Cibulkova ends Chirico charge to reach Madrid final

American Chirico had seen off Daria Gavrilova in straight sets in the last eight but the 19-year-old was denied a place in only her second WTA final by the in-form Cibulkova.

The world number 38 and former Australian Open finalist illustrated the 92-place gap in the rankings in devastating fashion, sealing a place in her third final of 2016 having won the Katowice Open last month. 

Dominika Cibulkova ended Louisa Chirico's shock Madrid Open run at the semifinal stage with an emphatic straight-sets win on Friday.

American Chirico had seen off Daria Gavrilova in straight sets in the last eight but the 19-year-old was denied a place in only her second WTA final by the in-form Cibulkova. 

Chirico's only appearance in a WTA showpiece event came in Open de Limoges last November and the teenager never looked like progressing this time around, Cibulkova cantering to a 6-1 6-1 victory in under an hour.

The world number 38 and former Australian Open finalist illustrated the 92-place gap in the rankings in devastating fashion, sealing a place in her third final of 2016 having won the Katowice Open last month. 

Cibulkova hit 24 winners compared to Chrico's eight and took five of her seven break-point opportunities while never facing one herself.

She will now take on either Simona Halep or Samantha Stosur in the final, with the triumph meaning the Slovak should be seeded for this month's French Open, where she reached the semi-finals in 2009.