One month after her last match, Elena Rybakina returned to the tennis courts and demonstrated a decent level, which wasn't enough to beat Leylah Fernandez at the 2024 Cincinnati Open.
Fernandez is one of the most dangerous players on the WTA Tour because she has played in a Grand Slam final before and has won some big matches in the past. She's also a player who is always talked about regarding tremendous potential.
Her results haven't backed that up recently, as her level has traditionally been inconsistent. It's unfortunate because she is a very talented player, but her level keeps being inconsistent, which doesn't allow for much success.
Fernandez demonstrated that clearly during this second-round match at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati. At times, she looked overwhelmed by Rybakina, but at times, she showed that she could be even better than her opponent.
Both players' first few games were shaky. The Canadian was overwhelmed by the fourth seed on her own serve, but the Kazakhstani player also showed some rust early on in the match.
It's not uncommon for her because she tends to start some matches slow until she finds her rhythm. Something like that happened in the first set of this match, as Rybakina struggled to really overpower her opponent.
She broke her opponent's serve, but she also dropped her own serve, which wasn't good enough. Eventually, she could stabilize, and once she did, her power became too much for Fernandez.
She broke her opponent's serve and won the opening set 6-3. The pace was slow early on because the rallies were slow, but once the Kazakhstani player found her rhythm, she was able to keep them relatively short, which is her preference.
Part of what made both struggle in the first set was the serve. Neither served well, and both totaled too many double faults. Fernandez had 5, and Rybakina had 7, which combined for 12 double faults in 12 games of play—way too much.
Both served considerably better in the second set, but there were still many double faults and some early breaks. Fernandez took a 3-1 lead but lost it immediately. That was her problem in this match.
Even when she outplayed Rybakina, she couldn't hold that level for too long. That's why she's not a Top 10 player; if she could play that well consistently, she would surely be in the Top 10.
At 3-3, the play was briefly stopped due to a minor shower, but the match continued afterwards. After the continuation, Fernandez broke her opponent's serve and led 5-3, but she couldn't hold that level and lost it immediately.
She could still escape with the second set after a crazy twist, which saw her drop her serve at 5-3 and 5-5 to give Rybakina a chance to serve for the match. In that game, Fernandez saved two match points to force the tie-break, in which she outplayed Rybakina, 7-3, to send the match into a third set.
Fernandez missed two break points at 2-2 in the final set. However, she got another chance at 3-3, and this time around, she broke her opponent's serve. The Canadian held her serve to make it 5-3, after which Rybakina held as well.
Fernandez was only one game away from a shocking upset, and she was able to do it, winning the match 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4. Rybakina was up 6-5 in the second set and had a 40-15 lead on her serve, but it wasn't enough to win the match.
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