Serena Faces Last Year`s Runner-Up Cibulkova In Quarters

World number one Serena Williams has a strong record over last year`s Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova and will hope to extend this streak of four wins against her Slovakian opponent tomorrow (1:30) as the pair go head-to-head in the quarter-final stage of the competition down under.

Unbeaten by Cibulkova, Williams is the 1/6 favourite to get the better of her rival for a fifth time tomorrow morning. Having only won one set against the Michigan-born superstar, the number 10 seed is a 4/1 chance with the same bookmaker to book herself a place in the tournament`s final four with an unlikely upset.

Williams chalked her first win against a 21-year-old Cibulkova as the pair clashed in the third round of Wimbledon back in 2010. Cibulkova failed to claim a game in the first set but was more valiant in defeat in the second, losing out 7-5. The younger of the famous Williams sisters would go on to defend her crown in England, beating Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in the final. A classy overall performance, Serena did not concede a set in any of her matches throughout the course of the Grand Slam.

The two women would play twice in 2013, the first on hard in the Miami Masters` fourth stage, the second on clay in the fourth round of the Rome Masters. It was in America where Cibulkova would claim her only set victory against the now 33-year-old, the Slovak player taking the opener 6-2. Her opponent, a full six inches taller than her diminutive five foot three stature, would secure sets two and three 6-4, 6-2.

In Rome, the Bratislavia resident could only manage to secure one game in the face of her opponent, Williams triumphing 6-0, 6-1 on clay. There having been two sets taken 6-0 from the nine the two players have played, the odds of their being a bagel victory in the match-up tomorrow currently stand at 9/2 with betfair. What`s more, of the 10 sets that Williams has played in the competition this year, three of them have ended 6-0 in her favour.

In heir final encounter in the quarter-final of the Brisbane International last year, the two players` second clash on a hard surface, Williams ran out the comfortable 6-3, 6-3 victor. Williams defeated Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the final (6-4, 7-5) to reclaim the crown she picked up by beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 2013.

This year`s 11/8 tournament favourite (bet365) hasn`t had everything her own way this time round despite the 18-time Grand Slam champion having seen off her first two opponents in straight sets.

Desperate to try to secure her sixth tournament title, Williams dropped both opening sets against Ukraine`s Elina Svitolena and Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the third and fourth rounds respectively. Svitolena, the 26th seed, took the opener 6-4 before wobbling and losing the second 6-2 and the concluding set 6-0, whilst the result against 24th seed Muguruza read 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Ladbrokes are offering odds of 11/2 on Williams dropping the first set but winning for the third successive time in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

In contrast to the 33-year-old, last year`s losing finalist has only dropped the opening set once, that being in her first round match against Kirsten Flipkens (3-6, 6-3, 6-1). Cibulkova also needed a third set to beat two-time tournament winner Victoria Azarenka in last time out (6-2, 3-6, 6-3) but put both Tsvetana Pironkova and Aliza Cornet to the sword in straight sets.

Bet365`s 9/4 says the tie will be played out over 2.5 sets tomorrow.

Go To bet365

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27/01/2015     © Frixo 2024