CARLSBAD, CA - JULY 22: Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia holds the trophy after defeating Marion Bartoli of France during the finals of the Mercury Insurance Open Presented By Tri-City Medical at La Costa Resort & Spa on July 22, 2012 in Carlsbad, California. Cibulkova won 6-1, 7-5. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
© Stephen Dunn
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) -- Second-seeded Dominika Cibulkova used her powerful ground strokes to defeat No. 1 seed Marion Bartoli 6-1, 7-5 and win the Mercury Insurance Open title on Sunday.
Cibulkova won her second career title and first since October. Cibulkova had lost four of her five previous title matches.
Bartoli had a tough time keeping up after spending more than eight hours on the court in winning her first three matches here.
Cibulkova's strong ground strokes dominated Bartoli in the first set. The Slovakian won the last six games and saved the only three break points in the set on her serve.
But Bartoli bounced back with a pair of service breaks in the second set to jump ahead 4-1. Cibulkova then ran off four consecutive games to take a 5-4 lead. With Cibulkova up 6-5, she broke Bartoli when the Frenchwoman hit a forehand into the net.