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Bartoli runs out of steam as Cibulkova wins title

Dominika Cibulkova kisses her prize © Getty Images

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• Profile: Marion Bartoli | Dominika Cibulkova

A long week at the Mercury Insurance Open caught up with Marion Bartoli, as she suffered a straight-sets defeat to second seed Dominika Cibulkova in the final on Sunday.

Bartoli struggled with a sore hip throughout the match, as a series of three-set matches during the tournament took their toll on the top seed. For Cibulkova, the 6-1 7-5 victory in the final proved the perfect warm-up for London 2012.

Cibulkova is expected to rise to No. 13 in the world rankings ahead of the Olympics, and rarely appeared troubled by her fatigued French opponent. Indeed, the Slovakian made the most of a poor service game by Bartoli, who gifted the first set to Cibulkova courtesy of a double fault on set point.

The one bright spot for Bartoli came early in the second as she raced to a 4-1 lead. However, a tired Bartoli could not maintain the pace, as Cibulkova won the next four games to have the world No. 10 on the ropes.

A sixth double fault of the match from Bartoli handed Cibulkova three match points. And she required just one, falling to the court with joy after claiming her first WTA title since winning in Moscow last year.

"Today I played well all through the match," said Cibulkova. "In the past finals I was nervous. This was the first one where I just went for it - everything went my way. I've changed my coach recently, and I'm more relaxed on the court. It's all working out really well for me."

Cibulkova, 23, will now represent Slovakia at the London Games in both singles and doubles.

The Swedish Open was won by Slovenian Polona Hercog, who overcame Mathilde Johansson in three sets. French challenger Johansson had been seeking a maiden WTA title in the Bastad final, but defending champion Hercog recovered from a poor start for a 0-6 4-6 7-5 victory.

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