MELBOURNE – Kazakh tennis player Jelena Rybakinová advanced to the final of the women’s singles at the Australian Open Grand Slam tournament.
In the position of seeded five, she won over the American Jessica Pegula in two sets 6:3 and 7:6 (7). In the fight for the winning trophy, she will challenge the seeded and world number one of Belarus, Aryna Sabalenkova.
With the semi-final triumph, Rybakinová improved her balance from mutual matches to four wins and three losses. Both tennis players will go to the final match without losing a single set in the tournament, for the 26-year-old Kazakh it will be her second final appearance in Melbourne.
In 2023, she also met Sabalenko, when Belarus won 4:6, 6:3 and 6:4. Rybakinová has one Grand Slam triumph to her credit, from 2022 in Wimbledon.
“It means a lot to me to be in the final again. It was a big semi-final battle, the second set was epic. I’m very happy that I won it. Jessica played very well in the second set, she fought until the very end.
I am very happy to advance to the finals, it was stressful. I’m glad it went my way in the end and I can’t wait for Saturday. The important thing was that I fought for any situation and condition,” said Rybakinová in a post-match interview on the court.
Rybakinová entered the semi-final match in a dominant manner, first taking the lead with a clean game, then breaking her opponent’s serve and then winning the third game in a row.
She made only a minimum of mistakes on the court, dominated in all key aspects, and Pegulová had difficulty finding a long-term effective recipe for her game. Although the American finally improved at the end of the first set, the Kazakh took advantage of the second set point and closed the first set with a winning shot with a score of 6:3.
The short break between sets did not help Pegula as much as she imagined. Rybakinová continued to report the events on the court. It was true that a significantly greater defiance was seen on the part of the American, but in important moments it became clear why the Kazakh tennis player triumphed at the end-of-year MS WTA Tour tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Pegulová got a kick in the game only in the ninth game, when she first averted three match points from her opponent, and in the next game with a break, she sent the duel to a balanced state – 5:5. The same was repeated a little later, so the fate of the second set had to be decided by a tiebreak.
The American got opportunities to send the duel to the decisive action, but after two unused set points, Rybakinová won four points in a row and after the result 7:6 (7) she could finally rejoice at the final participation at the Australian Open.
Australian Open – Women’s Singles – Semifinals:
Jelena Rybakinová (Kaz.-5) – Jessica Pegulová (USA-6) 6:3, 7:6 (7)
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- Author: © List/
- VIDEO: YouTube/Australian Open
- Source: TASR
