the kazakh Elena Rybakina (22) became the first semifinalist of australia tomorrow by defeating the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (17) by 6-2 and 6-4 in what was Tuesday’s first match at Rod Laver Arena.
His opponent in the semifinals will be known after the end of the match that will face the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka (24) with the American Jessica Pegula (3).
Ostapenko he was unable to offer his best version in the most difficult moments after converting only one of the eight chances he had to break the serve of a Rybakina to connect up to eleven aces.
This is the first time that two women have won Grand Slamsand met in a quarterfinal at Melbourne Park since Romanian Simona Halep will cross paths with American Serena williams for a place in the semifinals in the 2021 edition.
“Conditions Changed”
“Conditions have changed. In Australia you never know and we have to be ready to adapt”the winner commented on the rain that forced the Rod Laver Arena retractable roof to close as he won the first set 3-1.
“I am very happy to be in the semifinals. Of course I was nervous in that last game but I’m happy with the way I managed my emotions.”explained in an interview with former Australian player Jelena Dokic.
In the previous round, Rybakina hit the table after knocking out world number one Iga Swiatek, who overcame her poor results in the second leg of last season after winning the title at the last edition of Wimbledon.
The Kazakh did not climb any position in the world rankings after her victory in London after the WTA did not award any points in that tournament as a result of the veto on Russian and Belarusian tennis players by the organization of the event.
Regarding the clash against the Latvian, the main difference is a service that he used like a charm and with which he already has 35 ‘aces’ since the start of the tournament, in addition to an effective volley that he successfully used in six out of eight occasion. .which ends the point in the network.
It was the first win for young Rybakina over 2017 Roland Garros champion Ostapenko, after the Latvian took their two previous meetings in Eastbourne (UK) in 2021 and Linz (Austria) in 2019.
Source: La Verdad
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