On October 16th in the final of the Generali Ladies Linz Dominika Cibulkova was playing for her maiden WTA title and lost to Petra Kvitova. Only a week has pasted and the 22-year-old is in another final, at the Premier Kremlin Cup and her opponent will be Estonian Kaia Kanepi.
Cibulkova and Peng Shuai are the only member of the Top 20 without titles, but the little Slovakian is positive about changing her discouraging 0-3 record in career finals:
I know I’ve lost all three of my previous finals including the one last week, but I feel if I continue playing the way I do now sooner or later I’ll win one.
The world No.20 Cibulkova cruised past her semifinal opponent Elena Vesnina 6-0 6-2, a day after ousting top-seeded home favorite Vera Zvonareva 4-6 6-4 6-4. Kanepi upset two Grand Slam champions, Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova, before coming from a set down to topple Lucie Safarova 6-7(4) 6-4 6-3 in the semifinals.
Cibulkova and Kanepi played each other twice so far, including once this year, and Kanepi won in three sets both times. Also, the 43rd-ranked Kanepi, who used to be ranked 16th earlier this year, has one title to her name – Palermo 2010. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)
