Can World No.1 Serena Williams find that Wimbledon magic and complete her quest to match Stefanie Graf’s Open Era record of 22 major titles? Will No.2 Garbiñe Muguruza set aside any French Open hangover to complete the Channel Slam? Or is there another champion lying in wait?
WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen is joined by Reem Abulleil, tennis reporter for Sport360.com, to dissect the draw and preview the third major of the year.
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EASTBOURNE, England – Dominika Cibulkova rounded off a busy afternoon at the Aegon International Eastbourne by brushing aside Monica Puig to book her place in the final.
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Having begun the day with a stirring comeback win over top seed Agnieszka Radwanska, Cibulkova could have been forgiven for showing a few signs of physical and mental fatigue when she stepped back on court just a few hours later.
However, if the Slovak was feeling the effects of the backed-up scheduling, she hid it well, easing to a 6-2, 6-1 victory in little over an hour on court.
Peppering Puig’s baseline with her flat groundstrokes, Cibulkova threatened to break on a couple of occasions before finally striking in the sixth game, following up a well-disguised drop shot with a thumping forehand winner.
Desperately searching for a response to her opponent’s brilliance, Puig was forced out of her comfort zone, surrendering the set on the back of a couple of uncharacteristically errant backhands.
The second set was even more one-sided, Cibulkova rattling off the final three games to reach her first grass court final. “I would say this is my best day on a grass court,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “I’m extremely happy – I’m playing so well. She was really tough to play against because she’s playing completely different tennis to Radwanska, she played well today but I was just better.”
On court, Cibulkova’s fiery style starved Puig the opportunity to find any rhythm. And a similarly frenetic approach served her well in dealing with the quick turnaround: “I stretched, went to the ice bath and then I had to warm up again. It was a really quick one!”
In the final, she will face Karolina Pliskova after she defeated home favorite Johanna Konta, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3.
And this is how I feel at @AegonTennisEB!!! ?????????????? ?????????? the best feeling!! pic.twitter.com/ghKKhCod2b
— Dominika Cibulkova (@Cibulkova) June 24, 2016
Johanna Konta has Friday’s shot of the day at the Aegon International Eastbourne.
Serena Williams’s path to a potential 22nd Grand Slam title will be far from straightforward, after Friday’s Wimbledon draw placed a number a potential banana skins in her way.
Dominika Cibulkova takes on Monica Puig in the semifinals of the Aegon International.
EASTBOURNE, England – Dominika Cibulkova produced a stirring comeback to defeat top seed Agnieszka Radwanska in their rain-delayed quarterfinals at the Aegon International Eastbourne.
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When the match was halted on Thursday afternoon, Radwanska had been in complete control, by a set and a break. However, on the resumption it was a different story, Cibulkova breaking back immediately as she went on to force a deciding set.
The Pole had her chances in the decider, holding points for a 3-1 lead, only for Cibulkova to come roaring back to win, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, and set up a meeting with Monica Puig.
“It was a very difficult match against Agnieszka and with all the different conditions,” Cibulkova said. “I was able to manage and play better every game with every stop we had I felt stronger.”
Also advancing to the semifinals were Karolina Pliskova, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over former champion Elena Vesnina, and Johanna Konta, who delighted the home crowd with a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against Ekaterina Makarova.
Konta is bidding to become just the second British player to reach the final in the tournament’s 42-year history. However, the prospect of following in the footsteps of the great Virginia Wade – who won the title in 1975 and finished runner-up in 1974 and 1976 – did not appear to faze Konta against Makarova.
After falling behind early on, Konta drew herself level before overpowering Makarova in the first set tie-break. The second set was just as evenly contested, but once again it was Konta’s greater composure at the pivotal moments that determined the outcome.
At 4-4, Konta found the baseline with another pin-point return to bring up three points. She only needed the one, Makarova obligingly sending a forehand into the tramlines, before calmly serving out for a place in the last four.
Dominika Cibulkova takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals of the Aegon International.
EASTBOURNE, Great Britain – Monica Puig enjoyed another stellar win in the quarterfinals of the Aegon International, outlasting Kristina Mladenovic, 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3, to reach the semifinals in Eastbourne.
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The Puerto Rican starlet needed to qualify just to reach the main draw in Eastbourne, but has played incredible tennis this week, Mladenovic in an over two hour epic.
“I don’t think today was the same quality match as yesterday,” Puig said, referring to her thrilling win over former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday. “I missed a little bit more, there were more double faults, felt like a million to me, but, you know, the most important thing is I was able to put those behind me and just keep focusing on what I had to do next, which is very important.
“I always try to stay as positive as possible, but it definitely does feel good to get this win under my belt and move into the semis.”
Puig was the only one to finish her quarterfinal on a rainy Thursday in Eastbourne. Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska edged ahead by a set and a break over rival Dominika Cibulkova before their match was ultimately washed out, and Karolina Pliskova was on fire to start her quarterfinal against 2013 champion Elena Vesnina – losing three points in the first four and a half games – before their match was also halted.
In another jam-packed order of play, the quarterfinals and semifinals are set to conclude on Friday, leading of with Radwanska and Cibulkova on Centre Court, followed by the quarterfinal encounter between No.11 seed Johanna Konta and Ekaterina Makarova, who finished off Andrea Petkovic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Thursday.
Karolina Pliskova takes on Johanna Konta in the semifinals of the Aegon International.