Elena Rybakina is through to the 2024 Brisbane International semifinals, and it took her only 30 minutes after Anastasia Potapova retired.
It seems that all the top players on the WTA Tour improved even further in 2024, as all of them seem to be dominating even more. Coco Gauff showed it in her quarterfinal match in Auckland, and Rybakina keeps showing it in Brisbane.
Before the quarterfinal match, the 2022 Wimbledon champion won the last three sets she played 6-1, 6-1, and 6-0, and she followed the trend also in the match against the eleventh seed, as she started in a similar way as in her third-round match against Elise Mertens.
The start of the match was very close, and after both players held their serves, it came down to being effective. Rybakina used her first break point, while Potapova couldn't use any of her three chances in the following game.
That gave Rybakina yet another chance to break, and again, she used it, winning the opening set of the match 6-1. The Kazakhstani player was already getting mentally reedy for the second set, but that wasn't played.
Potpaova was forced to withdraw from the match because of an injury, as Rybakina advanced to the semifinals of the tournament, where she'll take on the winner of the teenage clash between Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova. After the win, she expressed disappointment about how the match ended.
"Definitely not the way I wanted to win. I just wish Anastasia a speedy recovery, because she had a really tough battle yesterday. It's been not easy for me also to start today, it’s quite humid. I’m just happy in the end that I get the chance to play another match. But definitely not the way I wanted to win."
During the 2023 season, it was often the Kazahstani player who was the injured or the sick one, so her goals for 2024 are quite straightforward - stay healthy.
"The last 7 months were a bit unlucky with health issues. But for me the most important is to stay healthy."
0 Comments