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Australian Open: Dominika Cibulkova loses in 3rd round to Ekaterina Makarova
Dominika Cibulkova, the sixth seed in the 2017 Australian Open, crashed out in the third round to Ekaterina Makarova in a tough three-set match.
Ekaterina Makarova continued to show little regard for seeds at the Australian Open and sent another one heading for the exits at Melbourne Park on Saturday with a 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3 win over sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova in the third round.
The 28-year-old, whose list of high-seeded victims at previous Australian Opens includes Ana Ivanovic (19th), Serena Williams (12th), Angelique Kerber (5th) and Simona Halep (3rd), will now face either Johanna Konta or Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round.
Makarova, who despite her giant-killing exploits has only reached one semi-final at Melbourne Park (2015), raced through the first set courtesy of three breaks and then into a 4-0 lead in the second.
Cibulkova, however, fought back to win the next five games to take a 5-4 lead then went on to force a deciding set.
Makarova took a medical time out for treatment on her right elbow while leading 3-2 in the third but it did not see the momentum swing back Cibulkova. The Russian then broke to take a 5-3 lead and served out in the next game.
