:00:43. > :00:58.The winner, misses Chris ever Lloyd. Martina Navratilova saved the match
:00:59. > :01:05.point tremendously well. That is it. I do not have to tell you how
:01:06. > :01:19.popular Martina Navratilova is. Monica Seles, adding to her growing
:01:20. > :01:35.trophies. That is it. Kim cloisters wins at Eastbourne.
:01:36. > :01:41.Good afternoon, finally some really is served here on the south coast
:01:42. > :01:47.after a week of thunder storms and flooding. We have a final on time
:01:48. > :01:52.beneath mostly blue skies. The temperature is hovering around 20
:01:53. > :01:56.degrees. Eastbourne is for young and old and it is a day for reminiscing
:01:57. > :02:02.about champions past and champions to come with food and drink. Today's
:02:03. > :02:07.winner will add their names to a glorious roll of honour as we have
:02:08. > :02:11.just seen. Whoever wins today, it will be an East European tribe. It
:02:12. > :02:18.is the Czech Republic against Slovakia. This match on Centre Court
:02:19. > :02:23.here at Eastbourne today is a classic contrast in stature and
:02:24. > :02:28.style, of which more in a moment. It has been a really good tournament,
:02:29. > :02:33.but the one disappointment was that Johanna Konta, trying to become our
:02:34. > :02:38.first British champion since 1975, fell short last night. Disappointing
:02:39. > :02:43.for us, but even more disappointing for her. She had her chances and she
:02:44. > :02:49.played great tennis, but towards the end she was feeling it physically.
:02:50. > :02:53.It is the only set so far that Pliskova has dropped in this
:02:54. > :02:56.tournament and she came through the first two rounds in very
:02:57. > :03:00.straightforward fashion. But the match last night was a classic ding
:03:01. > :03:07.dong encounter that had the crowd here at Eastbourne on their feet
:03:08. > :03:17.from the word go. It is not often on tour that you have to play two
:03:18. > :03:29.matches in one day. Johanna Konta, starting in style. Nicely done.
:03:30. > :03:42.Pliskova showing off her strokes. There is the winner. Really good
:03:43. > :03:57.adjustment from Johanna Konta, but Pliskova is giving her nothing. Well
:03:58. > :03:58.done, really well done. A brilliant break from Johanna Konta, and she
:03:59. > :04:30.takes the opening set 7-6. No, no. That is heavy striking from
:04:31. > :04:48.Pliskova. Wow. Pliskova wraps it up in style and she takes the second
:04:49. > :04:56.set. She is hanging in. Superb from Pliskova. That is it. It is a first
:04:57. > :05:10.Eastbourne final with the Czech Republic, Karolina Pliskova. What
:05:11. > :05:13.does this mean? I played again a bunch of really good matches against
:05:14. > :05:20.really good players and I got to stay at home that much longer. So, I
:05:21. > :05:31.think it has been a very happy and positive week. She did not leave
:05:32. > :05:35.empty-handed. That Crystal Rose Bowl presented to her by the chairman is
:05:36. > :05:40.also along with life membership of the courts here, and as she lives
:05:41. > :05:45.around here she is probably allowed to play here free anyway, but it was
:05:46. > :05:51.a nice touch from the Club. Pliskova is in a rich vein of form at the
:05:52. > :05:56.moment and she won at Nottingham two weeks away and she is one match away
:05:57. > :06:02.from another title here at Eastbourne. It was a tough match for
:06:03. > :06:13.me. You must walk onto court so confident. Yes, but not always. Sam
:06:14. > :06:20.of them I have lost to them and it is better to expect a tough match
:06:21. > :06:27.and if it goes on my side it is better. How do you feel you play in
:06:28. > :06:30.Johanna's match. Were you wobbling in the last set? The first set was
:06:31. > :06:37.really close and we were both serving very well, but the game for
:06:38. > :06:41.me on the baseline was not very good and she was more aggressive in the
:06:42. > :06:47.first set and she deserved to win the tie break. But I still believed
:06:48. > :06:51.I could break her once in the second set and my game improved a lot in
:06:52. > :06:55.the second set. Even at the beginning of the third, but I got a
:06:56. > :07:00.bit tired and she came back and in the end it was a tight match. Your
:07:01. > :07:05.serve is your great weapon. You are lucky to have the build to love it,
:07:06. > :07:08.but it must be a great source of confidence to know that if you are a
:07:09. > :07:15.break point down that you can produce that. Definitely, it is good
:07:16. > :07:22.especially on grass to have a survey like this. It can sometimes save you
:07:23. > :07:28.from tough balls. Always my serve is a big advantage. A lot of people
:07:29. > :07:31.might not know too much about you. Your twin sister is a very good
:07:32. > :07:40.tennis player as well. How much rivalry has there been between you?
:07:41. > :07:45.We are the same age, we are both twins. She is a little bit down in
:07:46. > :07:50.the rankings now, so we do not see each other much in the tournament,
:07:51. > :07:55.but she is getting better. We are watching all the matches when she is
:07:56. > :07:59.playing. When I am playing a she is watching, so we support each other.
:08:00. > :08:05.Of course there is a rivalry, we both want to win and we want to be
:08:06. > :08:11.the best. She is left-handed and is tough to play on grass, so we do not
:08:12. > :08:18.play very much on grass. Do you play doubles together? We have different
:08:19. > :08:23.schedules, so to play with her is difficult and this year I will play
:08:24. > :08:33.with somebody else. Maybe in the future. Today it is someone from the
:08:34. > :08:39.Czech Republic against Slovakia. Does that mean anything? I see her
:08:40. > :08:46.very often, she is a very nice girl. I have a Slovak person in my team
:08:47. > :08:52.right now, my coach. She is an opponent and I do not think about
:08:53. > :08:57.the fact she is from Slovakia. You are so used to play in finals. Do
:08:58. > :09:04.you wake up on the morning of a final and think, this is it? Does it
:09:05. > :09:08.feel different or do you treat it like any other round? It is a little
:09:09. > :09:13.bit different, but normally I am not nervous before matches, but it is
:09:14. > :09:18.different because it is the last match of the week and I want to do
:09:19. > :09:25.everything and put everything I can into the last match. Good luck.
:09:26. > :09:29.Thank you very much. As the week has gone by the court has got much
:09:30. > :09:34.harder and it is a benefit to have that big serve. It got her out of
:09:35. > :09:39.trouble yesterday against Johanna Konta. Yes, that serve is a huge
:09:40. > :09:44.weapon. She led the tour in terms of aces last year and she does so this
:09:45. > :09:50.year. It will be key in this match today as well. Yesterday it was
:09:51. > :09:54.windy and today it is windy. But she is able to hit through that and it
:09:55. > :10:01.is something Cibulkova will have to look out for. The wake of her shock
:10:02. > :10:06.is something to look at. Yes, it is off the ground. But once they get
:10:07. > :10:13.into the rallies anything is possible. Her opponent is very
:10:14. > :10:19.feisty, only five feet three, but she had a similar run through to the
:10:20. > :10:23.final in the fact she only dropped one set and that was against the
:10:24. > :10:32.number one seed, Agnieszka Radwanska. Her reaction at the end
:10:33. > :10:38.tells you what kind of a player she is an character she is. So ebullient
:10:39. > :10:48.and very natural and she gives it absolutely everything. And she was
:10:49. > :10:56.equally upbeat if a little bit tired when she spoke to us. It was
:10:57. > :11:01.extremely tough today after yesterday and today I was able to
:11:02. > :11:07.come back and I was playing a little bit better with every stop. With the
:11:08. > :11:10.rain delay I was coming back stronger and today I was playing
:11:11. > :11:17.good in the morning. We played over one and a half hours and after I had
:11:18. > :11:21.another two hours to have some rest and go back again and I was playing
:11:22. > :11:26.a completely different opponent. It gives me a lot of confidence that I
:11:27. > :11:31.could play Agnieszka Radwanska and then Monica puree who was playing
:11:32. > :11:38.very aggressively. I had to change my play and play a little bit
:11:39. > :11:42.different. When you are in the final, what is the feeling like? It
:11:43. > :11:48.is the best feeling ever. I would never change it for anything. That
:11:49. > :11:56.is what gives you the power and the motivation to go and work. Sometimes
:11:57. > :12:01.you feel like, I cannot do this any more, I feel tired. That is with the
:12:02. > :12:06.travelling and everything. But this gives you so much power. You played
:12:07. > :12:10.a Grand Slam final in Australia a couple of years ago, on the morning
:12:11. > :12:16.of a final does the final feel different to any other round? When
:12:17. > :12:24.it feels different it is never good. You have to take it as another
:12:25. > :12:28.match. Always when I want too much to win I never win it. This year I
:12:29. > :12:37.have already played three finals and one of them I won and I was feeling
:12:38. > :12:42.really good. I was not enjoying it, but I was really... Chilled.
:12:43. > :12:50.Chilled. Andy at the one I wanted it too much. Do you have any secrets to
:12:51. > :13:02.be chilled? When I tell myself to not care so much. But it is tough. I
:13:03. > :13:08.do care. Karolina has got a huge serve, how do you combat that? She
:13:09. > :13:11.is really tall and she is playing really aggressively. Against her
:13:12. > :13:18.serve it is hard to compete. I played her once and I won in two
:13:19. > :13:23.sets, but it was a very tough match. She is trying to finish the points
:13:24. > :13:29.in two or three points. She does not like long rallies, so that is what I
:13:30. > :13:34.will try to do, get her in long rallies. Win or lose in preparation
:13:35. > :13:40.for Wimbledon this has been a pretty good week. Yes, it has. I am happy I
:13:41. > :13:46.am playing my first match on Tuesday. It is a big help when you
:13:47. > :13:50.stay longer on the tournament. You always want to get a few days to
:13:51. > :13:56.practice at a Grand Slam, so I am happy about it. Best of luck.
:13:57. > :14:00.We are almost ready to go because the line judges are out and the ball
:14:01. > :14:05.boys and the ball growth as well. We are just waiting for the players. If
:14:06. > :14:10.there was one word that you would use to sum up Cibulkova it is
:14:11. > :14:16.attitude. She has got a fantastic attitude. The energy she brings onto
:14:17. > :14:20.the court is captivating to watch. I could just watch her and not the
:14:21. > :14:27.tennis in terms of what she brings to the court. There is a feeling
:14:28. > :14:31.these days across all sport that size isn't everything. There is a
:14:32. > :14:35.nine inch height differential in this match, but this is the spot
:14:36. > :14:41.where a good little one can be a big one. You see people of all sorts of
:14:42. > :14:46.shapes and size is doing well and she makes up for it because she has
:14:47. > :14:50.got incredible footwork. She is able to keep herself on the baseline and
:14:51. > :14:56.she does not allow herself to be bossed by others. She likes doing
:14:57. > :15:01.the bossing herself. The weight of serve from a big serve, taking the
:15:02. > :15:06.ball out wide, she has not got the levers to get to that ball and
:15:07. > :15:11.Pliskova might be able to exploit that. She might not be able to get
:15:12. > :15:18.it, but in terms of explosiveness and have ability to get around the
:15:19. > :15:21.court, she makes up for it. When we get into the rallies, Cibulkova can
:15:22. > :15:26.match her in terms of pace off the forehand.
:15:27. > :15:33.It started off as a bruise and I am not quite sure on the Richter scale
:15:34. > :15:37.what the next one above breezes, but this is just about the strongest
:15:38. > :15:42.when the players have had to play an all week. How will that impact on
:15:43. > :15:47.the players? It is expected. Yesterday conditions were not easy
:15:48. > :15:52.and both had to play two matches. Today, coming out fresh and ready
:15:53. > :15:56.for a final, they will be buzzing. The adrenaline will be high. They
:15:57. > :16:01.both have the ability to hit through the wind. Footwork will be even more
:16:02. > :16:07.important, making sure your indirect possession, and not off-balance. The
:16:08. > :16:12.players are being announced onto court. Let's bring on the players
:16:13. > :16:15.and make them feel very welcome. First of all, representing Slovakia,
:16:16. > :16:42.Dominika Cibulkova. And her opponent, representing the
:16:43. > :16:59.Czech Republic, please welcome Karolina Pliskova.
:17:00. > :17:06.Perhaps you can see from their facial expression is the difference
:17:07. > :17:09.in characters and personalities. Cibulkova is such an ebullient
:17:10. > :17:14.person and she is here to enjoy herself. I am sure she fancies her
:17:15. > :17:19.chances today. They have played once before, they know each other's game
:17:20. > :17:25.inside out. It was two years ago they last played, an hard court. All
:17:26. > :17:31.to play for, it is a final. Another final for both players and it will
:17:32. > :17:35.be a fascinating match. It has been a difficult week, as have the last
:17:36. > :17:40.few weeks in British tennis, because of scheduling and weather delays. It
:17:41. > :17:45.is draining, not in terms of the physical effort, but about, when
:17:46. > :17:53.shall I go back to the Mattel, shall I stay at the venue? Might a who has
:17:54. > :17:58.the most left in the time? It is a final and these two women will give
:17:59. > :18:04.it everything. Both of them have lots left in the tank. Yesterday was
:18:05. > :18:07.trading. They have experienced it before, earlier this year and
:18:08. > :18:12.throughout their careers. They know each other's game inside out.
:18:13. > :18:20.Yesterday I saw them practising with each other. I think it will be
:18:21. > :18:26.highly competitive. It is pretty much the same as every day. You can
:18:27. > :18:38.see the difference in the stature of the two players. They will begin the
:18:39. > :18:42.knock up soon. Pliskova on in Nottingham a few weeks ago. Having
:18:43. > :18:49.experienced a final and then victory, it will give her the edge
:18:50. > :18:53.today as well? Maybe a slight edge for Cibulkova. This is her first
:18:54. > :18:57.grass court match the season. She has had a good run. You would say
:18:58. > :19:02.that Pliskova is maybe the slight favourite on paper. She is a little
:19:03. > :19:07.higher in the rankings. I would not rule out Cibulkova. She has been at
:19:08. > :19:11.this stage of the tournament many times. She is feeling confident
:19:12. > :19:18.about her tennis. With her attitude, anything is possible. Looking at the
:19:19. > :19:23.picture of the two them at the net, and there are lots of young people
:19:24. > :19:25.in the crowd today, which will not surprise you, the reputation that
:19:26. > :19:32.Eastbourne has. -- which may surprise you. It offers massive
:19:33. > :19:37.encouragement to teenagers who are told, you're not the right size to
:19:38. > :19:42.play tennis. You can play at the highest level, and you do not have
:19:43. > :19:46.to be six feet tall. She is a massive role model. She is massive
:19:47. > :19:51.encouragement to everyone and anyone. If you have got the guts and
:19:52. > :19:55.the talent, you can make it as well. Yes, and she has got a massive
:19:56. > :20:02.heart. We talk about her energy and spirit. Honestly, for me she is one
:20:03. > :20:07.of my favourite players to watch. She maximises everything. And as
:20:08. > :20:12.someone who is not particularly tall, she does not play defensively,
:20:13. > :20:18.she attacks. She will link to get the first big strike in before her
:20:19. > :20:21.opponent in today's match. She has absolutely no fear. She is very
:20:22. > :20:27.vocal. She is often shouting at herself. She always strikes me as
:20:28. > :20:39.the kind of player that could get under her opponent's skin, if you
:20:40. > :20:43.allowed it to happen. She could do. She shouts a lot. The Slovakian
:20:44. > :20:50.four, come on. In between points, she does not stop moving. You watch.
:20:51. > :20:55.Is exhausting. She never stops moving. If you have not seen her
:20:56. > :21:01.play before and you are wondering what Anne was alluding to, it you
:21:02. > :21:06.will notice during the course of the game... She is announced to the
:21:07. > :21:11.crowd. That is the applause for her. She smells the balls before she
:21:12. > :21:14.serves. She was telling us in an interview that she has such
:21:15. > :21:18.sensitive nostrils she can differentiate between all the balls
:21:19. > :21:23.at the different grand slam events. She can tell on me cold ball from
:21:24. > :21:35.another. She is a woman of many skills. -- one ball. Watching at
:21:36. > :21:40.home or her two Yorkshire terriers, they are called Woody Allen and Mia
:21:41. > :21:44.Farrow. Because of quarantine regulations, they are not allowed
:21:45. > :21:49.into this country to watch her play. She has taken them around the world,
:21:50. > :21:53.to Central America and Africa to watch her play. This is the only
:21:54. > :21:59.tournament, and Wimbledon next week, that they do not attend. I do not
:22:00. > :22:02.think they come to court side. It is one of the reasons why she does not
:22:03. > :22:08.start her grass court season too early. She just comes over for
:22:09. > :22:11.Eastbourne and Wimbledon. Her Wimbledon first-round match is not
:22:12. > :22:17.until Tuesday. She will have 72 hours to recover. The enormous
:22:18. > :22:22.mental involvement required in this, to go through the week, you do not
:22:23. > :22:24.want immediately beyond court at 11 o'clock on Monday morning, in
:22:25. > :22:30.perhaps the biggest tournament in the world. No, but her opponent
:22:31. > :22:35.could be, because Pliskova is in the bottom half of the draw, which
:22:36. > :22:42.starts on Monday. It is not easy to recover. It is a short space of
:22:43. > :22:45.time. Both players will be high on adrenaline going into Wimbledon,
:22:46. > :22:50.full of confidence knowing they have lots of matches under their belt and
:22:51. > :22:54.lots of victories. We can bring in Sam Smith, who will be commentating
:22:55. > :22:59.on the match. How are you? Good afternoon. You have a great view. We
:23:00. > :23:03.have become ancestral histories and is this summer, and you have a great
:23:04. > :23:11.view of the clouds coming in from the sea. Do they worry you? No. The
:23:12. > :23:14.wind has gone off the Beaufort scale. I do not know if you could
:23:15. > :23:19.see them warming up, but they were trying to give each other some
:23:20. > :23:25.blogs, smashes, and they were not able to do it because the ball was
:23:26. > :23:29.moving so much in the air. Hopefully the wind will move the clothes back
:23:30. > :23:34.towards the Downs and we will be right. This is the world number 21
:23:35. > :23:40.against the number 17. Who do you think is favourite? The bookmakers
:23:41. > :23:44.make Pliskova the strong favourite, possibly because of the way that she
:23:45. > :23:50.finished against Johanna Konta yesterday. Her service is something
:23:51. > :23:55.else. And sums categories and statistics, it is better than Serena
:23:56. > :24:03.Williams'. That is where she is. We call her the Czech ace machine.
:24:04. > :24:07.Playing on grass, it is a massive advantage. It plays into her hands.
:24:08. > :24:14.She looked fabulous in the semifinal. This is the final chapter
:24:15. > :24:18.being written on Eastbourne 2016. It has been a good tournament, with
:24:19. > :24:25.lots of competitive 3-set encounters. It has shown women's
:24:26. > :24:29.tennis and a good light. Yes, we had six former champions in the draw.
:24:30. > :24:34.The big names did not come through, but it did not matter. Women's
:24:35. > :24:39.tennis has far more strength in depth and the crowds have had a
:24:40. > :24:43.treat. This is one of the best tournaments in women's tennis on the
:24:44. > :24:48.tour. The women do not played to packed houses like this week in and
:24:49. > :24:53.week out. That is what they have done a Devonshire Park. I am not
:24:54. > :24:58.sure if all the women realise that, but it is a point worth making. Anne
:24:59. > :25:07.Keothavong has left me at courtside to join Sam. Here we go with the
:25:08. > :25:09.final of Eastbourne, 2016. The 42nd final and we have a Slovak against
:25:10. > :25:39.the Czech. Dominika did not want to take a
:25:40. > :25:44.backward step. She won the toss and elected to serve. Seeing someone 25
:25:45. > :25:50.centimetres tall than her at the other end is like a red rag to a
:25:51. > :26:23.bill. She always feels like the underdog.
:26:24. > :26:31.Both women a little down on their highest ever rankings. Pliskova was
:26:32. > :26:36.in the top ten last summer. She peaked at number seven. Cibulkova
:26:37. > :26:38.broke into the top ten a couple of years ago but has slipped back since
:26:39. > :27:00.then. The fourth final of the year for
:27:01. > :27:04.Dominika. It has helped push ranking up from just inside the world's top
:27:05. > :27:11.40. She had lots of problems last year.
:27:12. > :27:18.Sometimes she gets a little too pumped up. Very difficult serving
:27:19. > :27:26.conditions. The wind is right behind her, blowing over her left shoulder,
:27:27. > :27:31.from left to right. Image problems for the Slovak. -- problem
:27:32. > :28:12.straightaway. The ball moving all over the place.
:28:13. > :28:16.It is Pliskova with the good start in this final. There has never been
:28:17. > :28:20.a Slovak winner. There have been numerous Czech winners over the
:28:21. > :28:27.years. The last one was almost 20 years ago, Jana Novotna beating
:28:28. > :28:29.Arantxa Sanchez the carrier. There are the 11 victories of Martina
:28:30. > :28:43.Navratilova. There is a real honour roll of
:28:44. > :28:45.fantastic Czech players. They have always produced so many from this
:28:46. > :29:49.part of the world. She has had very few double faults
:29:50. > :29:57.this week. She does not make many doubles anyway. Anne, you were down
:29:58. > :29:59.at courtside a few minutes ago. There is her coach. It is a
:30:00. > :30:20.difficult day. It is blowing a gale. it looks like this might end up
:30:21. > :30:26.being the more difficult end. You are at courtside, is it difficult
:30:27. > :31:05.and there? Yes, it is, windier than yesterday.
:31:06. > :31:08.My goodness, you can see the way the ball kept moving away from
:31:09. > :32:17.Cibulkova. My goodness, three doubles in the
:32:18. > :32:20.game. I think that tells you all we need to know about the conditions
:32:21. > :32:27.out here from one of the best servers in the women's game. If her
:32:28. > :32:39.serve is taken out of the equation, we have a very different match. Yes,
:32:40. > :32:40.we do. The wind is a great leveller. It should even things out just a
:32:41. > :34:04.bit. Well played. It Pliskova continues
:34:05. > :34:08.to struggle on her own service games, you have got to fancy
:34:09. > :34:13.Cibulkova for the title. Once again in the rallies she is the one with
:34:14. > :34:16.the better footwork and she can make the adjustment steps in these
:34:17. > :35:02.conditions and get herself in the right position.
:35:03. > :35:10.If Cibulkova directs everything to Central and the middle of the court,
:35:11. > :36:38.she has got the strokes to really make life difficult for her.
:36:39. > :37:44.Caerphilly does it from Pliskova. -- carefully.
:37:45. > :37:54.Nicely done, had a little bit of help from the net. But she is at the
:37:55. > :38:00.right end of the court to play this drop shot. Yes, it has been a nice
:38:01. > :38:28.add on to her baseline game. Cibulkova becomes the first player
:38:29. > :38:50.to hold here. Always a lot to talk about this time
:38:51. > :38:54.of the year. You can get in touch with us and we would love to hear
:38:55. > :39:01.what you think about all things across this grass court season.
:39:02. > :39:07.Wimbledon starts on Monday morning. How quickly it has come around. In
:39:08. > :39:11.that last game I was concerned that Cibulkova would blow away. I wanted
:39:12. > :39:15.to put some stones in her pockets to keep at ground level. I noticed a
:39:16. > :39:21.few seagulls have taken to Wapping as well, that is always a sign that
:39:22. > :39:33.it is not completely ridiculous out there. Although they have decided it
:39:34. > :39:40.is safe to become airborne again! They both know what it is like. This
:39:41. > :39:43.is only their second major appearance here at Eastbourne and
:39:44. > :39:48.they know the situation. What are the golden rules for playing in
:39:49. > :39:53.these conditions? In windy conditions do not stop moving your
:39:54. > :39:58.feet. You always have to make adjustment steps on grass, but even
:39:59. > :40:04.more so when the conditions are like they are today. The wind is keeping
:40:05. > :40:10.those clouds away, blowing them over to the South Downs to the top left
:40:11. > :40:31.of your picture. And uncomfortable style I would say to this final.
:40:32. > :40:59.You will see a lot of the fist pumps from Cibulkova. There is always
:41:00. > :41:27.interaction between her and her team as well.
:41:28. > :41:34.Well, I am not sure about being chilled out here. She was telling us
:41:35. > :41:44.yesterday after her semifinal that she did not want to care too much. I
:41:45. > :41:49.think she is super pumped. If she ever not super pumped? I have never
:41:50. > :41:56.known her not to be. Head coach has got his head in his hands. He has
:41:57. > :42:01.been with her long-time, a fellow Slovak. Also there is her trainer
:42:02. > :42:52.and her fiance. A very happy camper. Well, the woman who has been barely
:42:53. > :42:59.broken this week is not yet able to hold in this final. I cannot see her
:43:00. > :43:03.being perturbed. There is something so laid back about Karolina
:43:04. > :43:08.Pliskova, you feel that she is almost ready to wander off and lie
:43:09. > :43:18.down. When she explodes she really goes for it and it is the racket
:43:19. > :43:22.that takes a bit of a hammering. I think she managed to crack one after
:43:23. > :43:40.the first set against Johanna Konta yesterday.
:43:41. > :45:24.He was also the Slovak Fed cup captain.
:45:25. > :45:32.A very smart shot from Cibulkova. She uses the slice backhand so much
:45:33. > :45:38.better now, whether she is defending or using it for a drop shot. Just to
:45:39. > :45:40.change up the pace, something that was not part of her game when she
:45:41. > :46:22.first came on tour. Making the most of her long levers
:46:23. > :46:28.right there. A really smart move to coming fairly centrally. That is
:46:29. > :46:39.where she ended. It drifted over to Cibulkova's backhand side. Both
:46:40. > :46:57.players having to adapt. -- where she aimed it.
:46:58. > :47:00.Just wide. Four breaks of serve in the opening five games of this
:47:01. > :47:17.final. She did this yesterday. She went
:47:18. > :47:22.very early. This man has taken her from a very good junior, one of the
:47:23. > :47:33.best in the world, into the world's top ten.
:47:34. > :48:36.UMPIRE: Time. Something we have had on the tour for a number of years
:48:37. > :48:41.now. You are allowed your coach on pretty much once every set. You can
:48:42. > :48:45.have them on again if your opponent has an injury time-out or goes for a
:48:46. > :48:56.bathroom break. It is about once each side. These two use it very
:48:57. > :49:19.well. -- each set. Maybe they are both now resorting to plan B.
:49:20. > :50:11.Interesting seeing the coach coming on. He is an extrovert,
:50:12. > :50:19.superintendent, in great contrast to Karolina. She is very relaxed and
:50:20. > :50:23.chilled out about sings, -- about things, maybe too composed. He
:50:24. > :50:30.provides that intensity and tells her to get going. Yes, and often she
:50:31. > :50:35.responds well. They have had a successful partnership. Pliskova
:50:36. > :50:42.broke into the world's top ten for the very first time last summer. Why
:50:43. > :50:48.do you think she has slipped back? She is currently at number 17. Last
:50:49. > :50:53.year was a real breakthrough year for Pliskova. So much has been
:50:54. > :50:59.expected of her for so long, she was a successful junior, she did not
:51:00. > :51:02.make a massive impact when she first came on tour. I think it is just
:51:03. > :51:08.getting used to playing at that high level every week. It is all good and
:51:09. > :51:17.well doing it for a year or a couple of months, but you have got to back
:51:18. > :51:21.it up the following year against. When you think of all those points
:51:22. > :51:27.to defend, it comes around quickly, and that adds pressure. Smart play
:51:28. > :51:32.from the Slovak, and can you believe this? The chance to break for the
:51:33. > :51:34.third service game in a row. Against one of the best servers in women's
:51:35. > :51:51.tennis. Pliskova was only broken once in her
:51:52. > :52:32.match yesterday against Konta. -- let, first service. Under
:52:33. > :53:48.pressure, that is her go to serve on the flat side. Out wide.
:53:49. > :54:04.My goodness. The main thing is, is she OK? She took an ASCII slip in
:54:05. > :54:11.the early part of that point. She did turn her ankle. She was OK.
:54:12. > :54:16.Immediately weight-bearing. That can rattle you. It happened to Johanna
:54:17. > :54:51.Konta in the semifinals yesterday. We are back at deuce.
:54:52. > :55:02.It was the right shot to play. You have got to take conditions into
:55:03. > :55:19.consideration and give yourself that more margin than usual.
:55:20. > :55:23.That is a great response to being broken in the opening two service
:55:24. > :55:41.game. And the Czech levels it. At the moment, it is a rather
:55:42. > :55:48.strange affair. Neither is playing Phil out. Both are being rather
:55:49. > :56:05.circumspect. They are taking the conditions into consideration.
:56:06. > :56:12.She really launched herself into that forehand, didn't she? Both feet
:56:13. > :56:36.off the ground. Everything into that shot.
:56:37. > :56:44.She gets a little extra help by using a slightly longer than regular
:56:45. > :56:48.racket. She tells me it is five millimetres longer than the standard
:56:49. > :56:52.frame. She tried on seven millimetres longer but that was not
:56:53. > :57:10.quite right. She knows her tennis frames.
:57:11. > :57:19.I think I could do with an extra long racket these days. Tudur? Just
:57:20. > :58:11.to help me get my racket to the ball. I cannot really move so much.
:58:12. > :59:03.That is a really good response from Karolina Pliskova.
:59:04. > :59:10.An interesting personality, Karolina Pliskova. The most animated you will
:59:11. > :59:16.see how is when she's talking about her twin sister, who was born just a
:59:17. > :59:21.couple of minutes before she was. They are very close, they are
:59:22. > :59:27.constantly in contact. These days, it is wonderful with the phones,
:59:28. > :59:33.Skype, and they are super close. They have confessed in their younger
:59:34. > :59:37.days to switching boyfriends. I do not think they are the only set of
:59:38. > :59:43.identical twins to have done that. They are fun. Tennis has pretty much
:59:44. > :59:50.been 84 those two since four years of age. They grew up about one
:59:51. > :59:58.strive north of pride. It is a pretty handy spot to play tennis,
:59:59. > :00:02.pride. There they are, I am not sure who is which. I think that is the
:00:03. > :00:08.sister and rewrite. I cannot tell the difference. When they are next
:00:09. > :00:14.to each other, I am never quite sure, but apparently you can see a
:00:15. > :00:21.difference in their noses, or their tatties. Or the tennis rackets.
:00:22. > :00:25.Carolyn is right-handed, bought her sister is left-handed. When the play
:00:26. > :00:30.doubles together, they are both six foot plus tall. They are pretty
:00:31. > :02:04.formidable. After a shaky start, she seems to have found her way.
:02:05. > :02:12.Not quite getting the balance right, Cibulkova, keeping those unforced
:02:13. > :02:48.errors down. His attempt of a drop shot from
:02:49. > :03:28.Pliskova was not exactly the best. Too much air time on it.
:03:29. > :03:34.Big strikes of both wings for Cibulkova, but that forehand is
:03:35. > :03:39.deadly and pretty astute tactically as well, publishing away to the
:03:40. > :04:00.forehand of the check. It is another break point.
:04:01. > :04:08.'S breaks in the opening eight games. I am not sure that was in the
:04:09. > :04:13.script. We should not be too surprised given the conditions. I do
:04:14. > :04:17.not want to keep banging on about it, but it is so tough to control
:04:18. > :04:23.down there on the court and the wind is swirling as well. I wonder how
:04:24. > :04:28.mentally Pliskova will cope with that because she is not used to her
:04:29. > :04:30.serve being broken. Certainly three times in a match, but not three
:04:31. > :04:56.times in a set. UMPIRE: Miss Pliskova has challenged
:04:57. > :04:57.the call. The call stands. Miss Pliskova has two challenges
:04:58. > :06:13.remaining. On full stretch on the backhand. She
:06:14. > :06:17.loves those lines. All or nothing. She likes to take some risks and
:06:18. > :06:32.catches a lot of opponents out with those down the line balls.
:06:33. > :07:10.She makes some mistakes, but you never see her get down on herself.
:07:11. > :07:21.Well, she has got the firepower, but has she got the control? Those
:07:22. > :07:23.leggings are proving very useful actually as a substitute for a ball
:07:24. > :08:00.pocket. Really well worked by Cibulkova. And
:08:01. > :08:09.she hits the front once more in this opening set.
:08:10. > :08:18.I feel like it has been a momentum this set. Nobody has really grabbed
:08:19. > :08:29.hold of it in this opening 40 plus minutes. What do you feel might make
:08:30. > :08:33.the difference out here? With both players you know what you are going
:08:34. > :08:38.to get, they are not going to deviate too much from the game plan
:08:39. > :08:42.or their style of play. You will not see either player charged forward
:08:43. > :08:47.any time soon, but I think this first set is huge in terms of
:08:48. > :08:57.confidence and momentum. It is a final. Neither have particularly
:08:58. > :09:05.good records in finals. Cibulkova has won five titles from 14
:09:06. > :09:09.attempts. And for Pliskova it is five from 13 finals. I wonder if
:09:10. > :09:18.that will get in the way for both of them. You feel Cibulkova should a
:09:19. > :09:24.prolific winner. It is the second meeting between these two. Cibulkova
:09:25. > :09:28.won a couple of years ago in different conditions on hard in
:09:29. > :09:33.Kuala Lumpur, but it took her three sets to do it, having won the
:09:34. > :09:41.opener. You feel the scripts are being ripped up every couple of
:09:42. > :09:45.minutes in this Eastbourne final. Pliskova broken three times find
:09:46. > :10:33.herself serving to stay in this first set.
:10:34. > :10:40.So many of the players who have faced Pliskova have talked about how
:10:41. > :10:42.her first serve explodes off the court, in a similar fashion to that
:10:43. > :11:01.of Venus Williams. In terms of speed it might not be
:11:02. > :11:07.the fastest on tour, but it is generally pretty accurate. Also she
:11:08. > :11:10.makes the most of her height because of the way it bounces up, it really
:11:11. > :11:25.gets up. And that is the most convincing
:11:26. > :11:29.service game we have seen from either player so far. Pliskova
:11:30. > :12:54.levelling up in style. She seems to keep the ball on the
:12:55. > :12:59.racket strings for such a long time. That is something you cannot teach,
:13:00. > :13:35.good timing. Everything about her game looks very effortless.
:13:36. > :13:54.We have seen better drop shots this week from Cibulkova. Pliskova might
:13:55. > :14:54.not be the pastors, but she got to that won with ease.
:14:55. > :15:13.That is a better one. Much better. More backspin on this drop shot from
:15:14. > :15:19.Cibulkova. It just dives at the front of the court. This Court has
:15:20. > :15:21.hardened up beautifully over the course of the week, but it is still
:15:22. > :15:39.quite soft. Great battling staff from Cibulkova.
:15:40. > :15:49.She answers a lot of service game with a strong one of her own. This
:15:50. > :15:53.final will have nothing to do with forehands or backhands, it will be
:15:54. > :16:00.all about great, and being rugged and tough, dealing with whatever
:16:01. > :16:04.comes your way. It is a big test for these two, right on the eve of
:16:05. > :16:11.Wimbledon. I wonder how difficult it is for her, being tall, having such
:16:12. > :16:16.a beginning, like Petra Kvitova, she is only a year or two younger. She
:16:17. > :16:21.is like the next one in the production line. In some ways, there
:16:22. > :16:26.are games are quite similar, although one is left handed and one
:16:27. > :16:30.is right-handed. In terms of what they're trying to achieve, big
:16:31. > :16:37.serves, big strikes from both wings, all-out attacking game, she is
:16:38. > :16:43.someone who very much legs up to Petra Kvitova. As do lots of young
:16:44. > :16:47.Czech players. She has been a good friend, Fed Cup team-mates. They
:16:48. > :16:53.produce lots of tennis players in that part of the world. Not quite so
:16:54. > :17:00.many in the Slovak Republic. They have three in the world's top 100.
:17:01. > :17:09.They usually have more than that. Cibulkova is by far of the best of
:17:10. > :17:17.them. For many years we had a top five player in the world. So,
:17:18. > :18:30.Pliskova is serving to stay in this opening set.
:18:31. > :18:38.That was never going in and a month of Sundays. I do not think it was a
:18:39. > :18:41.shot she wanted to play. The ball kept moving away from her, and she
:18:42. > :19:17.struggled to control it on her racket.
:19:18. > :19:38.I think Pliskova should have been running as soon as she hit the
:19:39. > :19:42.slice. That was the obvious short for Cibulkova. Two said points for
:19:43. > :20:00.the Slovak. -- set points. Pliskova is broken
:20:01. > :20:07.for a fourth time, and Cibulkova wraps up the opening set, 7-5.
:20:08. > :20:13.What an extraordinary first set of their band floor. Also, ebb and flow
:20:14. > :20:19.above was in the skies. The blue sky has been usurped by Gray. We are
:20:20. > :20:23.told there may be rain on the way, which is rather dispiriting, in
:20:24. > :20:26.about half an hour. Let's hope they are wrong and we get on and
:20:27. > :20:33.corrupted played to the close of the final. It is engrossing, so far. On
:20:34. > :20:38.Monday, Wimbledon and this is where the British players will be in
:20:39. > :20:46.action over the first two days. On Monday and Schuster, the bottom half
:20:47. > :20:55.on top hearts will play. Heather Watson and her opponent are very
:20:56. > :21:01.close in the rankings. Broady will play the 17 seed. Laura Robson has
:21:02. > :21:06.had terrible injury troubles over the last couple of years. She will
:21:07. > :21:15.play the champion from Australia earlier this year. And now the men.
:21:16. > :21:19.Andy Murray, another match against a British player. That is after a
:21:20. > :21:37.decade without playing any. James Ward is playing someone!
:21:38. > :21:44.Marcus Willis has come through qualifying. He came through
:21:45. > :21:48.prequalifying. He is ranked in the 760s in the world. The lowest ranked
:21:49. > :22:01.player to play at Wimbledon in 60 years. It all starts on Monday.
:22:02. > :22:08.We thought the conditions might have an impact. There is no doubt they
:22:09. > :22:13.have affected Karolina Pliskova, one of the great servers in women's
:22:14. > :22:18.tennis. Really struggling in that apartment in the first set. It is
:22:19. > :22:23.advantage to the busy and bustling Dominika Cibulkova, looking for her
:22:24. > :22:27.second title of the year. And her first on grass. The Slovak. This
:22:28. > :22:40.second set. -- Slovak will start this second
:22:41. > :23:53.set. This has been a really good pattern
:23:54. > :23:57.of play for Cibulkova, Pilling Pliskova over to the backhand and
:23:58. > :25:17.going straight down the line. It has worked a treat so far.
:25:18. > :25:24.If the result was being decided by how much these two are not moving
:25:25. > :25:29.their feet, you would hand the trophy to Cibulkova. You said
:25:30. > :25:41.earlier, that is the number-1 thing you have got to do in these. Yes.
:25:42. > :25:46.She has just put it wide. When it comes to footwork and intensity,
:25:47. > :26:17.this woman has it all. Another loose one from Pliskova.
:26:18. > :26:22.Cibulkova does not waste much time seeing, thank you very much. She
:26:23. > :26:30.puts in a really good hold at the start of the second set. I
:26:31. > :26:33.understand you have played both the Pliskova sisters in the first round
:26:34. > :26:38.and the second round. You kept that quiet. It was a few years ago in
:26:39. > :26:44.Nottingham. I had to play Karolina first. I managed to beat her on a
:26:45. > :26:49.grass court and then I had to play her twin. That match was moved
:26:50. > :26:55.indoors, so I managed to win that one as well, would you believe? I
:26:56. > :27:01.have had to play Karolina and beat her a few times, but she is a much
:27:02. > :27:12.better player these days. Very modest.
:27:13. > :27:34.The Pliskova sisters both came on as teenagers. People did not expect so
:27:35. > :27:37.much from Karolina as her sister. Karolina's Twain is a pretty
:27:38. > :27:43.dangerous player herself, but when it comes to work ethic, I would give
:27:44. > :28:43.Karolina the edge. That is usually what it comes down to.
:28:44. > :28:50.That is what she does so well. It is the perfect 1-2. I am amazed she has
:28:51. > :29:03.not used that pattern of play more in this match.
:29:04. > :29:16.It is great to see the way that she has embraced the grass court season.
:29:17. > :29:24.The champion in Nottingham a few weeks ago. She actually won the
:29:25. > :29:31.doubles at Edgbaston last week. She went out early in the singles. She
:29:32. > :29:33.has been playing for five weeks on grass, potentially. That is a big
:29:34. > :30:35.chunk of the season. That is where a few little
:30:36. > :30:41.adjustment steps could really help Pliskova. You can see her running
:30:42. > :32:14.just straight into that ball. So all rather peaceful in this
:32:15. > :32:25.second set compared to how the match open. You have got the Wimbledon
:32:26. > :32:31.draw and it starts on Monday. Cibulkova, seeded 19, plays somebody
:32:32. > :32:50.in the top half and that will be on Tuesday. That looks pretty stiff.
:32:51. > :33:01.Lucic Baroni was not well this week, but I hope she is OK. I am sure not
:33:02. > :33:15.all of those names will come through. She is in the bottom half,
:33:16. > :33:24.Pliskova, and she will play on Monday against the Belgian. That
:33:25. > :33:32.section is packed with big names. Simona Halep has not been in the
:33:33. > :33:36.greatest form recently. Then there is the French Open champion and then
:33:37. > :33:42.looming large is the defending champion Serena Williams. She is
:33:43. > :33:49.currently enjoying her 298 week as the world number one. She is still
:33:50. > :34:24.the boss. Now, who will be the boss of this one?
:34:25. > :34:38.Not much time for these women to recover before Wimbledon. But it is
:34:39. > :34:42.a good thing, though. Immediately after this match, after they have
:34:43. > :34:51.fulfilled their media commitments, they will be in a car on their way
:34:52. > :34:59.to Wimbledon. Yes, they will have already rented apartments and houses
:35:00. > :35:03.close to the cause. Christina has probably got the milk and the pasta
:35:04. > :35:17.in and how is that all organised. You would hope so!
:35:18. > :35:29.I would imagine tomorrow would not be a complete rest day for either of
:35:30. > :35:33.these two players. They do not get to plan the match courts, which
:35:34. > :35:41.players do today. You cannot do it on Sunday. You only get half an hour
:35:42. > :35:48.on Saturday, but it is pretty important. The grass is kept longer
:35:49. > :35:53.on the match cause and has not had all the play like the practice
:35:54. > :36:13.courts. This could be a vital moment here.
:36:14. > :36:20.Oh, well done. And it gets Cibulkova who makes the first move in this
:36:21. > :36:40.second set. We have never had a Slovak winner
:36:41. > :36:44.here at Devonshire Park. There is a way to go yet, plenty of tennis
:36:45. > :36:52.still in this second set, but the force is with Cibulkova. She could
:36:53. > :36:56.be super popular. This is the 42nd year of this event and there have
:36:57. > :37:02.been so many great campaigns like Navratilova, Virginia Wade. Chris
:37:03. > :37:10.Evert, the first champion in the inaugural year of this event. It is
:37:11. > :37:16.fascinating that there are posters of all the great champions in the
:37:17. > :37:20.players area and they realise this is a very good tournament to have on
:37:21. > :38:01.your CV and they understand the history of it.
:38:02. > :38:07.One of the longest rallies of the match, but you can see how bonne
:38:08. > :38:13.rubble Pliskova is when she is pulled out wide to her forehand
:38:14. > :38:19.side. Not explosive enough with her footwork to get behind the ball.
:38:20. > :38:23.What is worrying is we were talking about that stretch and attempted
:38:24. > :38:29.squash shot two or three years ago and she still has not found a way to
:38:30. > :38:33.be explosive out of that corner. That is why she possibly could not
:38:34. > :38:46.hold in that top ten position. A bit of weakness there.
:38:47. > :38:55.I think she knows. I do not think this is going to be a very
:38:56. > :39:04.successful challenge for Cibulkova. I almost feel the two square metre
:39:05. > :39:07.area in that corner. Why play there? That is your no-go zone in these
:39:08. > :39:14.conditions from the end of the court that she is and when the wind is
:39:15. > :39:18.going that way. It is probably about a two metre drift, so if you aim
:39:19. > :39:24.your ball at the centre it will end up halfway to the line. You almost
:39:25. > :39:26.need to aim in the middle of that service box and then it is still
:39:27. > :41:49.dicey. Temptations! Now, what she has done in this match
:41:50. > :41:53.is she has kept the loose once to a minimum, but there is a slight
:41:54. > :42:17.stuttering here. A second chance to break in this game for Pliskova.
:42:18. > :42:29.Well done. Great depth from Cibulkova on those strikes. She is
:42:30. > :42:38.really keeping Pliskova pinned back behind the baseline here.
:42:39. > :42:55.That is how you take the ball on the rise as well.
:42:56. > :43:55.You do not need to know how Cibulkova is failing. She is
:43:56. > :44:01.potentially within two games of her first title. She extends her lead in
:44:02. > :44:23.some fashion. Gutsy, feisty, determined.
:44:24. > :45:01.That was some talking to. He brings plenty of intensity. We would love
:45:02. > :45:19.to translate it for you. Apparently he has told her to just
:45:20. > :45:26.keep playing your game, but two breaks of serve, you can break her.
:45:27. > :45:31.Believe in yourself. She came back from the shots. It was rather remiss
:45:32. > :45:36.of her to go out when we need her. On the telly. It is one break of
:45:37. > :46:03.serve, and every chance to come back into this match.
:46:04. > :47:05.She definitely needed a pep talk. That is what her coach brings.
:47:06. > :47:13.There is always a positive response when she has had her coach on. The
:47:14. > :47:19.pressure thrown right back on Cibulkova. She could probably do
:47:20. > :47:25.with someone courtside at every change of ends. It is the missing
:47:26. > :47:29.ingredient with her. A really slick service game there, though. Now we
:47:30. > :47:50.will see if the Slovak can hold her nerve.
:47:51. > :48:08.This is a great effort and hustle from Cibulkova. Just that bit too
:48:09. > :48:09.much. You have got to admire her effort to chase every single ball
:48:10. > :48:31.down. Wow. Virtually on her knees for the
:48:32. > :49:55.first backhand. That was the first twitchy shot we
:49:56. > :49:56.have seen from Cibulkova. Pliskova with two chances to get back on
:49:57. > :50:51.serve in the second set. She saved two break points in her
:50:52. > :50:53.last service game, two more there. Time is running out for Pliskova if
:50:54. > :51:45.she cannot convert. The second serve return. It was
:51:46. > :51:56.there for her to go after. Again, footwork and intensity cost.
:51:57. > :52:31.You can here the effort from Cibulkova. Quite often when players
:52:32. > :52:36.start really grunting, that is a sign of stress. Do not forget, she
:52:37. > :52:41.has only won five titles in her career, from 14 finals. You would
:52:42. > :52:50.have thought she would have been more prolific winner. The resulting
:52:51. > :53:08.in there. -- there is something psychological in there.
:53:09. > :54:44.Break points stone, but Cibulkova does not back off.
:54:45. > :54:59.There was no call. Maybe the lens man was having a goal was. It was a
:55:00. > :55:03.long way out. You can understand Cibulkova having a look. It does not
:55:04. > :55:07.happen very often, when there is no call. I think the line judge a have
:55:08. > :55:22.nodded off. She really does stay down so low,
:55:23. > :56:37.keeps her racket through the shot. Just as you would expect, as
:56:38. > :56:42.resilient as ever. She has already fended off four break points in this
:56:43. > :57:01.vital game. It is turning into an almost ten minute game.
:57:02. > :57:56.On we go, it is the sixth deuce. The heart of the match right here.
:57:57. > :58:08.Yes, that might be enough for Cibulkova. She knows it as well. She
:58:09. > :58:17.may not have to shout much more before the end of this match. The
:58:18. > :58:22.great thing about Dominika, she has her own clothing line in Slovakia,
:58:23. > :58:29.she does what she says and the ten. Every time she comes out on court,
:58:30. > :58:35.she gives the maximum, 100% energy, commitment, focus. Lots of players
:58:36. > :58:40.can talk about that, but trying to do it year in, year out, it is
:58:41. > :58:49.incredible. It is. She is 27 years of age. She has been on tour for a
:58:50. > :58:54.long time. She absolutely loves it. She loves life on tour. She has a
:58:55. > :59:00.tight-knit team. Her coach and fiance are they that pretty much all
:59:01. > :59:05.the tournaments. They never seem to uptight, that band. They are pretty
:59:06. > :59:08.chilled. Yes, I saw them together before this match and they were
:59:09. > :59:13.chilling out on the sofas, laughing at whatever was on their iPad or
:59:14. > :59:22.phones. They all seem to get on so well. The are all good guys. -- they
:59:23. > :59:31.are all good. They support her and by corrupt. Why wouldn't you? She
:59:32. > :59:36.must be a dream to coach. She had a big operation on her Achilles last
:59:37. > :59:41.year. She was out for four months. She came back for her first
:59:42. > :00:15.tournament in Eastbourne. I do not think she could have dreamt of this.
:00:16. > :00:27.Pliskova has got to be right with this challenge. If she is not, she
:00:28. > :00:37.loses the point. It is very close. She is right! Good challenge. It
:00:38. > :00:38.gives her a cushion in this game. Surely she has to make Cibulkova
:00:39. > :01:11.serve it out. Cibulkova would love to break here
:01:12. > :01:17.instead of trying to serve this match out. I am looking at the flags
:01:18. > :01:21.at the northern end of the court were Pliskova is serving now. The
:01:22. > :01:26.wind has dropped. One of the problems for her has been the
:01:27. > :01:31.condition. It has really hurt her serving. If she can just hold, you
:01:32. > :02:12.never know. It is one break. Good control from Cibulkova, did not
:02:13. > :02:25.rush anything. You may be right, Annie, a big
:02:26. > :02:27.investment in this game so she does not have to go through the trauma of
:02:28. > :02:51.trying to serve it out. I do not think she is going to
:02:52. > :03:00.challenge. She has only got one left.
:03:01. > :03:08.Just as well she did not. The serve is back and now the wind has dropped
:03:09. > :03:11.they are playing in completely different conditions now. Can
:03:12. > :04:54.Cibulkova serve it out? One of the few times today she has
:04:55. > :04:57.put it together. It is a case of what might have been for Karolina
:04:58. > :05:31.Pliskova. UMPIRE: Miss Cibulkova has
:05:32. > :05:41.challenged the ball. Long. I am with you. No challenges left. But one
:05:42. > :06:09.championship point remains. That is it! There is no one quite
:06:10. > :06:16.like her. Dominika Cibulkova is the Eastbourne champion. What a
:06:17. > :06:23.wonderful reaction. You can see how much it means to her. She absolutely
:06:24. > :06:38.deserved the title of this week. She has brought so much energy on to the
:06:39. > :06:43.court. Her biggest title this year. It has been a fantastic week. Her
:06:44. > :06:57.first grass court title of her career.
:06:58. > :07:04.Well, they have had a treat this week. Whatever session they have had
:07:05. > :07:11.on Centre Court the women have played to packed houses. Dominika
:07:12. > :07:19.Cibulkova joined a very special honour roll here. The first Slovak
:07:20. > :07:25.champion, she will get her picture in the gallery at the back of this
:07:26. > :07:32.court. And it really is a team effort these days. Her second title
:07:33. > :07:39.from her fourth final this season. Pliskova could not pick up after the
:07:40. > :07:42.win she had in Nottingham, but she goes into the Wimbledon
:07:43. > :07:47.Championships in fine form and she is one of the danger women from the
:07:48. > :07:50.second tier of players. That is only a couple of days away.
:07:51. > :07:56.I would like to bring the presentation party onto court. The
:07:57. > :08:10.director of customer value management. A board member of the
:08:11. > :08:15.world tennis Association. Annie, a few words from you to sum
:08:16. > :08:22.up. She has just brought so much onto court. If every single match
:08:23. > :08:26.this week she has invested so much. After such a tough day yesterday
:08:27. > :08:33.with two matches which she had to play and win, she thoroughly
:08:34. > :08:41.deserves this moment. Of course the rain is going to stay away. Tough
:08:42. > :08:56.conditions for both to play in. Very windy. Please, show your
:08:57. > :09:00.appreciation for Karolina Pliskova. She beat Britain was at number one
:09:01. > :09:11.Johanna Konta in the semis. She has had a wonderful week. We will
:09:12. > :09:20.present some champagne to the losing finalist and she will now have her
:09:21. > :09:34.champagne moment. The runners-up trophy will be presented, along with
:09:35. > :09:49.the prize money of $70,550. One of the directors.
:09:50. > :09:56.Aegon is such an important sponsor for this grass court series. Now it
:09:57. > :10:05.is time to celebrate our champion. Please welcome dominate the Siebel
:10:06. > :10:14.Clover. A special week for her. She is so popular on the tour. That win
:10:15. > :10:22.over Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals was something special.
:10:23. > :10:39.And now dominate car has her champagne moment. The prize fund is
:10:40. > :10:51.$132,550. Mark will step forward and present the 2016 Aegon International
:10:52. > :10:57.Trophy to Dominika Cibulkova. The first grass court title for Dominika
:10:58. > :11:03.Cibulkova. And who knows what awaits her over the next fortnight. Now
:11:04. > :11:11.John Nvidia will conduct the interviews. Dominica, many
:11:12. > :11:21.congratulations. Just how happy are you? It is very hard to describe.
:11:22. > :11:26.This is my best week on grass and they feel it has just happened and I
:11:27. > :11:31.was playing really well today and the conditions were really hard for
:11:32. > :11:38.me and for my opponent. It was a great week for me and you guys are
:11:39. > :11:46.awesome and I love playing here. This is my second time here and I am
:11:47. > :11:51.going to come here for many years. We saw on the final point your
:11:52. > :11:58.reaction and the reaction of your coaching team. How much do you owe
:11:59. > :12:06.them? My team is to me everything. I would not be standing here without
:12:07. > :12:11.them. Tennis is not a team game, but you need to have your team around
:12:12. > :12:18.you to be 100% ready and they made me ready and our work has paid off,
:12:19. > :12:22.so that is the best thing. It takes two people to make a great final and
:12:23. > :12:29.if we could ask Karolina to come in for a couple of moments. A round of
:12:30. > :12:32.applause, please. Congratulations, hard luck today, but you won at
:12:33. > :12:37.Nottingham and have been runner-up at Eastbourne, so you must have had
:12:38. > :12:42.a good grass court season so far. I am happy with the way I played this
:12:43. > :12:46.year on grass and there is Wimbledon coming and I want to do better even
:12:47. > :12:52.there. I have got one title, so it is not that bad. How excited are you
:12:53. > :12:58.about Wimbledon next week? You must go there with a lot of confidence.
:12:59. > :13:04.Definitely, I wanted to play as many matches as I could be for Wimbledon
:13:05. > :13:09.and I will rest a little bit and I am ready for Wimbledon. Thank you
:13:10. > :13:19.very much for your contribution to the Eastbourne week. To finish off,
:13:20. > :13:26.tennis fans have been used to Rafael Nadal shouting something over the
:13:27. > :13:36.time and you shout something which is Slovakian, does that mean come
:13:37. > :13:50.on! Yes, we say it from where I come from. It reminds me. One last thing,
:13:51. > :13:54.it is sometimes difficult in international sport, it is a very
:13:55. > :13:58.serious business, but it seems as if you are having fun and you give so
:13:59. > :14:03.much fun to ask and you bring so much extra to the women's tour and
:14:04. > :14:07.you are very much yourself and everybody has warmed to you this
:14:08. > :14:14.week because of that. How proud I you of that? Thank you, guys. That
:14:15. > :14:19.is something you have inside and that is how I am and this is how I
:14:20. > :14:30.am and I am glad that people like it. That trophy has got Navratilova,
:14:31. > :14:36.Chris Evert and now it has got you. They told me that Navratilova won 11
:14:37. > :14:43.times. I thought it would be good to win it once and here it is, so I am
:14:44. > :14:46.happy. She is very happy and we are very happy today and it was a great
:14:47. > :14:52.match to round off this week's tennis. Thank you to Karolina
:14:53. > :15:00.Pliskova and our winner this year, Dominika Cibulkova.
:15:01. > :15:08.A special champion. It means so much to her. She really has entertained
:15:09. > :15:10.the fans this week, as she does all over the world. Everyone falls in
:15:11. > :15:20.love with her. A good week for Pliskova as well.
:15:21. > :15:26.Both will be dangerous at Wimbledon next week, both will be seeded.
:15:27. > :15:31.Maybe not the best final that we have ever had that Devonshire Park,
:15:32. > :15:37.but I really strong one. Difficult conditions for both of them, but it
:15:38. > :15:42.was Cibulkova who manage them far better.
:15:43. > :15:49.The sun stayed with us all afternoon. It is glorious now. That
:15:50. > :15:55.is a beaming smile tour on Ofwat has been a really good week's tennis at
:15:56. > :15:59.Eastbourne. Paying that kind of tennis, Anne, no one is going to
:16:00. > :16:06.fancy meeting her at Wimbledon. No, she will be a dangerous player.
:16:07. > :16:09.Unfortunately for Johanna Konta, she is in the same section. There is a
:16:10. > :16:14.potential third-round meeting. She will be full of confidence and high
:16:15. > :16:17.on adrenaline. Some made the point that wherever she plays in the
:16:18. > :16:23.world, because of the way that she engages with the crowd, the crowd on
:16:24. > :16:29.tour. She is a massive asset to the women's tour. Yes, she has such an
:16:30. > :16:35.infectious personality, how can you not want to? She is like that on and
:16:36. > :16:41.off the Eastbourne, a brilliant goal to be around. You have mentioned Jo
:16:42. > :16:44.Konta once already. She has had a great run at Eastbourne, her
:16:45. > :16:49.hometown. There will be so much publicity over the next 48 hours
:16:50. > :16:54.about her being the first British seed at Wimbledon in the women's
:16:55. > :16:58.draw more than 30 years. How do you think she will approach Wimbledon of
:16:59. > :17:05.the back of this week? Is she on an upward curve? For sure. She has had
:17:06. > :17:09.good results this week. She will take confidence from that. The next
:17:10. > :17:13.few weeks will be a whole new experience for her in terms of being
:17:14. > :17:17.in the limelight, having to fulfil media obligations, talking to people
:17:18. > :17:22.that perhaps were never interested in her. She is learning, she will be
:17:23. > :17:27.going through her process and trying to manage the situation as best she
:17:28. > :17:30.can. She has a great team around her and they will help her. Trina
:17:31. > :17:36.Shearer, thank you for being with us all week. It feels like the height
:17:37. > :17:40.of summer. Their Israel warmth coming from the orb in the sky. Here
:17:41. > :17:57.are details of programmes coming up. -- there is real warmth. You can
:17:58. > :18:02.follow it on so many platforms, it is not true. There is no skip from
:18:03. > :18:06.Wimbledon once it starts on Monday morning. We have had a fantastic
:18:07. > :18:12.couple of weeks, with Andy Murray winning at Queen's last week. This
:18:13. > :18:16.final has set us in just the right frame of mind with Wimbledon
:18:17. > :18:20.starting on Monday morning. From all of us here, with the sun beating
:18:21. > :18:25.down, thanks for watching over the last couple of days. With all the
:18:26. > :18:27.thunderstorms, we got there in the end.