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CONNECTICUT OPEN

August 26, 2017

Dominika Cibulkova

New Haven, Connecticut

D. GAVRILOVA/D. Cibulkova

4-6, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Going into the US Open, you certainly have momentum, playing great tennis. Despite the setback, do you feel good about where you are?
DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA: Yeah, exactly. Of course I'm a little bit disappointed I didn't win this match today, the finals. But on the other hand there always has to be one that lose and one that wins. Today I was the one that I lost the finals.

But it was very good match. I gave my all today. Of course, I knew I could win. I was really close to it. But, you know, I give my 100% on the court today. There is just very little I can tell myself I did wrong.

She was playing really good today. Maybe one, two points would go my way, it will be different. But she won, and she deserve it today. Yeah, it was very good finals.

Q. How draining was it? It looked like it was very emotional, back and forth, long points.
DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA: Yeah, there were a lot of long points. I was in charge of most of the points. I knew it's about me. If I do the last step and I finish the point, you know...

As I said, there were so many small outs, so many balls I lost on the net when I was already on the net. So this was a bit frustrating.

When you play against a player who is just beating you and you cannot do anything on the court, it's different. But today I felt like I was in charge of the match. That's why some points I lost I was disappointed. It was emotional, up and down.

But, yeah, that's tennis. It was quite a good finals today.

Q. When you play a player who is so demonstrative on the court, gets so excited, does that bring your game to another level? Is it distracting?
DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA: No, not really. I didn't pay attention to that. I actually didn't pay attention to that at all, so I didn't see if she was all around the court. I was just really focusing on myself.

I know she's that kind of player, that she can get excited on the court. Me, too, but I'm a little bit older, so I don't get that much emotions around. I know how it feels. She's the one who is big fighter on the court. I know how it feels that you have to pump yourself up a little bit.

So, no, it was fine. Everything was okay.

Q. Seemed like the momentum shifted a little bit from you to her in the fifth game of the second set. Did that seem like that to you, as well?
DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA: Yes, that's what I'm talking about. I always had this one point that I didn't make. I just say it was always 30-15 for me, then small out here and there. That's what I'm talking about, these one, two points that would go my way.

I felt in my head that right now, this is my game, now I want to win this one, then to go... You know, I knew that game is important. I knew that I really wanted to win that one. But it just didn't go my way. I just couldn't get that extra point to win it.

Q. There were five breaks in the first set. They were all facing the sun. How big a factor was the sun?
DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA: Yeah, it was little bit distracting. It was little bit, but I tried not to think about it. I didn't even know I lost all of the serves on that side. I try to not pay attention. Just try to focus on my serve.

Yeah, you know, you could just feel the sun a little bit. When it was going down, it was even more stronger. But, yeah, it was same for both sides, for her and for me. We are both not big serving girls, so it was more about who was going to get the better return in, to break and return.

Q. What has changed in her game since the last time you played her?
DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA: It was on the grass. It's always different to be playing somebody on the grass. Yeah, here she got much more balls back. That was the biggest difference.

I think, yeah, she got a little bit lucky, but that's how it goes. Yeah, I felt like I'm in charge, even at Wimbledon when I played her, even here. She just got many more balls back, like at Wimbledon.

Q. Obviously you want to win. Now that it's over, is there part of you that's happy to see her break through for her first win?
DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA: Yeah, I know how it feels to win first WTA title. I won in Moscow. I was really excited about that. That's nice.

I wish I could win this match. I really believe myself 100% I can do it. I feel I'm favored in this match. But in the end, you know, it was a final. Finally for me I was able to play four very good matches on a high level in a row. This is really important for me. I have to see it from the positive side, that it was a really good match, and it could go really both ways.

So it was very good tournament for me. Now what is important for me to get physically ready, physically ready for Monday, because I going to play already on Monday at the US Open. Today and the whole week was really tiring, especially today, this match. This is my priority today.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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