WTA Doha - Flavia Pennetta vs. Dominika Cibulkova (15:30 GMT)

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by Crunch Sports Staff

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Flavia Pennetta (credit: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

Flavia Pennetta takes on Dominika Cibulkova this evening in the opening round of the WTA Doha Open.

Pennetta was in good form at the Fed Cup earlier this month, helping Italy to a close-fought 3-2 victory over the Ukraine. Whilst unable to participate in the singles due to a back injury, the Italian teamed up with Roberta Vinci to defeat Lesia Tsurenko and Olga Savchuk in three sets.

Pennetta will have hopefully recovered from her injury troubles in time for this week’s WTA Doha Open, where she’ll take on Dominika Cibulkova in round one.

And she’ll need to be fully fit, as Cibulkova is not an opponent who should be taken lightly.

Ranked 17th in the world, the Slovakian has climbed the rankings steadily over the past few years. She’s not made the most dynamic start to 2012, but she’s got plenty of time to turn things around and rack up some victories.

The outcome of this upcoming match isn’t particularly easy to predict, though past form indicates that Pennetta has the measure of the 22-year-old. From a total of five meetings, Pennetta holds a 4-1 head-to-head record against Cibulkova, and is currently on a four-match winning streak against her. She seems to be the favourite for today's clash.

Prediction: Pennetta in three.

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