Dominika Cibulkova Wins 2012 Mercury Insurance Open

The 2012 Mercury Insurance Open neared a conclusion Saturday with two semifinal matches setting up a Sunday final between the top two seeds.

In the morning semifinal match, No. 2 Dominika Cibulkova knocked off No. 4 Nadia Petrova in straight sets. After a back-and-forth first set which saw Cibulkova win 7-6, including a 10-8 tiebreaker, Cibulkova cruised to a 6-1 win in the second set.

There are now just four players remaining at the 2012 Mercury Insurance Open with the semifinals set to begin Saturday. The favorites have played well as three of the four remaining players are top four seeds.

On one side of the bracket, No. 2 Dominika Cibulkova will play No. 4 Nadia Petrova. Cibulkova needed two sets to advance past Urszula Radwanska in the quarterfinals. Petrova didn’t have as easy of a time, as she needed to win a third-set tiebreaker to move on.

The 2012 Mercury Insurance Open continued Friday from Carlsbad, Calif. Friday’s quarterfinal action featured one major upset.

No. 3 seed Jelena Jankovic fell to unranked Yung-Jan Chan in three sets. Jankovic was the first set 7-6, but Chan won the next two 7-6, 7-5. Jankovic was not the only seeded player to fall as No. 5 Christina McHale fell to No. 1 Marion Bartoli.

The 2012 Mercury Insurance Open continued Wednesday with second-round action from Carlsbad, Calif. Three of the top eight seeded players were in action Wednesday, including No. 1 seed Marion Bartoli.

Bartoli was able to advance, but needed three sets to defeat Vania King. Bartoli won the first set 6-4 before dropping the second set 5-7. She was able to avoid elimination by winning the third and deciding set 6-4.

The opening round of the 2012 Mercury Insurance Open is in the books and Christina McHale advanced to the second round following a nerve-racking victory on Tuesday. McHale defeated Jarmila Gajdosova in two sets, 7-6 (5), 7-5. She will face Misaki Doi in the second round.

In other action at this Carlsbad, Calif., event, local Vania King took care of Kai-Chen Chang in two sets, 6-1, 6-4. The second round will be quite tough, as she will take the court against Marion Bartoli. To close out the night, Melanie Oudin sent Sloane Stephens out of the tournament in three sets, 1-6, 7-6 (8), 6-0. Oudin will face Urszula Radwanska in the second round.

Monday saw the first day of first-round play at the 2012 Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, Calif., a WTA tune-up event for the U.S. Open.

Four singles matches were played on Monday. Misaki Doi defeated Qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito in three sets, 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-3. In a matchup between two American players, Varvara Lepchenko defeated Nicole Gibbs in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.