By Adrianna Outlaw | Friday, May 6, 2016
Dominika Cibulkova celebrated her 27th birthday in style blowing away qualifier Louisa Chirico, 6-1, 6-1, to burst into the Madrid Open final.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy
Dominika Cibulkova is as devoted to celebrations as she is comebacks.
The comeback queen celebrated her 27th birthday in style today, blowing away qualifier Louisa Chirico, 6-1, 6-1, to blast into the Madrid Open final.
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The former Australian Open finalist received a sweet treat for her birthday: She was presented with this cake and a spirited "Happy Birthday" serenade at her post-match press conference.
Commanding the center of the court, Cibulkova dictated play with her forehand. The 38th-ranked Slovak burst out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back.
"Of course I'm always more emotional when I win," Cibulkova told the media in Madrid. "Even during the match. So it's part of me. But I was really, really happy, because today's match was not easy. I made it look easy.
"But I was playing just really well. I was dominating on the court and I was mentally very strong. It was just really, really good match from my side."
It's been a week of resilience for Cibulkova, who toppled top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in her opener then rallied from a set down for successive wins over Caroline Garcia, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and wild card Sorana Cirstea.
"I was hoping and waiting for something big like this. It's happening right now, so I'm really happy," said Cibulkova. "I work really, really hard for this. It all came together on this tournament. I hope it's just next step for what I want to achieve. You know, it feels great."
It is the third final of the season for Cibulkova. She lost to Sloane Stephens, 7-6 in the third set of the Acapulco final.
Last month, Cibulkova celebrated the birthday of her biggest fan, father Milan, crushing Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 6-0, in the Katowice final.
Empowered by winning 10 of her last 11 matches, Cibulkova will face 2014 finalist Simona Halep in tomorrow's final.
The sixth-seeded Halep won 11 consecutive games dismissing 2010 Roland Garros runner-up Samantha Stosur, 6-2, 6-0, in a 50-minute shellacking in today's second semifinal. Halep dominated Stosur's second serve, winning 12 of 14 points on the second delivery and converting all five break points against the helpless Aussie.
Cibulkova has won three of four matches with Halep, though the seventh-ranked Romanian prevailed in their lone clay-court encounter four years ago.
"This is the best way. I know I'm in the finals and the opponent is going to play so I can watch them a little bit," Cibulkova said. "Either way I don't like to choose opponent. It's going to ne who is going to be better going to play me in the finals.
"I'm just ready. I'm playing good tennis and I want to keep going and playing this way. Doesn't matter who's on the other side."