Top seed Cibulkova headed to Budapest semis

[February 24, 2018]    No.1 seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia continues to dominate at the Hungarian Ladies Open in Budapest, Hungary, cruising past Sweden's Johanna Larsson, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to advance to the tournament's semifinals.

Cibulkova never trailed in the match and has won in straight sets in all three of her matches in Budapest.

"It was my first good game against her," said Cibulkova, who is 5-0 against Larsson. "There was not much she could do today on court. I'm happy with my performance, and I'm ready for my semifinal."

The 28-year-old will face Germany's Mona Barthel, who beat fellow countrywoman Ysaline Bonaventure 6-3, 6-4 to advance.

"I expect a tough match. She can have her ups and downs, but she's already beaten some tough players, so I have to be really focused and keep up my good tennis," Cibulkova said of her opponent.

In the other semifinal, Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium will take on Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova. The unseeded Van Uytvanck upset No. 2 seed Shuai Zhang of China 6-2, 6-4 on Friday after besting No.5 seed Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania earlier in the tournament.

Kuzmova dispatched Croatian Petra Martic 6-4, 6-2 to round out the field.

--Field Level Media

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