranger to tough three set matches here in the Spanish capital: every one of her three matches so far have gone the distance, having to come back from a set down in the last two, and adding up to a total of six hours and thirty six minutes on court.
“Actually, I didn’t even realize I’d played all three set matches,” Cibulkova said. “I said to my coach, I feel so good. I don’t feel any pain or nothing. That says how physically good I’m prepared.”
So in keeping with that pattern, the Slovak didn’t panic when she found herself down a set to the Romanian wildcard after conceding an early break.
“Sometimes you win in two sets, sometimes it’s a different story,” she said. “While I’m winning, I don’t care what is the score. It was another great match.”
Cibulkova created more chances for herself in the second set, bringing up four break points before finally converting one at 5-3. The late break seemed to weigh on the Romanian’s mind heading into the deciding set. She had trouble holding on against Cibulkova’s renewed onslaught, dropping serve four times. In the end Cibulkova hit a combined 36 winners to 25 unforced errors against Cirstea’s 28 winners to 19 unforced errors.
With the win Cibulkova puts herself within striking distance of a Top 30 berth. Currently sitting at No.38, she is poised to move into the Top 30 and could climb as high as No.22 if she takes home the title.
And with a Top 30 ranking comes the possibility of a French Open seeding, but that’s not on Cibulkova’s radar just yet.
“Obviously, that would be nice. But if I will not make it, then I will not make it and it was supposed to be like this. Before, every time I was pushing something it never turned out well, so we’ll see.”
Another @MutuaMadridOpen comeback for Dominika @Cibulkova ✅ #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/VKetP9G4TN
— WTA (@WTA) May 5, 2016
Simona Halep had Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Mutua Madrid Open.
MADRID, Spain – Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza continued their serene progress at the Mutua Madrid Open, dispatching quarterfinal foes Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in little over an hour.
Since seeing their 41-match winning streak ended in Doha, Hingis and Mirza have endured a relative barren patch, going four tournaments without silverware. However, inside the Caja Mágica they are casting a spell over their opponents once again, bewitching No.6 seeds Hlavackova and Hradecka, 6-3, 6-2.
This masterclass set up a semifinal clash with a resurgent Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva, winners of a far closer encounter in the preceding match on court. Taking on No.4 seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan, King and Kudryavtseva recovered from a slow start to prevail, 2-6, 6-4, 11-9.
On the other side of the draw, Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic continued their fine clay court campaign with victory over No.3 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova.
Garcia and Mladenovic arrived in the Spanish capital having won their opening two clay court events, Charleston and Stuttgart, and a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Babos and Shvedova extends their unbeaten streak on the surface to 11 matches.
Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina are the next team tasked with ending this run. French Open champions in 2013, Makarova and Vesnina advanced without striking a ball after Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova withdrew when the latter failed to recover sufficiently from a thigh strain.
Daria Gavrilova takes on Petra Kvitova in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
MADRID, Spain – When the quarterfinals begin at the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday, half of the tournament’s final eight will be flying the Romanian flag with pride. While it’s no surprise to see 2014 finalist Simona Halep in the mix, Romania’s alpha is joined by Irina-Camelia Begu, qualifier Patricia Maria Tig, and wildcard Sorana Cirstea in a tournament owned and operated by Romanian legend Ion Tiriac.
It seems the Bucharest Open has come a couple of months early.
“It’s a Romanian tournament, I can say,” Halep said with a laugh after her strong 6-2, 6-3 win over Timea Bacsinszky. “I feel [at] home here. I feel good always. I have great memories from 2014. I just try to make it best tournament for myself. I try just to enjoy it, because I like it very much.”
Halep is the only seed left in the draw and will face Begu on Thursday, ensuring Romania will have a representative in the semifinals. Begu has never been further than the quarterfinal stage at a Premier Mandatory, while Halep made back-to-back quarterfinals in March in Indian Wells and Miami. The two have played three times with Halep winning all six sets, but they have not squared off in over four years.
“I expect a tough match,” Halep said. “She plays well on clay. Last year she did quarterfinals here, so [that] means that she likes the court.
“I know her pretty well, since long time ago, but officially we didn’t play too many matches. It’s a big challenge for me tomorrow.”
The big surprises in the draw were Cirstea and Tig. Cirstea has made good on a wildcard into the tournament to make her first Premier Mandatory quarterfinal. The former No.21 has not lost a set in three matches, beating Jelena Jankovic, Danka Kovinic, and Laura Siegemund to join her compatriots among Madrid’s Elite Eight.
“I think that’s amazing,” Cirstea said. “Four girls in the quarterfinals means half of the girls are Romanians, which I think is impressive coming from a country like Romania. I think everyone knows we don’t have a system or anything. We were each separate and trying to find a way. I think it’s amazing that we are one of the biggest forces now in tennis.”
At 26 years old, Cirstea is the oldest of the bunch. “We grew up together,” she said. “I played Simona when I was eight years old. “We both had short hair, we were very boyish. Our parents were there [pushed up] against the fence [watching]. It’s funny how we all grew up together and now to be all here is really impressive.”
“Patricia is younger but I remember her skinny legs when she was 14 when we went to a winter camp together. She was this quiet girl. We’ve known each other for a very long time. I’m happy to see all of us here and all of us succeeding and having a good run.
“I think it shows if you really have character and if you really want this and you work hard, you can do it.”
With her run to the quarterfinals, Cirstea will return to the Top 100 for the first time since January 2015 (read more about her journey back here). Not bad for a player who was ranked No.248 last November and has played ITFs for most of the year. On Thursday she’ll play Dominika Cibulkova, who got past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets.
Last but most assuredly not least is 21-year-old Tig, the most improbable quarterfinalist of them all. Ranked No.134, Tig has racked up an impressive list of wins this week as a qualifier, beating Nicole Gibbs and Maria Sakkari in qualifying, and then Daria Kasatkina, Sloane Stephens, and Madison Keys for the biggest result of her career.
“I’m feeling unbelievably happy,” Tig told WTA Insider. “It was a great week for me. I didn’t expect this to happen. But since I was working so hard, I think sometimes you don’t know when you get rewarded.”
Before this week, Tig’s best result came last year when she made the final in Baku. Her successful qualifying campaign here put her into the main draw of a Premier Mandatory for the first time in her career and she’s on the verge of breaking into the Top 100.
“Actually when I first came here I felt so good being here. I had a feeling that everything was going to be fine. I had a first practice which was going good. I thought, “OK I just have to go on the court and play the best I can for every point and don’t expect anything.'”
Tig’s straight-set win over Gibbs in the first round of qualifying gave her the belief that she could compete with the top quality field in Madrid. On Thursday she’ll find out how her game stacks up against a Slam champion in Sam Stosur, who defeated Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets to make the quarterfinals.
“I mean I was watching her for 10 years playing on TV,” Tig said. “I really like her and her game. She’s a really top player. She’s going to make me do some stupid things but I’m going to try not do them,” she said with a laugh.
“I cannot say anything about the match because I’m not expecting anything. I just want to go on court and just play the best I can and whatever is going to happen I will be so happy with it anyway.”
All photos courtesy of Getty Images and Mutua Madrid Open.
Simona Halep takes on Timea Bacsinszky in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
MADRID, Spain – Simona Halep leads the pack as a record four Romanians advanced to the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open – can the last seed standing seize the moment? We preview all the quarterfinal action here on wtatennis.com.
Thursday, Quarterfinals
[6] Simona Halep (ROU #7) vs Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #34)
Head-to-head: Halep leads 3-0
Key Stat: Halep has never lost a set to Begu.
When the No.6 seed Simona Halep landed in the Spanish capital, she was surrounded by questions: Had she recovered from the ankle injury that thwarted her Stuttgart campaign? Would her health hold up? Could she replicate her 2014 run to the Madrid final?
The Romanian’s dominating performances in her last three matches say the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’ She’s feeling right at home in Madrid and leads a pack of four Romanians who have advanced to this stage.
“It’s a Romanian tournament, I can say,” Halep joked in her press conference. “I feel like home here. I feel good always. I have great memories from 2014. I just try to make it best tournament for myself. I try just to enjoy it, because I like it very much.”
Halep is up against a familiar opponent in the No.34-ranked Irina-Camelia Begu: despite only playing three WTA matches against each other, the two Romanians have known each other for a long time.
“I expect a tough match,” Halep said. “She plays well on clay. Last year she did quarterfinals here, so [that] means that she likes the court.
“But the match is open, so I have just to try to get my chance and to fight for it, because I really want to go through.”
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #38) vs Sorana Cirstea (ROU #127)
Head-to-head: Cibulkova leads 3-1
Key Stat: Madrid is Cirstea’s career first Premier Mandatory quarterfinal.
The oldest Romanian of the bunch, 26-year-old Sorana Cirstea made good on a wildcard to reach her career first Premier Mandatory quarterfinal. And she’s done so in emphatic fashion, not dropping a set in the three matches she’s played to get to this stage.
“I think that’s amazing,” Cirstea told WTA Insider of her country’s representation in Madrid. “Four girls in the quarterfinals means half of the girls are Romanians, which I think is impressive coming from a country like Romania.
“I think everyone knows we don’t have a system or anything. We were each separate and trying to find a way. I think it’s amazing that we are one of the biggest forces now in tennis.”
Cirstea, a former No.21, saw her promising career be derailed by a shoulder injury in 2014 – she dropped out of the Top 240 late last fall. But now fit and healthy, she faces another player on the comeback trail in the Slovak Dominika Cibulkova.
The former Australian Open finalist has found her form again after recovering from an Achilles injury: she’s reached the final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel and took home the title at the Katowice Open.
So far in Madrid she’s faced a sterner test – and spent more time on court – than Cirstea on her road to the quarterfinals. All of her matches have gone to three sets, and in her very first match she was drawn against the tournament’s top seed, Agnieszka Radwanska.
Also in action: Romanian qualifier Patricia Maria Tig is in for her biggest test yet against Sam Stosur. After powering past young guns Daria Kasatkina, Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys, Tig now faces the veteran Australian for her first ever semifinal spot at a Premier Mandatory event. Meanwhile, American qualifier Louisa Chirico and big hitting Australian Daria Gavrilova will open the day’s action on Court Arantxa Sanchez. Both of these young players have advanced to this stage against all odds – Chirico upset the No.14 seed Ana Ivanovic and moved past Victoria Azarenka via a walkover to reach the quarterfinals, while Gavrilova ousted the defending champion Petra Kvitova in the last round.