Elena RYBAKINA forced to dig deep in deciding set win over Magdalena Frech, into Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Quarter-Finals
WTAWednesday, 21 February 2024 at 13:31
World No.4, Elena Rybakina had to dig deep to survive a stern test from Polish qualifier, Magdalena Frech in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. She was forced to come from 5-3 down in the first set to eventually win 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4.
Rybakina had prevailed with relative ease in their previous meeting 6-4, 6-3 albeit that was all the way back in 2018 in Taipei. But needed two hours and 39 minutes this time to see off the World Number 53. Her opponent reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the Australian Open and is set for a top 50 debut next week so her ranking is perhaps a bit of a poor reflection on where her game currently is.
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But for Rybakina, she is through to a second Quarter-Final in Dubai and with Ostapenko losing, she resumes her reign as the WTA Queen in terms of match wins so far this year. She now sits at 17-3 this season and has only lost so far this year to Iga Swiatek, Anna Blinkova and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
But unlike when she played Brisbane and Adelaide back-to-back, the three in a row that she is currently on hasn't hampered her despite only limping through against Frech. She will next face Jasmine Paolini who confounded the woes of Maria Sakkari, a spot in the semi-finals awaits. Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff will both aim to join Rybakina in the latter stages this afternoon facing Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova in top clashes.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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