Cibulkova Outguns Bouchard
LONDON, Great Britain – No.19 seed Dominika Cibulkova moved on to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2011 after a comprehensive win over former finalist Eugenie Bouchard.
“Today I was 100 percent sure I could win and I stayed calm, played brave in tough situations and went for my shots,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “The things I’ve been working on, especially the serve have really helped me.”
Cibulkova smelled success early on, getting the first break in the fourth game of the match. Despite facing break points in her opening service game, the Slovak’s speed around the court and powerful groundstrokes, especially off the forehand wing, were clicking together and she was able to see off the challenge.
She held three set points on her serve at 5-3 when Bouchard finally roared back to get her first break of the match. Her delight was short lived, however, as Cibulkova put away the set on her next chance.
Bouchard got broken once more in the second for a 4-1 lead to Cibulkova and her frustration was clear, receiving a point penalty for throwing her racquet after yet another of her usually-reliable groundstrokes sailed long.
“I definitely was a bit emotional out there,” Bouchard said. “It’s frustrating to feel like you’re not playing your best tennis at Wimbledon. You know, sometimes when I get it out, I can turn it around and play a bit better. It didn’t really happen this time, though.”
After an hour and twenty-six minutes, Cibulkova became the first player in the top half of the draw to punch her ticket into the fourth round, and she celebrated the occasion with a mighty roar of elation.
“That's a primeval roar!”
Dominika Cibulkova is celebrating after beating Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-3#Wimbledon https://t.co/jw2P80YI2t
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2016
Despite hitting 24 winners to Cibulkova’s 17, it was Bouchard’s unforced error count that cost her in the important moments, hitting 16 to Cibulkova’s 19. The Canadian also failed to capitalize on her break point chances, converting just one of four while Cibukova put away three of nine.
With the victory, Cibukova has now won eight matches in a row on grass courts, a streak extending back to her run to the title at the grass court tune up event in Eastbourne. Cibulkova also grabbed her first win over Bouchard, having lost to her in three sets in both of her previous matches.
This marks the first time since Cibulkova’s quarterfinal run in 2011 that she’s reached the second week at Wimbledon, and she awaits the winner between Agnieszka Radwanska and Katerina Siniakova.
“It’s all coming together,” Cibulkova said. “Here we are, I won Eastbourne and now I’m in the fourth round here and it feels great. I just want to keep going.”