Dominika Cibulkova avenged an embarrassing defeat to Agnieszka Radwanska by overhauling the top-seeded Pole 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to win the Bank of the West Classic on Sunday.
Earlier this year in the Sydney final, Radwanska handed the Slovakian a humiliating 6-0, 6-0 loss that Cibulkova said affected her for weeks. However, in Sunday’s final, the 24-year-old Cibulkova immediately shook off her nerves by winning the first game, and fought tooth and nail to seal the win in two-and-a-half hours.
World No. 4 Radwanska entered the final with a 4-0 record against Cibulkova, and appeared to be in control after winning the first set with creative and steady play.
Cibulkova then settled down, breaking Radwanska to lead 4-3 and holding on to win the second set when her opponent missed a return.
The Slovakian wobbled in the decider, with a double-fault conceding a break and allowing Radwanska to take a 4-2 lead, but she broke back immediately and closed out the contest with a searing backhand crosscourt winner.
She fell to her back in joy and her father Milan jumped on to the court to embrace her.
Cibulkova has flirted with the top 10, reaching a career-high No. 12 back in 2009, but has struggled to break through to the next level.
She has failed to make an impression at the Grand Slams this year, but will head into the fourth and final Grand Slam, the US Open, with renewed belief.
BAKU CUP
AP, BAKU
Elina Svitolina won the Baku Cup title by beating Shahar Peer of Israel 6-4, 6-4 in the final on Sunday.
The 18-year-old Ukrainian, the 2010 French Open junior champion, landed four aces and broke Peer decisively in each set to claim her second career title. She won her first in November last year in Pune, India.
The 149-ranked Peer, whose ranking has fallen from a career-best No. 11, was bidding for a sixth career title in her first final appearance since losing in Washington in July 2011.
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
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Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
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