Elena Rybakina continued her good run at Roland Garros this year by beating Linda Noskova in straight sets to advance to the 3rd round of the event.
It was a pretty solid performance by Rybakina who was able to keep the match in straight sets and advance to the next round. She showed off her good play in both sets winning in different ways. The first one saw her dominate the rallies with her baseline play while the second set saw her serve pretty well making things a lot easier on herself.
Speaking after the match Rybakin admitted that it was a tricky match as she struggled on the returns a bit but overall she was happy to get the win and move on:
"Yes, she played really well today. I was struggling a lot on the serves. She has a raelly good serve. Overall happy that I managed to win.
Rybakina has now proven herself on all surfaces. As referenced in her post-match interview, Rybakina won Wimbledon on grass, played in the Australian Open final which is played on hard courts and now won a big trophy on clay. Despite her level improving on clay, Rybakina still feels least comfortable on that surface:
"I can't say here is is easy for me. Every match it's getting better and better. Was a bit slippery for me also, struggling with the serve so I have to improve. Hopefully with every match I'll just play better and better."
She's looking good so far and if she keeps improving she'll certainly be a candidate to go all the way in Paris. The style she plays is a good fit on every surface and now it's about producing the level needed in the big matches.
Elena Rybakina after beating Linda Noskova at Roland Garros: “She played really well today. I was struggling a lot with her serves. She has a really good serve. Overall, I’m happy I managed to win. It was a lot of opportunities & wasn’t easy in the end. I’m happy with the win.”
