Dominika Cibulková

Dominika Cibulková

Dominika Cibulkova at the 2010 Medibank International Sydney
Country	Slovakia
Residence	Bratislava, Slovakia
Born	6 May 1989 (1989-05-06) (age 22) Piešťany, Czechoslovakia
Height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Turned pro	2005
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$2,577,860
Singles
Career record	214–135
Career titles	1 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 12 (6 July 2009)
Current ranking	No. 17 (24 October 2011)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	4R (2009)
French Open	SF (2009)
Wimbledon	QF (2011)
US Open	QF (2010)
Doubles
Career record	22–34
Career titles	0 WTA, 0 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 90 (13 September 2010)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2009)
French Open	2R (2010)
Wimbledon	3R (2010)
US Open	QF (2008)
Last updated on: 10 October 2011.

Dominika Cibulková (born 6 May 1989 in Piešťany, Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia^[1]) is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009. Her best result was reaching the semifinals of the 2009 French Open, while she has also reached the quarterfinals at the 2010 US Open and the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. Cibulková has also won one title on the WTA tour, winning the tournament in Moscow in 2011.

Career

Cibulková began playing tennis between the ages of seven and nine^[2] and grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia. She can speak both Slovak and English.

She lists clay and hard as her favourite surfaces, and has thus far proved to be most proficient on a hard surface.^[3] She has named Kim Clijsters as the player she admires most. She became a professional tennis player in 2005, after having played one ITF event in Prague at the end of 2004. Due to her small size, she has frequently been compared to former top 20 player Amanda Coetzer.

Fed Cup

She has played in the Fed Cup for the Slovak Republic four years in a row from 2005 to present, holding a 11–5 win-loss record in singles and a 1–7 record in doubles matches.^[4]

Early career

Cibulková competed predominantly on the ITF circuit at this time, and managed to win two tournaments: the Amarante, Portugal event in 2005, and the Bratislava event in 2006.

2007

Cibulková started her year with a win over Tara Iyer in the first round of the CANARA Bank Open, but lost to No.4 seed Jelena Kostanić Tošić in the second round.

At the 2007 French Open she qualified and made her Grand Slam main draw debut, reaching the third round. In the second round she upset the No. 32 seed Martina Müller 6–3, 6–2 after beating Tiantian Sun 6–4, 6–4. She eventually lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova. She also reached the third round in Amelia Island, beating Anabel Medina Garrigues but losing to her countrywoman Daniela Hantuchová and the quarterfinals of the ECM Prague Open, beating Gisela Dulko before falling to Victoria Azarenka.^[5]

Cibulková's best finish of the year came in September, when she exited at the semi-final stage at the Guangzhou International Women's Open in China. She lost to eventual champion Virginie Razzano 3–6, 6–1, 6–1.

2008

Cibulková's first tournament of the year was the Tier III Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast, Australia, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6–1, 3–6, 6–3. The following week, Cibulková won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw of the Tier II Medibank International in Sydney, where she lost in the first round to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 3–6, 6–1, 7–6(6). At the Australian Open, Cibulková lost in the first round to Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6–4, 5–7, 6–4.

Playing for Slovakia in the first round of Fed Cup against the Czech Republic in Brno, Cibulková split her two singles matches as her country lost the tie 3–2.

In Paris at the Tier II Open Gaz de France, Cibulková lost in the second round to World No. 9 Marion Bartoli 7–5, 6–1. The following week at the Tier II Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Cibulková again lost in the second round, this time to Li Na 6–4, 6–3.

At the Qatar Total Open, Cibulková reached her first ever Tier I quarterfinal, defeating former World No. 1 Venus Williams in the third round 6–3, 6–3 before losing to sixteenth-seeded Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarterfinals 6–4, 6–7(1), 6–4.

At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Cibulková lost in the third round to World No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–1, 4–6, 6–3. The following fortnight at the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Cibulková lost in the third round to World No. 11 Elena Dementieva 6–0, 6–7(1), 6–4.

In April, Cibulková reached the final of a WTA Tour event for the first time. At the Tier II clay court Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, Cibulková lost in the final to the reigning Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova.

Cibulková at the 2008 US Open.

At the Tier I clay court Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Cibulková lost in the first round to fifteenth-seeded Alona Bondarenko 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(9).

Cibulková was seeded 30th in singles at Wimbledon but lost in the first round to unseeded wildcard Zheng Jie of China 6–4, 6–3. In doubles, Cibulková partnered with Alisa Kleybanova of Russia and lost in the first round to Sorana Cîrstea and Monica Niculescu of Romania 6–1, retired.

At the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, Cibulková defeated fifth-seeded Dementieva in the second round and Nadia Petrova in the third round. In the quarterfinals, Cibulková defeated second-seeded Jelena Janković 7–5, 6–2 and delayed her replacement of Ana Ivanović as World No. 1. Cibulková then defeated tenth-seeded Bartoli in the semifinals 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 but lost to seventh-seeded Dinara Safina in the final.

2009

Dominika began the year at the 2009 Medibank International Sydney losing to Caroline Wozniacki 6–1 6–2 in the first round. At the 2009 Australian Open, Cibulková advanced to the fourth round after winning her first three set 6–0 before losing to Elena Dementieva. She then played at the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships where she reached the third round losing to Elena Vesnina 4–6 6–1 4–0, retiring due to heat illness. She then lost in the second round and third round of 2009 BNP Paribas Open and 2009 Sony Ericsson Open. 

At the start of the clay season, she began at the 2009 MPS Group Championships and 2009 Family Circle Cup losing to Russians Elena Vesnina and Elena Dementieva respectively. At the 2009 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix she lost to Jelena Janković in the first round. She then missed the 2009 Internazionali BNL d'Italia and 2009 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open due to left thigh injury

At the French Open, Cibulková was seeded 20th. She defeated Alona Bondarenko in the first round and dominated Kirsten Flipkens in the second round 6–1, 6–0. She then defeated Gisela Dulko to advance to the fourth round where she defeated Ágnes Szávay to reach her first Grand Slam Quarterfinal. In the quarterfinals, she defeated Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6–0, 6–2. Cibulková was a match point away from beating Sharapova 6–0, 6–0. She lost 6–3, 6–3 to Dinara Safina in her first Grand Slam semifinal.

At the Wimbledon Championships, Cibulková was seeded 14th. She beat Julie Coin, in three sets, in the first round. She then beat Urszula Radwańska in the second round but eventually lost once again to Elena Vesnina 7–5 4–6 6–4 in the third round . She then competed at the 2009 Swedish Open were she reached the Quarterfinals before losing to Gisela Dulko 5–7, 6–3, 7–6(6). 

Cibulková then recorded three straight loses in the first rounds of the 2009 Bank of the West Classic and the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, and the second rounds of the 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships after receiving a bye. She then lost to Alisa Kleybanova 6–1 4–6 7–6(4) in the second round of 2009 Rogers Cup. She withdrew from the 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis, the 2009 US Open, 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open, 2009 China Open, and the 2009 Generali Ladies Linz due to a rib injury. she then returned in the 2009 Kremlin Cup but lost to María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round.

2010

Cibulková started the 2010 tour by reaching the quarterfinals of both the ASB Classic where she defeated Aravane Rezaï 6–3, 6–4 before losing to top seed Flavia Pennetta 6–1, 6–2 in the quarterfinals and the Medibank International defeating No. 3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 7–5, 6–2 before losing to Victoria Azarenka 2–6, 6–2, 7–5. However at the Australian Open where she was seeded 23rd, Cibulková was upset by Vania King in the first round 6–3, 6–7(5), 7–5.

At the 2010 Monterrey Open, Cibulková was the 4th seed. She came from a set down to beat No. 5 seed Ágnes Szávay in the quarterfinals. She fell to fellow Slovak and No. 2 seed Daniela Hantuchová in three sets. At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open she was upset by Sara Errani in the second round after receiving a bye. At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, Cibulková lost in the third round to Justine Henin, 6–4, 6–4. At the 2010 MPS Group Championships as the 3rd seed she cruised through the semifinals before losing to Olga Govortsova 6–4, 7–5. At the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia she lost in the third round to Maria Kirilenko 4–6, 6–1, 6–1. At the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open she lost in the second round to 13th seed Li NaAt the 2010 French Open, where she reach the semifinals the year before, she lost in the third round 6–3, 6–4 to the world No. 2 Venus Williams.

She then played at the 2010 UNICEF Open losing to Kirsten Flipkens 6–2, 6–3 at the quarterfinals. At the Wimbledon 2010, where she upset Lucie Šafářová and defeating Ayumi Morita. She lost in the third round 6–0, 7–5 to world no. 1 Serena Williams. She then lost in the first round of 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open to Ksenia Pervak 6–1 6–3 and then suffered 4 straight loses in the second round of 2010 Bank of the West Classic to Yanina Wickmayer 6–1 6–4, first rounds of the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open to Vera Zvonareva 6–0 3–6 6–4, 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open to Alona Bondarenko 3–6 6–2 6–3 and the 2010 Rogers Cup to Maria Kirilenko 6–0, 6–3. she broke this streak at the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis by being a lucky loser and reaching the second round before losing to Caroline Wozniacki 6–4, 6–1. 

Cibulková at the 2010 US Open.

At the 2010 US Open, Cibulková advanced to her second career Grand Slam quarterfinal after defeating Stefanie Vögele 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, Kateryna Bondarenko 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(7), Lourdes Domínguez Lino 6–0, 6–1, and 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 7–5, 7–6(4). She lost to the top seed Caroline Wozniacki 2–6, 5–7 in the quarterfinals.

2011

Cibulková began the year by reaching the quarterfinals of the 2011 Brisbane International, where she lost to Petra Kvitová, 6–0, 6–4. She then entered the 2011 Medibank International Sydney, where she pulled off the biggest upset of her young career, beating world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6–3, 6–3. She was defeated by Alisa Kleybanova in the third round, 6–3, 5–7, 6–2. In late June in London, Cibulková repeated the upset from Sydney by winning 1–6, 7–6, 7–5 against Wozniacki, and continued to the 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinals before losing to Maria Sharapova, 6–1, 6–1. She won her first WTA title, the Kremlin Cup, edging Kaia Kanepi 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5. Her win represents the first time a player has captured their maiden title at the Kremlin Cup.

Career statistics

Main article: Dominika Cibulková career statistics

Personal life

She used to date Gaël Monfils. They broke up right after Roland Garros 2008. She later dated Jurgen Melzer.

References

1. ^ Dominika Cibulková: Mám pred sebou ešte dlhú cestu, SME Ženy [1]; in Slovak
2. ^ The WTA says 7, her own website says 8, and the ITF says 9
3. ^ ITF profile
4. ^ Fed Cup profile for Dominika Cibulková
5. ^ Playing activity

External links

• Official website
• Dominika Cibulková at the Women's Tennis Association
• Domonika Cibulková on Twitter 

Persondata
Name	Cibulková, Dominika
Alternative names	Cibulková, Dominika
Short description	Tennis player
Date of birth	1989-05-06
Place of birth	Piešťany, Czechoslovakia
Date of death
Place of death