Rybakina knocks out defending champion Swiatek to reach Indian Wells
final
Send a link to a friend
 [March 18, 2023]
(Reuters) -Elena Rybakina knocked out defending champion Iga
Swiatek with a 6-2 6-2 semi-final victory at Indian Wells on Friday
to set up a clash against Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Two months after Rybakina knocked Swiatek out of the Australian Open
in the fourth round, the Wimbledon champion once again put in an
impressive display against the world number one.
Rybakina was in control from the start, breaking early to take a 2-0
lead, before going on to clinch the first set when Swiatek produced
a double fault on set point.
Rybakina's serve was tested in the first game of the second set, but
the Kazakh held under pressure and then won the next four games to
take a 5-0 lead.
Swiatek was far from her best on the night and later revealed that
she had struggled with "discomfort" in her ribcage during the match,
but added that she was still expecting to defend her title at next
week's Miami Open.
"We're going to consult with the medical team. For sure I'm going to
use these days off before Miami (to recover)," Swiatek told
reporters.
The Pole did manage to avoid a bagel in the second set by saving a
break point to hold before breaking to then further reduce the
arrears, but Rybakina broke back immediately to extinguish the
comeback and secure the win.
"I really played well today, it was a really nice atmosphere
tonight," Rybakina said in her on-court interview.
"I didn't expect I would play that well today. I had nothing to
lose, I just wanted to enjoy. I think it was one of my best matches
this season."
Rybakina will be out for revenge when she faces Sabalenka, who
defeated her in the Australian Open final in January. The Belarusian
leads 4-0 in their head-to-head.
"It was really close, we had so many battles and so far I'm losing,
but hopefully that will change," Rybakina added.
[to top of second column] |
Tennis - WTA 1000 - Dubai Tennis
Championships - Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Dubai, United Arab
Emirates - February 23, 2023 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in action
during her quarter final match against Czech Republic 's Barbora
Krejcikova REUTERS/Satish Kumar/File Photo
Earlier on Friday, Australian Open champion
Sabalenka was not at her best in a 6-2 6-3 win over Greece's Maria
Sakkari, but maintained her composure even when her old nemesis -
the double fault - reared its ugly head on a sunny day in the
Southern California desert.
"In the past I lost so many matches like that after a few not super
smart mistakes," said Sabalenka.
"I was reminding myself that it is okay to make mistakes. I'm not a
robot, I'm a human. I can miss those shots, and probably that's why
I was able to keep fighting and keep trying."
After the start of the match was delayed by more than 30 minutes to
fix an audio issue related to the electronic line-calling system,
Sabalenka cracked an ace out wide to open the match.
She broke Sakkari for a third time on an errant Sakkari forehand to
capture the first set but the Belarusian's frustration began to
mount in the second when two double faults gave Sakkari a look at
break points at 2-2.
Sabalenka regrouped to hold for 3-2 and broke Sakkari in a lengthy
deuce game for a 4-2 advantage she would not relinquish, pouncing on
a short return of serve on match point and burying the ball with an
emphatic backhand.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll and Aadi Nair; Editing by Lincoln Feast
and Sonali Paul.)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
