After letting match point slip in her third-round battle with eventual champion Li Na in Melbourne to start the year, the blonde Czech lefty managed to shake the disappointment, arriving at Roland Garros with a darker do before going on to make her first fourth-round showing at a major since 2007.
Making her ninth Wimbledon appearance, the 27-year-old saw off Slovakian No.10 seed Dominka Cibulkova 6-4, 6-2 overcoming a losing head-to-head record to lead a barrage of Czech players into the fourth round, with her countrywomen Petra Kvitova, Tereza Smitkova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova later winning through. “It’s after seven years actually. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the fourth round and obviously I’m excited and happy about it especially against Dominika, as I had never beaten her, so it’s the more exciting for me,” Safarova said. Could the brown locks be the change she needed? “Maybe,” she laughed. “Some change. Well no, since the beginning of the year I’ve had a good season. I’ve had a couple of tight matches, tough losses against top-10 players and I’ve always been really close but not as far into the tournament. But my tennis was good and I’m happy that finally I’ve transferred it into a great result.” Cibulkova, who advanced to her first Grand Slam final in Melbourne to start the year – with wins over Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska en route – was looking to rebound from a disappointing French Open where she fell to Sam Stosur in the third round. Her best run on the grass at Wimbledon came in 2011 where she upended the then No.1 Caroline Wozniacki on her way to the quarter-finals.
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