STANFORD, CA, USA – No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova was among the last of the big names to kick off her Stanford campaign, but survived a late surge in the first set from Urszula Radwanska to advance into the last eight at the Bank of the West Classic, 7-6(3), 6-3.
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Cibulkova was playing her first match since reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon – where she upset former finalist and Agnieszka Radwanska, Urszula’s elder sister, en route – and marrying her longtime fiance during finals weekend.
“I have to admit, I was just on the other side of the planet a few days ago and I’m playing on a different surface, so it’s very very tough,” she said after the match.
The Slovak showed few signs of that rust from the outset as she raced ahead 5-2 in the opening set, but Radwanska, a former Top 30 player, undid the deficit with speedy efficiency to force a tie-break. Speaking with Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview, Cibulkova took the momentum shifts in stride.
“But tennis life is tough because you’re here one day, there the next and you have to adapt. But I was trying my best even though I wasn’t feeling great on the court today. But I was mentally tough and I made it through.”
Taking another 5-2 lead – this time in the tie-break – Cibulkova made no mistake and took the first set in a little over an hour. The second set appears more straightforward, but the pair twice exchanged breaks before the former World No.10 was able to close out the match.
“At the right time, I was focused and I didn’t panic though I lost a few games I should have won. My forehand was working and I knew I had to go for that, and I had to play smart today because I knew she was playing really well.”
Set to play Misaki Doi in the next round, Cibulkova is just one match away from returning to the Top 10 for the first time since early 2015, just before she took time off to treat a lingering Achilles injury.
Alison Riske captured another complicated three-setter in Stanford, dismissing qualifier Ana Bogdan, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Looking to reach her first-ever WTA quarterfinal, the Romanian saved five match points before Riske clinched a spot in in the last eight for a second straight year.
Catherine Bellis backed up her win over Jelena Ostapenko with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Sachia Vickery to make her own debut in a WTA quarterfinal. The American first burst onto the scene in 2014 when she upset Cibulkova to reach the second round as a 15-year-old, later reaching the third round of Miami, where she played Serena Williams for the first time. Thursday’s win earned her a primetime showdown with top seed Venus Williams.
“I just had to focus really hard on my game plan for the entire match,” Bellis told press after her win. “We’ve played each other so many times; we actually played one another last week. We practice together all the time too, so we know each other’s games pretty well. I had to focus on me, my tennis, and playing my game. That’s what really got me through.
“It’s not going to be easy [playing Venus], but I don’t think anything is impossible. Obviously, it’ll be such an honor playing one of the best players of all time, and she’s done so much in her career and still doing amazing things. It’s going to be fun, and I’m very excited.”
