(Reuters) – Fourth seed Elena Rybakina managed to defeat Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-4 0-6 7-6(2) in a challenging match on Thursday, securing her spot in the Miami Open final once again.
Rybakina, the highest seed left in the women’s draw, had a strong performance winning nearly 82% of her first-serve points. However, she struggled to convert break-point opportunities, only capitalizing on two out of 11 chances during the two-hour, 33-minute match.
“It was such a tough battle,” Rybakina, who hails from Moscow but represents Kazakhstan, said in her post-match interview after reaching her fourth final of the year.
“I didn’t serve that well and also Vika, from the second set, she was hitting the serve very well. It was difficult but I knew was going to fight until the end and actually that’s what I did.”
In the first set, Rybakina missed her first five break-point opportunities before finally breaking Azarenka’s serve to take a 4-3 lead. She relied on her powerful shots to close out the set with a hold to love in 51 minutes.
Azarenka, however, fought back in the second set with an impressive performance, limiting Rybakina to just five points and breaking her serve three times to force a deciding set.
When the third set began, Rybakina showed improved movement and managed to break Azarenka in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Azarenka made a crucial error hitting a backhand into the net.
Despite a strong start in the third set, Rybakina faced challenges when serving for the match, allowing Azarenka to break back and level the score at 5-5. However, Rybakina held her nerve and forced a tiebreak, winning the first three points and ultimately securing the victory.
Rybakina, who has already claimed titles in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, and Doha this year, will now await the winner of the match between American Danielle Collins and Russian 14th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
