• WTA Tour

Cibulkova nets maiden title

ESPN staff
October 23, 2011
Dominika Cibulkova had never previously beaten Kaia Kanepi © PA Photos
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Dominika Cibulkova claimed her maiden WTA Tour singles title by beating Kaia Kanepi over three sets in the final of the Kremlin Cup.

Slovakia's Cibulkova had lost all three of her previous finals, but held her nerve to grind out a 3-6 7-6(1) 7-5 triumph against her Estonian opponent. The victory, which was her first in three meetings against Kanepi, took two hours and 36 minutes to complete.

No. 8 seed Cibulkova, 22, proved her resilience by saving eight of the 11 break points she coughed up on serve. Kanepi was similarly wasteful when it came to her own delivery, with a disappointing 53% of her first serves landing in.

Meanwhile at the Luxembourg Open, world No. 3 Victoria Azarenka raced to her third title of the year with a straight-sets win over Monica Niculescu.

Azarenka will head to the WTA Tour Championships in Istanbul on a high after she cruised to the title without dropping a set in Luxembourg. The Belarusian needed just 74 minutes to wrap up a 6-2 6-2 win against the Romanian, who was playing in her first WTA Tour final.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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