Simona Halep, Dominika Cibulkova Crush in Semis to Set Up Madrid Championship Match
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Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova will meet in the Mutua Madrid Open final after winning semifinals in dominating fashion on Friday in Spain.
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The No. 6-seeded Halep blew out unseeded Aussie Sam Stosur in under an hour 6-2, 6-0 on the red clay.
It is the first WTA final since the summer of 2015 for Halep, who was a Madrid runner-up in 2014.
In the final Halep will meet unseeded Dominika Cibulkova, who on Friday provided intensity from the start in overwhelming American qualifier Louisa Chirico 6-1, 6-1.
“I started today’s match in the best way — I was really aggressive,” she Cibulkova, celebrating her 27th birthday with the win. “I know what I want to play and I was just going for it. I didn’t wait what’s going to happen on the court.
The 19-year-old Chirico was appearing in her first WTA semifinal, and will debut in the Top 100 next week on the WTA rankings.
Cibulkova leads the career head-to-head with Halep 3-1, convincingly winning their most recent meeting 6-3, 6-0 at the 2014 Australian Open. Halep won their lone meeting on clay in three sets at 2012 Brussels.
“I expect a tough one as well because is the final, and always the last match of the tournament is difficult,” Halep said. “But I have experience. I feel ready to play. She plays fast. She hits the balls. I know her pretty well. I beat her; she beat me. It’s an open match. Everyone can win. But I will do everything to win it. I really want it. It’s my dream to win here. We will see tomorrow.”
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