Elena Rybakina had to fight in her first-round match at the 2023 Canadian Open in Montreal, but it was a victorious fight.
Taking on a former Grand Slam finalist is never easy, especially when they're coming back from a long injury hiatus. That was exactly the case with Jennifer Brady, who was determined to trouble Rybakina in their second-round match at the WTA 1000 event in Montreal.
However, as unpredictable as the game's outcome was the weather. Rain decided to make its own unscripted entry into the match, leading to an untimely interruption. The game was halted at a crucial juncture - 4-2 during the tiebreak in the first set.
The weight of this abrupt pause was felt heavily by both players, with Rybakina sharing during her post-match press conference about the challenging one-hour wait as the organizers grappled with the decision to continue or postpone.
Speaking candidly about her experience, Rybakina mentioned the difficulty of the situation, especially since the match was paused at a significant point. To return after such a delay and refocus on the game isn't just about physical preparedness but mental fortitude.
"I think it was unlucky that we stopped in this moment. It was 4-2 on the tiebreak and tough score to come back. We stayed I think for the one hour extra after to have finally decision to wait more or not, so it was tough. Yeah, just to recover and start again this match, it wasn't easy, but I'm happy that in the end it was tough battle, but I managed to win."
But as the scores of the resumed match suggest, Rybakina was not one to be easily deterred. With scores reading 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 in her favor against Brady, she was able to not only regain her momentum but also overpower her opponent.
"Really happy that I managed to win this match. It was a really tough one with the rain delay of yesterday. Yeah, today also it was a really long rally sometimes, and this is something I need to get used to with all the conditions."
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