It could well be that the first Tuesday of June in 2009 will represent a mere blip on the radar screen of Dominika Cibulkova’s tennis career. Then again, if this tireless Slovakian becomes a powerhouse in her profession, she’ll look back on a magical afternoon in Paris as the moment when her life changed forever.

Having turned 20 years old in the past month, Cibulkova–with a No. 20 seed to match her age–played like a seasoned veteran in disposing of the much-heralded Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals of the French Open. The merciless 6-0, 6-2 thumping, delivered in front of a surprised crowd at Court Suzanne Lenglen, earned Cibulkova her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal appearance. Cibulkova will play top-seeded Dinara Safina in the final four on Thursday afternoon at Court Philippe Chatrier.

It’s hard to make overly grand and sweeping pronouncements about this match, which concluded only 75 minutes after it started. What one can safely say is that it’s the biggest win of Cibulkova’s journey through the snares and traps of the WTA Tour, a journey that’s still in its formative stages.

Cibulkova came to Paris with only seven slam appearances under her belt, and on only one of those occasions–at this year’s Australian Open–did the 20-year-old reach the fourth round of competition. Tuesday’s tussle represented the Slovakian’s first-ever quarterfinal at a major tournament, so when Sharapova–a three-time slam champion–secured a place as her opponent in the round of 8, the smart money had to rest with the Russian superstar. For all of Sharapova’s serving problems and rust-oriented inconsistencies, the former world No. 1 hadn’t forgotten how to compete and, more importantly, steal away matches she had no business winning. Even when Cibulkova raced through a bagel-bearing first set in just 30 minutes, the ability of Sharapova to win four 3-setters in Paris–two of them after getting blown out in set one–had to weigh on Cibulkova’s mind. Sure, the No. 20 seed was crushing her more celebrated foe, but Sharapova’s made a lot of money by fighting back from the brink when so many of her other contemporaries would fade away into the mist. The question was not, “Would Cibulkova produce quality shots?” The central query entering the second set of this showdown was, “Would the comparatively inexperienced challenger maintain the mental focus needed to keep Sharapova from coming above water for a much-needed breath?”

As the afternoon would indicate, Cibulkova–her hands on the jugular–squeezed hard and deprived Sharapova of the oxygen the Russian required in order to mount a comeback.

Continuing her steady play based not on lethal groundstrokes, but solid depth and nearly flawless court coverage, Cibulkova raced to a 5-0 lead. Sharapova would snag two window-dressing games to avoid the double-bagel, but the skilled Slovakian put an end to all the “Maria Magic” that had found its way to Paris in the eighth game of the set. Yes, Sharapova’s tank ran on empty after a long layoff that proved to be too much to overcome. With that said, someone had to possess a considerable amount of inner fortitude to slay the shrill but shrewd Russian, and Cibulkova became that person.

So what if Maria Sharapova couldn’t produce another comeback? A 20-year-old talent from Slovakia won’t care one bit. For Dominika Cibulkova, a first-ever slam semifinal stands as the best possible statement of her worthiness on the big stage of women’s tennis. If she can convey a few more loud messages as 2009 continues, Cibulkova will go from being a giant-killer to a large and imposing presence in her own right. Then she’ll look back on this first Tuesday of June and realize that this quarterfinal conquest was the start of something big.

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