Radwanska continues streak with Sydney title

SYDNEY - Agence France-Presse

Polish tennis player Agnieszka Radwanska has yet to drop a set this year. AP photo

The Agnieszka Radwanska juggernaut ran over hapless Dominika Cibulkova on Jan. 11, as the Pole won the Sydney International to take her unbeaten streak this year to nine ahead of the Australian Open.

The top seed crushed Cibulkova 6-0, 6-0 in just over an hour for back-to-back tournament victories, making the perfect preparation for the year-opening Grand Slam, which starts in Melbourne on Monday.

It was the world number four’s 12th career singles title and she has yet to drop a set this year.

Radwanska overpowered Cibulkova, ranked 14th in the world, breaking her serve six times, winning 68 percent of the points and capitalising on her error-prone opponent.

Cibulkova, who was unseeded in the tournament, double-faulted on match point to cap a miserable night’s work.

Radwanska, who beat Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in the Auckland Classic final last week, made it two tournaments in a row, with wins in Sydney over Kimiko Date-Krumm, Roberta Vinci, Li Na and Cibulkova.

But the 23-year-old remains at world number four heading into Melbourne where she will compete against the top three Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

Cibulkova was the first unseeded player in six years to reach the Sydney final, beating German second seed Angelique Kerber to reach the decider.