Seeds Svetlana Kuznetsova and Venus Williams were dismissed on Thursday in the third round of the Qatar Total Open.
No. 1 seed Ana Ivanovic retired earlier in the day because of an ankle injury.
Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova attempted to rally late in the second set, but was sent out of the Tier I Qatar Total Open by Sybille Bammer. Bammer, the highest ranked mother on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, defeated the 2004 US Open champion 6-3, 7-6(8).
Eighteen year-old Dominika Cibulkova scored the biggest win of her career today as she upset six-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams. Williams, playing in only her second tournament of the 2008 tennis season, was stunned with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to the young Slovakian.
Venus’ serve was broken four times, and the sixth seed finished the match with a 69% first serve percentage, compared to Cibulkova’s 81%.
Ana Ivanovic injured her ankle on Wednesday and retired early Thursday morning after a MRI scan revealed strained ligaments in her left foot.
A quote from Dominika Cibulkova about winning her game with Venus Williams.
“This is the best win of my career,” the 18-year-old said. “Today I played my game and beat my favorite player. I admired her as a child.”
Must feel so good for the girl. Nice.