Dominika Cibulkova defeated Marion Bartoli 6-1, 7-5 to win the WTA Mercury Insurance Open title in Carlsbad.
"Today I played well all through the match," said Cibulkova, who added the title to the trophy she won in Moscow last year. "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," added the 23-year-old, who will represent Slovakia at the London Games in both singles and doubles.
Cibulkova will rise one place to 13th in the world when the rankings are released on Monday.
After a first set that ended with her double fault on set point, Bartoli turned the tables with two service breaks for a 4-1 lead in the second but Cibulkova responded by winning four straight games.
She broke Bartoli for a second time in the set to knot the score at 4-4.
Cibulkova then broke Bartoli one last time to seal the match in which she won six of the last seven games.
"I lost, but Dominika played a great match," said Bartoli, who won't be playing at the Olympics due to a long-running dispute with French tennis officials over the continuing presence of her father, Walter, as her only coach.
"I wish her good luck at the Olympics," Bartoli said. "I fought hard in my previous matches, today I just came up a bit short."
Cibulkova won $96,000 while Bartoli received $53,000.
Source AFP
Photo by Getty Images
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