10 January,2017 08:30 AM IST | | AFP
Slovakia's World No. 6 Dominika Cibulkova dropped just two games in blistering heat to win her opening match at the Sydney International yesterday
Dominika Cibulkova, Caroline Wozniacki
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova returns against Laura Siegemund of Germany during the first round tie at the Sydney International tournament yesterday. Pic/AFP
Sydney: Slovakia's World No. 6 Dominika Cibulkova dropped just two games in blistering heat to win her opening match at the Sydney International yesterday. The diminutive Cibulkova, who upset World No. 1 Angelique Kerber to win the WTA finals in Singapore last October, swept past Germany's World No. 31 Laura Siegemund 6-2, 6-0.
Cibulkova, will next play Canadian wild card Eugenie Bouchard in the second round of the WTA lead-in tournament to next week's Australian Open.
When you start a season, you always start with some confidence, not doubt, but you always need to get into this match rhythm, said Cibulkova. It's not easy if I would expect myself to play like I did in the (WTA) final against Kerber, I think that would be too much expectation.
This is the time of the year when you just have to warm up yourself in the matches, Cibulkova added.
Former World No. 1 and seventh seed Caroline Wozniacki dumped Olympic champion and last year's finalist Monica Puig out of the tournament 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Puig had 12 break point opportunities but could only convert three, while Wozniacki put away three of four break points.
Johanna Konta was too strong for Australian Arina Rodionova 6-3, 6-4 and fellow Australian Samantha Stosur again bombed out in the first round, going out 6-3, 6-1 to Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. It was tough conditions out there. I don't really know what to say, said Stosur.
