Tennis: Cibulkova makes Eastbourne final

Dominika Cibulkova reached the Eastbourne International final after dispatching Puerto Rican qualifier Monica Puig 6-2, 6-1 on Friday.
The Slovak always held the upper hand, holding two break points for a 2-0 lead before breaking for 4-2, and again for the set. A further break for 2-0 in the second set put her firmly on the way to a comfortable victory.
Earlier in the day, Cibulkova stepped up her bid for a career-first grass title after completing a rain-hit match to knock top seed Agnieszka Radwanska out 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
Australian Open finalist Cibulkova from Slovakia, trailed 6-4, 3-2 when their quarterfinal was forced off court at Devonshire Park on a rainy Thursday night.
Sunshine and a stiff wind presented fresh challenges as Cibulkova advanced with her upset on Friday. "I'm very happy with this win, Aggie and I have played lots of times (this was their 12th) but never on grass.
"Conditions made it difficult but I found myself playing better and better with each game. I came back strong today - that's why I won."
The last two overdue quarterfinals also wrapped up with Czech tenth seed Karolina Pliskova defeating Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 and British 11th seed Johanna Konta, an Australian Open semifinalist, overcoming former champion Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
Cibulkova had only a few hours to recover before taking to the grass against qualifier Monica Puig. The number 43 from Puerto Rico is trying to repeat history when she also came from a qualifying start in January at Sydney and running all the way into the final where she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Radwanska said that despite her loss, she is focused on the Monday start of Wimbledon.
I'm healthy. I'm good. Ready for Wimbledon. Of course it's always disappointing when you lose, and especially that type of long match. Well, what can you do?
"Maybe I have maximum three days of practice at Wimbledon, It's not much, but I'm in the match rhythm. I picked up good matches here. I don't think I was playing good enough today, she was playing really aggressive, good tennis. I stepped backwards a little bit too much. That wasn't helping me."