Miami (USA) – Finalist in the last edition of the WTA 1000 in Miami, Elena Rybakina is one victory away from equaling last year’s great campaign. The Kazakh, number 4 in the world, beat the Greek Maria Sakkkari, ninth placed, by 7/5, 6/7 (4-7), 6/4 in 2h48 of the match this Tuesday. It was Rybakina’s third victory in four matches against Sakkari on the circuit.
Winner of seven titles on the circuit, most notably Wimbledon in 2022, Rybakina is trying to reach her 18th career final. In the current season, the 24-year-old player was champion of Brisbane and Abu Dhabi and runner-up in Doha. In WTA 1000 tournaments, she has two titles and two runners-up, as well as two defeats in semis.
Rybakina’s opponent in the semi-final scheduled for next Thursday will be Victoria Azarenka, former world number 1 and three-time champion of the tournament. The 34-year-old Belarusian currently appears in 32nd place in the rankings and has ten achievements in level 1000 events. Rybakina has won the three previous duels between them. Earlier, Azarenka needed 2h55 to win Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 7/6 (7-4), 1/6 and 6/3.
Maria Sakkari was trying to repeat the best result of her career in Miami, the 2021 semifinal. Now coached by David Witt, Jessica Pegula’s former coach, the 28-year-old Greek is coming off a good result in Indian Wells, where she was a finalist. The former world number 3 regains two positions in the rankings with her campaign to the quarterfinals.
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In a game between two stylish players with a lot of power in their strikes, this Tuesday’s dispute was marked by quick games and points defined in a few exchanges of the ball. And most of the points were defined on the first ball after the serve or on returns. Rybakina was the first to break and led the opening set 4/2. Sakkari looked for a draw in the eighth game, but would have his serve broken again in the last game of the partial. Rybakina made two more winners, 10 to 8, and made one less error, 18 to 19.
Right from the first point of the second set, it was possible to see some variations from both players. Sakkari used backhand slices to break her opponent’s rhythm, Rybakina responded with a short shot, but the Greek managed to get to the ball and define the point. The Greek had a break above twice in the second set, leading by 4/2.
Rybakina saved herself from 15-40 in the seventh game and confirmed the serve with difficulty. Soon after, he returned the break and sought a draw. The Kazakh continued to play aggressively and use deeper balls to reach two match points. Sakkari managed to save himself, forced a tiebreak and equalized the match. The Greek made one more winner, 12 to 11, and made one less error, 22 to 23.
In the break between the second and third sets, Rybakina went to the locker room and caused a brief interruption in the match. Upon return, the Kazakh seemed to have regained her focus after so many missed opportunities in the second set. She faced no break-points in the decisive part and gave up just six points in her service games. After a period of balance until 3/3, she managed another break and made it 5/3. Sakkari still saved another match point on serve, but did not avoid defeat in the next game. Rybakina led the winners statistics by 35 to 32 and made 52 errors against 54. She managed five breaks compared to the Greek’s three, in a game with 24 break-points.
