Elena Rybakina sealed victory to reach the semi-finals of the Miami Open for a second year in a row defeating Maria Sakkari in a gruelling clash 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 after grinding it out for two hours and 49 minutes. Not exactly ideal in the case of the Kazakh after being sick for the past week and a half and still not being 100%.
Rybakina admitted as much on Tennis Channel after her previous win with gastrointestinal illness still making it difficult for the World Number Four who said after defeating the Greek that she was exhausted and got lucky at times in defeating the Indian Wells finalist. As well as that she now needs to recover.
She will have a day in between though after playing three days in a row with her semi-final against Victoria Azarenka not been played until Thursday. But perhaps given the form of the Belarusian, it could yet be a tough day at the office.
"I have no words because I’m so tired but really happy with the win. It was such a tough battle. We played before and it was the same, really happy that I managed to get the win, got a bit lucky with new balls, it was easier to serve it out but now I need to recover," Rybakina said during her on-court interview on the Hard Rock Stadium.
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Elena Rybakina after beating Maria Sakkari to reach Miami SF:
“I have no words because I’m so tired. Really happy with the win. It was such a tough battle. We played before and it was the same. I’m happy I managed to win. Got a bit lucky with new balls, it was easier to serve it