Elena Rybakina made the final of the Australian Open last year and looked extremely strong so far this year, but she couldn't overcome Anna Blinkova.
The Kazakhstani is a very fascinating tennis player. At her best, she's a devastating force on the court that basically destroys even the best in the world. On her average day, Rybakina is very beatable and very limited because there is only one way she plays.
She plays very aggressively and attacks, and if that fails, then she's in trouble. She doesn't have enough variety, and there is nothing that she can change to really shake up the rhythm of the match, and she paid the price against Blinkova.
The Russian served extremely well, putting Rybakina in a tough spot when it comes to returning. She didn't handle it well, as she barely won any points when her opponent hit the first serve.
She didn't even misfire that often from the baseline, not as much as Blinkova did, who is also an aggressive player by trait. It was just her not being able to find a way to win points on the first serve.
That created frustration, which grew over time and boiled over in the final set when she didn't really know what to do. It was quite a fascinating match to observe because it was a huge upset that nobody saw coming, but on top of that, the way it unfolded was even more surprising.
In fairness, Rybakina really did her best to win the match, but there was nothing she could do against the serve of Blinkova, and even when she put the ball in play, the Russian would quickly find a way to win a point.
The first two sets were quite straightforward, as first Blinkova won the opening set 6-4 after one break, and Rybakina did a similar thing in the second set, winning it 6-4.
There was really little between the two in the third set, and the ending sequence was a crazy one as we saw several consecutive breaks with a historic match tiebreak, ultimately sealing it for the Russians, 22-20.
Rybakina had six match points, while her opponent had ten, and Blinkova just proved to be mentally stronger, winning the match. The final score ended up being 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(20) for Blinkova, who eliminated the reigning runner-up and major contender for the trophy.
Elena Rybakina vs Anna Blinkova Match Stats:
| Elena Rybakina | Anna Blinkova | |
| 9 | Aces | 4 |
| 2 | Double Faults | 6 |
| 61% | First Serve % | 62% |
| 69% (47/68) | Points Won After First Serve % | 74% (57/77) |
| 49% (21/43) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 30% (14/47) |
| 63% (5/8) | Break Point Conversion | 83% (5/6) |
| 44 | Winners | 27 |
| 45 | Unforced Errors | 48 |
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