Elena Rybakina faced more problems than she would have liked against Karolina Pliskova but still bested her in two sets at the 2024 Australian Open.
Rybakina made it to the final in Melbourne last year, and while she did lose to Aryna Sabalenka in three sets, the Kazakhstani player was once again among those who were expected to go far.
She's just a wonderful fit on the courts in Australia, something she proved not long ago in Brisbane by winning the trophy. The way she outplayed Sabalenka in the final surprised many, further confirming her good form ahead of the season's first Grand Slam.
Despite that, Rybakina faced tough opposition from Karolina Pliskova, who took her to the tie-break in the first set. The Czech actually opened the match by breaking Rybakina and taking a 2-0 lead but would give it back immediately
After that, fans at the Rod Laver Arena saw a good battle between the players as both served kind of well but struggled a bit from the baseline.
We saw more unforced errors than winners from both, but the crucial moment happened at 6-5 when Rybakina wasted several set points. Pliskova then used that momentum to take a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak, holding it until 5-2, after which she collapsed.
Rybakina would come back from down 3-6 to win the tiebreak 8-6, converting her fourth set point. Pliskova didn't use three of her own in the tiebreak.
The way the first set unfolded clearly impacted the second set, as Rybakina was then fully in control. She broke early and kept her serve relatively easily from there on, finishing the match in two sets.
The final score was 7-6(6) 6-4 for the last year's runner-up, who produced a pretty good serving performance and played at a decent level from the baseline.
Elena Rybakina vs Karolina Pliskova Match Stats:
| Elena Rybakina | Karolina Pliskova | |
| 6 | Aces | 4 |
| 1 | Double Faults | 1 |
| 60% | First Serve % | 73% |
| 77% (27/35) | Points Won After First Serve % | 67% (37/55) |
| 74% (17/23) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 45% (9/20) |
| 25% (2/8) | Break Point Conversion | 100 % (1/1) |
| 26 | Winners | 16 |
| 25 | Unforced Errors | 29 |
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