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Dominika Cibulkova began 2014 with a stunning run to the final of the Australian Open. Now the Slovak aims to take the next step

Dominika Cibulkova celebrates after victory in her women's singles match against Simona Halep on day ten of the 2014 Australian Open.
Image: Dominika Cibulkova: Aiming for grand slam glory after reaching Australian Open final

Dominika Cibulkova admits she was reaching a career crossroads at the start of 2014, but after reaching the final of the Australian Open the 24-year-old Slovak now looks to have turned onto the path toward success.

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Unfortunately for Cibulkova, becoming the first Slovak to win a grand slam title proved one historic step too far as Chinese star Li Na clinched a 7-6 6-0 victory at Rod Laver Arena. The huge television audience in Cibulkova's home country saw her give a teary post-match speech on court as the emotions of a career-defining fortnight were finally allowed to pour out. "You have to hold your emotions for two weeks and be focused and be ready, so after (the final) there were so many emotions," she said. "Of course I was really upset that I lost but then I thought, 'it's the final, it was great'. There were all these mixed emotions." After a Melbourne hangover which included two losses in Slovakia's Fed Cup quarter-final tie with Germany and a first round exit in Doha, Cibulkova returned to form by winning the Abierto Mexicano Telcel as the top seed. She now goes into the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells - the most prestigious tournament since the Australian Open - hoping to build on her promising start to the year. But like any player it is grand slam glory which is the main aim. Has she peaked this year or will any of the three remaining slams give her an even better opportunity of landing major honours? "We'll see but I really like Roland Garros - it's fast clay. In Australia this year the surface was a little bit faster and I like to play on a little bit of a faster surface and maybe that also helped my game." Dominika Cibulkova plays with the Biomimetic M4.0 racket, available for £159.99. To view the full Dunlop Tennis range including rackets, equipment and apparel, visit Sportsdirect.com, like Dunlop on Facebook or follow on Twitter @DunlopSport

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