Coming in at #9 on the list of the Best Grand Slam matches in 2018 would be the resurgent #DominikaCibulkova’s terrific three-set win over three-time Major champion #AngeliqueKerber in a thrilling third-round battle at the 2018 #USOpen. In a battle between the former world number four and the world number four, it was the Slovakian who triumphed in this high-quality affair after two-hours and 13-minutes of action.
Cibulkova is known as one of the bigger hitters on the tour while Kerber has recently upped the aggression in her game — and when the draw came out, there were quite a number of fans looking forward to this encounter between both world-class players already. Notably, this is also a repeat of their 2016 WTA Finals final clash in Singapore.
Kerber started the match pretty well; being aggressive and keeping Cibulkova at bay, but was unable to maintain her high level throughout the match as the German became increasingly passive and Cibulkova took full advantage of that. The Slovakian ended the match with 40 winners, showcasing her aggressive high-risk tennis which also brought about 39 unforced errors. Kerber committed just 25 unforced errors, but also managed to dig for 23 winners only.
Kerber grabs the terrific first win
Cibulkova started the match serving, and it is never easy to hold serve against a top player in the opening game considering the amount of tension and pressure in the atmosphere. The Slovakian had a slow start and errors were flying from everywhere — allowing Kerber to pounce on her chances and grab the first break.
The 2014 Australian Open finalist was struggling on her backhand wing as Kerber’s tactics seemed to be working efficiently. Cibulkova was forced to dig deep and fend off another break point in the third game, successfully holding serve to get onto the scoreboard and minimize the deficit.
A run of two consecutive games saw Cibulkova stepping up her game and mixing up the shots, and Kerber threw in an unfortunate double-fault on her opponent’s first break point to hand back the advantage. However, the German was able to produce a stunning reply immediately; firing a terrific forehand passing winner to take the lead once more.
This time, she consolidated the break for a commanding 5-3 lead which left Cibulkova serving to stay in the first set. Cibulkova earned game points but it was not enough to remain in contention as Kerber proved stronger on every occasion — and the Slovakian sent a routine forehand volley out of the court on the second set point, gifting the first set 6-3 to Kerber.
Cibulkova fights back in style
It was a confidence-boosting start to the second set for Cibulkova, who fired through the defensive barriers of Kerber and smashed her way to the opening break of serve with a huge forehand winner. Now it was Kerber’s turn to produce the countless unforced errors as she failed to convert a break point in the following game — which would ultimately prove extremely costly. A stunning forehand down-the-line winner from Cibulkova helped her consolidate the break for the early lead.
Kerber completely lost the plot as Cibulkova tramped all over the Wimbledon champion to take a double-break, 3-0 advantage within a blink of an eye. Four consecutive love games came and went, and the shares were split between both players as the 29th seed managed to hold onto her hard-earned lead.
A wild backhand sent long saw Kerber conceding the second set 6-3 to Cibulkova, who levelled the scores despite being faced with a tough challenge of playing catch-up after losing the opening set.
Cibulkova seals the huge win
Riding on her momentum, Cibulkova attempted to stop a Kerber resurgence as the Slovakian fired two excellent forehand winners to save two break points, before coming up with an impressive backhand volley on game point to claim the nervy service hold in the first game of the decider. This could be said to be a massive momentum shift as who knows what would have happened had Kerber converted those chances?
A vulnerable second serve from the German down 1-2, 0-40 was brutally punished by a screaming backhand return winner and Cibulkova jumped out to a 3-1 lead out on the Louis Armstrong Stadium, the newly-built structure which already witnessed the early exits of world number one Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza and Caroline Wozniacki, and was known as the ground of upsets.
Kerber was determined to avoid being yet another big-name casualty in the stadium as she broke back in a marathon game to remain in contention. However, she failed to find the aggressive element in her game which saw her playing extremely passively, allowing Cibulkova to take the initiative and control the proceedings.
Cibulkova immediately snatched back the lead, and ultimately showed some nerves of steel to comfortably serve out the match after 133 minutes of high-quality tennis.
What they said: Kerber reviews her loss, Cibulkova reflects on her win
Kerber herself knew being passive was her achilles heel during the tough loss, “It was a really tough battle against Domi again. I had my chances, but I couldn't take it, especially in the third set. Also, I mean, I was not able actually to play my best tennis in the important moment. She was going for it, and she hit the balls really good and played the winners when she has to. I think that was the difference about the match today.”
“I was trying everything until the last point. I was trying also during, yeah, the rallies to go for it. But I was not able actually to being more aggressive than she was, and I think that that was then the difference,” Kerber mentioned during her post-match press conference.
Tennis is a cruel sport — there’s ought to be one loser and one winner. Cibulkova was certainly delighted with the win, especially after how she rebounded to claim the win and losing her last meetings against Kerber in 2018, “It feels pretty good and special. This year I lost to Angelique twice, and even during those matches, I was playing pretty solid. I was playing pretty fine. She just didn't give me any chance. So now we had to change something, and I think we had the great tactic with my coach, and I was able to do it. It was something that I don't usually do, but I was able to do it and it was working 100%.”
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