Australian Open: Rybakina continues to impress as she reaches semifinals for first time

Elena Rybakina also overcame the obstacle of Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4 in 79 minutes, the first timed ticket to the semi-finals of this year’s Australian Open, which is also the first of her career.

Rybakina, on duty for one more game as a back up, was the absolute “boss” in the quarterfinals against Ostapenko, finishing the game with 11 aces (3 double faults), 24 winners and 21 effortlessly, but what made her stand out? was their efficiency on breaks (4/6) while Latvia had 1/8!

Even as conditions (theoretically) favored Ostapenko and the roof closed in the middle of set 1 due to rain at Rod Laver Arena, Rybakina remained just as aggressive and went on to make it 5-1 with two breaks, before scoring just after the 1: 0 ended the lead after 32 minutes of play.

The only break in the game for Ostapenko came early in set 2 as Latvia led 2-0, however Rybakina responded immediately with a break but also a difficult hold in a service game that lasted just under 8 minutes to equalise (2-2).

As if that wasn’t enough for Ostapenko, the Kazakh found another break shortly after, which she redeemed more easily this time to make it 4-2. That was enough for Rybakina to last until the end and advance to the semifinals of the Australian Open, where she will await the winner of Jessica Pegula’s duel with Victoria Azarenka.

SOURCE: Tennis24