Cibulkova upsets Azarenka in Roland-Garros 2012 4th Round

Dominika Cibulkova, the no. 15-seed, eliminated world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka from the French Open 2012 currently being held at Roland-Garros in Paris. Cibulkova, a 2009 semi-finalist, used her clay court skills to full advantage to register a straight set 6-2 7-6(4) and improve to just 2-7 against Azarenka. The loss stopped Azarenka's 10-match winning streak at Grand Slams as the Belarussian won the Australian Open in January for her first major and catapulted her to the world no. 1 ranking. Cibulkova will now face the winner of the fourth round match between American teenager Sloane Stephens and world no. 6 Samantha Stosur of Australia.

The loss of Azarenka eliminated two of the three title favorites before the quarterfinal round. Earlier in the tournament, Azarenka was touted as potential French Open champion along with world no. 2 Maria Sharapova and no. 5 Serena Williams. Serena was eliminated in a first round shocker to an unseeded Virginie Razanno of France. Only Sharapova remains in the draw but she is playing her fourth round match on Monday, June 4. In Azarenka's top half of the draw, the highest remaining seed is no. 6-seed US Open champion Stosur. World no. 3, Agnieszka Radwanska, who was in Azarenka's half of the draw was eliminated in the third round.

Azarenka vs Cibulkova: French Open 2012 Match Statistics

Cibulkova won by being the steadier player in the match and having a +8 winner-unforced errors ratio. The first set was over in 44 minutes, and the second set took over an hour to complete. Total match time is 107 minutes. Cibulkova registered 3 aces against 0 to Cibulkova. She had more winners - 28 to 19, and less unforced errors 20 to 25. Cibulkova only had a 47% first serve percentage but won 68% of first serve points. Azarenka had a higher 79% first serve percentage but only won 52% of first serve points. Cibulkova won a total of 84 points against 68 won by her opponent.

The loss means that Azarenka may lose her world no. 1 ranking to Maria Sharapova if the Russian wins the French Open title. Anything less means that Azarenka will get to keep her top ranking. Cibulkova will now advance to her second Roland-Garros quarterfinal in six attempts. She lost in the first round last year and will improve her ranking with her performance this year.

Subject: Cibulkova upset Azarenka in Roland-Garros 2012 4th Round