Top seed Dominika Cibulkova finally got on court Wednesday and registered a crushing 6-1, 6-3 win over Turkey's Pemra Özgen in another rain-interrupted day at the BMW Malaysian Open. The Slovakian world number 10's game was delayed due to a late afternoon downpour but she sped through her match in 60 minutes to set up a second-round clash against Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei at the Royal Selangor Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur.
"Quite happy with my game, I didn't let her play at all in the first set and was feeling quite good. I was really aggressive and didn't give her any chance to play," said the 25-year-old who is seeking her fifth career WTA Tour title. Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Zarina Diyas was the first to book her place in the last eight, her first appearance in a quarter-finals of a WTA event in two years.
The 20-year-old Kazakhstan starlet brushed aside Italian qualifier Giulia Gatto-Monticone 6-1, 6-4 in 72 minutes. "I played well today considering the tough conditions, I am happy with my game. It was difficult at the start of the second set as Giulia played more aggressive. I changed my strategy by playing more angle balls," she said. Fourth-seeded Austrian Patricia Mayr-Achleitner is also through to the quarter-finals after a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Montenegro's Danka Kovinic.