Dominika Cibulkova rode a water slide fully-clothed shortly after winning the second title of her career, a 6-1, 7-5 defeat of top seed Marion Bartoli to win the WTA Carlsbad tournament. The Slovak champion had no time to celebrate though, with her flight booked back home in order to fulfill a sponsor commitment.
Her pre-arranged, made-for-TV stunt – she jumped on the twisting tunnel slide at the pool at the tournament site, the La Costa resort while wearing her red tennis dress – capped a solid week for the Slovak pocket rocket who does not let her 1.61-metre statutes detract from her tennis in a world of taller opponents.
The winner of her second career trophy was flying the Atlantic to make an appearance before heading to London at mid-week. She will take satisfaction from what she called the best of her six career finals, which have yielded one other trophy last autumn indoors in Moscow.
For the Slovak, the Olympics are a pleasant distraction – but not the main event of the tennis year. “The Olympics are something different. I’m proud that I represent Slovakia, but it’s not the highlight of the year for me.
“For me it’s just the next tournament. I’m a little bit upset about the (grass) surface we play now on, because I got used to hardcourt and I have to go back to the grass and back to the hard court.
“Of course the Olympics are important, but the Grand Slams are something different for me.”
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Dominika Cibulkova, London Olympics, Marion Bartoli, Sports, Tennis News, women tennis news, WTA Carlsbad tennis news