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It’s the kind of dilemma that many players would undoubtedly love.
On Saturday, Dominika Cibulkova is due to marry her long-time partner, Miso Navara, but after a 6-3, 5-7, 9-7 win over Agnieszka Radwanska sent her into the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time, many are suggesting that an appearance in the ladies' singles final could disrupt that important date.
“We chose this (date) because I never saw myself as such a great grass court player,” said the beaming Cibulkova. “Yeah, but winning Eastbourne and now, being in a quarter-finals, I would change my mind.”
Indeed, the 2016 season has been quite a revelation for the 27-year-old from Slovakia, who warmed up for Wimbledon by winning the sixth title of her career in Eastbourne, and has wins over Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Daria Gavrilova and Eugenie Bouchard in the last week.
But her win over Radwanska wasn’t merely her best of recent times but arguably one of the best in her career. Certainly it would require the most fortitude, as the quality steadily built throughout the enthralling three hour contest.
“My winners was a difference,” said Cibulkova, who hit 56 for the match. “Today was, for me, I would say, the most physically tough. It was the toughest match for me I would say my whole career. I felt really, really tired when the match was going on.”
Not that it showed in the unflagging way that she battled throughout this epic fourth round contest. Cibulkova and Radwanska have a history of tight contests, with their three previous 2016 matches also going to three close sets. The longest was the quarter-finals of Eastbourne, where Cibulkova required 185 minutes to advance.
It appeared at first that this match would be a more straightforward affair. Cibulkova soon established herself as the aggressor, her trademark celebratory cries of “Pome” ("Let's go") coming loud and often as her potent ground strokes found their range. She claimed the first break of serve to take a 3-1 lead in the first set and proceeded to secure the set in 41 minutes.
Radwanska had seemed slightly subdued until then, her No.3 ranking further undermined when Cibulkova claimed the first break to lead 2-1 in the second set.
But this time, the Pole responded with her own break of serve and the same pattern followed in the seventh and eighth games.
With a break in the ninth, Cibulkova had a chance to serve for the match. It was only then that the 27-year-old appeared to waver, registering her only double fault of the match along with a flurry of errors. The Pole won three consecutive games to secure the set.
...when you have an opponent that doesn't give you any free gifts, you just know that you have to earn every single point
“After I didn't make the first match point the momentum changed and then she was up,” Cibulkova said. “And today she was playing really, really good. She tried to play much more aggressive than the matches before, and her defence was just so good, as always.
“Sometimes when you play against different players, it's just enough one winner but against Aga today I felt like I have to put six, seven, eight winners to earn the point.”
As the standard lifted throughout the third set, the pressure only became more pronounced. The players again traded breaks in the seventh and eighth games and when Cibulkova notched one of 39 errors for the afternoon in the 12th game, it was Radwanska who held a match point.
A pair of Cibulkova forehand winners – her go-to shot for the day – once again got her out of trouble. “I knew it's match point, of course, but I was just going for it. With her you cannot do anything else just to go for it,” she said.
The 25-stroke rally in the second point of the 16th game, when Cibulkova again served for the match, highlighted the intensity and the drama. A time violation at 30-30 saw her penalised a first serve – but it was a temporary glitch as the Slovak finally secured her victory with a stunning forehand winner.
“It was just so, you know, so tough to go through,” Cibulkova said. “Especially when you have an opponent that doesn't give you any free gifts, you just know that you have to earn every single point. It takes so much energy. It's even tougher, mentally, so today was just an amazing, amazing match.”
After such an important victory, it’s unsurprising that Cibulkova is more focused on her tennis than her wedding. “It’s no problem. We can postpone it,” she said. She next faces Elena Vesnina.
“If we would really have to postpone it, then it will be like dream come true, you know, because nothing better could happen to me in my tennis career.”
