Pavlyuchenkova, Cibulkova Advance

By Katie Spellman

Anastasia Pavluchenkova of Russia stopped Spain's
Carla Suarez Navarro for the sixth time in their
last seven meetings.

NEW HAVEN – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is fast rediscovering her early-season form at the

Connecticut Open, reaching her seventh quarter-final of the year with victory over former world No.6 Carla Suarez Navarro on Wednesday. Pavlyuchenkova registered her sixth victory in seven meetings with the 35th-ranked Spaniard 7-6(3), 6-0. It was her first win over a Top-40 opponent since May.

“I had a really good start, being up 4-1 with two breaks, then I lost a little bit of concentration there,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “Right away she turned it around— 4-3, 4-all—then I started to get a little bit emotional because I felt that was a bit my fault. I let her come into the match even though I know she’s a great player. I hate being up and then losing so I’m happy with the way I fought back and got the set.”

Cibulkova Rounding Into Form

In a worrying sign for prospective opponents, Dominika Cibulkova admits she is closing in on the type of form she believes will carry her to Grand Slam glory. For now, Cibulkova has her sights firmly fixed on the Connecticut Open. And after fighting back to deny a determined Alize Cornet on Thursday night, she is primed for a ninth showdown with Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals.

Dominika Cibulkova registered a come-from-behind,
three-set victory over Akize Cornet of France.

Cibulkova fell behind 2-4 in the third and deciding set before going on a tear and winning the last four games of the match to emerge victorious, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

On the comeback from a shoulder injury sustained in Stuttgart, Germany, in April, the win represented a huge confidence booster for Cibulkova.

“I knew it was going to be a really tough one,” said Cibulkova, the tournament’s No. 2 seed. “She was playing really aggressive,” continued the 28-year-old Slovak beauty, “but this reminded me of how I was playing last year how I came back in that third set.”

PowerShares Starts

Starting this evening, men’s legends will begin play in PowerShares play immediately following the conclusion of women’s play on Stadium Court. Tonight, Fairfield native and Connecticut fan favorite James Blake will take on 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang. One of the Connecticut Open’s many lasting memories happened five years ago when fellow Fairfield native John Mayer showed up to root on his childhood friend.

Today will also be the 17th Connecticut Open Family Classic, which provides families spirited competition and the chance to share the stage with some of the top women players.

Tournament Director Anne Worcester (2nd from left) receives a plaque
honoring 20 years of women’s tennis in New Haven. (Photo by Jared
Wickerham/Connecticut Open)

Today’s Top Matches

[1] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) v [8] Peng Shuai (CHN)

The defending champion hit the ground running in her 2017 New Haven debut holding off a late fightback from Eugenie Bouchard to reach the quarter-finals on Tuesday night. Peng, meanwhile, booked her place with a relatively routine win over Australian Open semi-finalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The 10th-ranked Pole and 23rd-ranked Chinese player have split their six career meetings with Peng claiming their past two clashes, including on hard courts at Indian Wells this year. “I lost to both of them this year so that for sure is going to be a good chance to get revenge,” Radwanska said of facing Peng or Lucic-Baroni.

[2] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) v [6] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)

A confidence-boosting victory over gutsy Frenchwoman Alize Cornet on Wednesday night had Dominika Cibulkova hailing it the kind of form that carried her to the season-ending WTA Finals title last season. Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was also impressive in her dismissal of former world No.6 Carla Suarez Navarro on Wednesday. Now the familiar rivals square off for a semi-final berth with the Slovak holding a 5-3 advantage. “Always against [Pavlyuchenkova] it’s really tough,” Cibulkova said. “She plays aggressive, goes for her shots. I just have to stick in there and wait for a good moment.”

Daria Gavrilova (AUS) v Kirsten Flipkens (BEL)

The spritely Aussie had an extra spring in her step after she ground out a sapping win over Timea Babos on Tuesday. It put the world No.26 in the box seat to reach her second semi-final of the season knowing her opponent would be a qualifier – either world No.76 Kirsten Flipkens or 127th-ranked Ana Bogdan. Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Flipkens sliced and net-charged her way past Bogdan to reach her second quarter-final of the season. The Belgian beat Gavrilova in their only prior encounter, but it was five years ago on grass at ’s-Hertogenbosch. “She's a tough opponent, she’s going to be hanging in there, playing really well the last couple of days, so I'm just looking forward to going out there and playing her,” Flipkens said.

2017 Connecticut Open Attendance Update (Through Aug. 23)

Day Session: 3,551

Evening Session: 3,086

Daily total: 6,637

2017 Total Attendance: 30,200

RESULTS - AUGUST 23, 2017

Women's Singles - Second Round

[2] D. Cibulkova (SVK) d A. Cornet (FRA) 26 62 64

[6] A. Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d C. Suárez Navarro (ESP) 76(3) 60

[Q] K. Flipkens (BEL) d [Q] A. Bogdan (ROU) 61 76(1)

S. Zhang (CHN) d [Q] M. Linette (POL) 63 67(4) 63

Women's Doubles - Quarterfinals

[4] G. Dabrowski (CAN) / Y. Xu (CHN) d R. Olaru (ROU) / O. Savchuk (UKR) 76(3) 63

E. Mertens (BEL) / K. Pliskova (CZE) d K. Bertens (NED) / J. Larsson (SWE) 75 75

ORDER OF PLAY - THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2017

STADIUM

Starts 1:00 p.m.

D. Gavrilova (AUS) vs [Q] K. Flipkens (BEL) 

[Q] E. Mertens (BEL) vs S. Zhang (CHN) 

[6] A. Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [2] D. Cibulkova (SVK) 

Not Before 7:00 p.m.

[1] A. Radwanska (POL) vs [8] S. Peng (CHN) 

James BLAKE Michael CHANG

SPORTMASTER GRANDSTAND (Doubles Play)

Starts at 1:00 p.m.

[Alt] N. Melichar (USA) / A. Smith (GBR) vs S. Aoyama (JPN) / D. Jurak (CRO) 

Not Before 3:00 p.m.

after suitable rest - K. Flipkens (BEL) / D. Schuurs (NED) vs [2] A. Barty (AUS) / C. Dellacqua (AUS)