In the final tuneup before Wimbledon, Dominika Cibulkova and Karolina Pliskova faced off for the Eastbourne title.
In 2015, Dominika Cibulkova—only a year removed from the first Grand Slam final of her career in Australia—was forced to the sidelines due to Achilles surgery, which caused her to miss the hard court tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, and the whole clay-court stretch. She made her return on the grass and posted mixed results for the rest of the year.
The veteran from Slovakia got off to a strong start in the first half of 2016, which included winning her fifth career title. In preparation for Wimbledon, Cibulkova entered the tournament in Eastbourne, England, where she proceeded to reach the final, with her run including a win over top seed Agnieszka Radwanska along the way.
In the championship match, the No. 12-seeded Cibulkova would square off against the No. 10 seed, Karolina Pliskova. The Czech breezed through her first three matches before being forced to rally in the semifinals against Brit Johanna Konta.
Even though the Slovak had won their only prior meeting back in 2014, Pliskova had made significant strides in her game since. Playing the first final of her career on grass, Cibulkova found herself across the net by someone who stood nearly a foot taller and was known for having one of the biggest serves on tour.
While she was having difficulty holding her serve, she was able to break the Czech: In fact, the two went back and forth over the first six games in the windy conditions. Serving at 5-6, Pliskova was broken once again, though, as Cibulkova clinched the opener behind a near-perfect drop shot on her second set point.
The start of the second set was a turnaround from the first as both players held serve through the first three games. Cibulkova, still making headway on Pliskova’s massive deliveries, broke first in the second set to take a 3-1 lead. The next game was a battle as she had to fend off two break points to consolidate. Eventually serving for the match at 5-3, 40-30, the two players engaged in a cross-court rally that ended when Pliskova hit a backhand wide to give Cibulkova her second title of the year and first on grass.
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Two weeks prior to Eastbourne, Pliskova won the first grass-court title of her career in Nottingham, beating Alison Riske in straight sets in the final.
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Cibulkova’s sixth career title left her one behind her compatriot Daniela Hantuchova on the singles list for Slovakian women. She also trailed Hantuchova by one in finals with her 15th career one coming in Eastbourne
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Marion Bartoli’s run to the title in 2011 as the No. 6 seed was the last time a player seeded among the top eight won the tournament.
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