In the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open, world No.38 Dominika Cibulkova recovered not only from being bageled in the first set, but from a 6-0 3-0 40-15 deficit against Caroline Garcia.
The 49th-ranked Garcia was unstoppable in the first set, winning 80% of points on first serve and losing just five points in service games, whereas Cibulkova won just 41% on first serve and only 33% of points in her service games. Facing a straightforward defeat, Cibulkova kicked into higher gear, won six straight games to force the third set which turned out to be a close battle that went with serve until Garcia double-faulted on match point. Oh. Final score: 0-6 6-3 6-4.
Let me remind you, in the first round Cibulkova upset top seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3. Next up for the Slovak is Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who got a walkover in the second round when Camila Giorgi withdrew with a back injury. (photo: Jimmie48)
