Elena Rybakina started her 2024 clay season with a very tricky match against Veronika Kudermetova at the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The Kazakhstani player last stood on a tennis court in the Miami Open final, where she lost to Danielle Collins. Now, she's back on clay and made a good start by navigating a tricky matchup against the always-solid Kudermetova.
The opening set was a very close one, and the conclusion arrived in the tie-break. The first few games were expectedly chaotic, as both players were trying to find their tennis. Kudermetova broke but lost it not long after that, and then it was calm.
Both players cruised through their service games with ease, so the set ended up in a tie-break in which Rybakina would win 7-3. A huge advantage in that opening set was the serve because she had six more aces than her opponent, and all of them mattered.
It was a set of margins, and the margins favored Rybakina. Contrary to that one, the second set was not a set of margins, as the Russian completely outplayed the fourth seed in that one.
Fans attending the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart saw half the games compared to the first set and a resounding 6-1 win for Kudermetova, as Rybakina just didn't play up to her level.
She missed far too much and didn't even serve as sharply as he did in the previous games. Mostly, it was the rallies that buried her. She would struggle to break the momentum in the decider, and Kudermetova took an early lead but then failed to keep it.
Rybakina then broke back and broke once more to take a 3-1 lead, which she confirmed with a solid service game to make it 4-1. Rybakina wouldn't hold the lead as Kudermetova battled back, but she would close it out with another break to win the match 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4.
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