It was tougher than anybody thought it would be, but Elena Rybakina ultimately bested Magdalena Frech at the 2024 Dubai Championships.
The way Rybakina has been playing lately, many assumed that this would be a really simple match in which she would win in two sets. It proved anything but that, as the Kazakhstani player nearly took three hours to down her opponent in three sets.
The opponent was Magdalena Frech, a solid player who had some decent performances in 2024. Still, her level hasn't been such that you'd expect Rybakina to struggle against her, but she did.
The opening set showed what type of match this might be. It was pretty close, with neither player being able to find a breakthrough early, but it was the Pole who actually got it done first.
She took a 5-3 lead but then failed to close it out. That gave Rybakina a chance, and she took it by outplaying the Polish player in the tie-break.
The second set saw a pretty stern response from Frech as she was actually able to win the set this time around. She broke first and, this time around, held the lead to win the set.
That set up a pretty exciting final set and did it deliver. It was pretty dramatic because we didn't really know how it might go. Both players cruised through their first few service games, which heightened the tension.
Eventually, Rybakina started to carve out some break points but failed to convert, which added to the tensions. At 5-4 in the final set, she once again got break points and, this time around, finally got it done, ending the really exciting match.
The final score was 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4, as Rybakina continues to win matches after the disappointing finish to the Qatar Open.
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