By Adrianna Outlaw | Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Dominika Cibulkova dropped nine straight games to open the match before rallying for a 0-6, 6-3, 6-4, victory over Caroline Garcia to reach the Madrid Open round of 16.
Photo credit: Moez Famil Battikh/Mutua Madrid Open
Dominika Cibulkova was on the wrong side of a clay-court dusting for an hour today.
Caroline Garcia opened the match on a nine-game tear, building a 6-0, 3-0, 40-15 lead against the shaky Slovak.
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That's when the former French Open semifinalist made a stand.
Cibulkova stormed back winning six straight games to spark an improbable, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory that vaulted her into the Madrid Open round of 16.
One round after toppling top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3, Cibulkova looked spent for a set and a half today.
Garcia was in total command, but once Cibulkova got on the board the Frenchwoman wilted as the former Australian Open finalist fought back with a fury.
Stepping into the court, the 38th-ranked Cibulkova converted four of five break points, earning the only break of the decisive set.
The comeback win was an early birthday gift: Cibulkova celebrates her 27th birthday on Friday.
The Katowice champion scored her seventh victory in her last eight matches. Cibulkova will play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a quarterfinal spot. The Russian received a walkover into the round of 16 from Camila Giorgi.
Roland Garros semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky beat Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
The 10th-seeded Swiss will play Simona Halep for a spot in the last eight.
The sixth-seeded Halep crushed Karin Knapp, 6-1, 6-1, breaking serve six times in 62 minutes. Bacsinszky rallied for a three-set win over Halep in the Miami Open quarterfinals last March.