“In the past finals, I was always too nervous and I was just not
playing my best,” Cibulkova said. “Finally, this was my first final that I was just going for it and
everything was going my way.” Bartoli had a tough time keeping up after spending more than eight
hours on the court in winning her first three matches here. Cibulkova’s strong
ground strokes dominated Bartoli in the first set. The Slovakian won the last
six games and saved the only three break points in the set on her serve. “The
first set everything was going my way.” Cibulkova said. “I was playing really
well. My forehand was working 100 percent, and also my serve return.” But
Bartoli bounced back with a pair of service breaks in the second set to jump
ahead 4-1. Cibulkova then ran off four consecutive games to take a 5-4 lead.
With Cibulkova up 6-5, she broke Bartoli when the Frenchwoman hit a forehand
into the net. “I think I played well to get the lead in the second ... but from
this point I start to feel a bit tired and not moving (as) quickly as I wanted
to,” Bartoli said. “She played very fast and extremely well, so she made me feel
uncomfortable.” Cibulkova, playing in her second final this season, won all
four of her matches here in straight sets. “It gives you so much confidence,”
said Cibulkova, who will play singles and doubles at the London Olympics.
Although Bartoli cut down on her double faults, she served them up at
inopportune times. Bartoli, who had 43 double faults in her first three
matches, had only six. But two gave Cibulkova service breaks, including one at
set point in the first set. Cibulkova won $96,000 while Bartoli received
$53,000. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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