World #4 Elena Rybakina is the first player to EVER beat two-time champ and #1 Iga Swiatek in Stuttgart. 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in 2h50 to reach the final. Now leads the h2h 4-2 vs. the Pole, 2-0 on clay.
Iga SWIATEK's Stuttgart stronghold is over as Elena RYBAKINA breaks through at Porsche Tennis Grand Prix to reach final
WTASaturday, 20 April 2024 at 17:02
The first ever player to beat Iga Swiatek at the tournament that she has been often unbeatable at is Elena Rybakina with the Kazakh ace sealing a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over the World No.1 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. She faces either Marketa Vondrousova or Marta Kostyuk tomorrow and will be favourite for another title based off this display.
Rybakina won multiple titles to start the year and looked unstoppable alongside Jelena Ostapenko, but while the latter floundered due to poor form, it was illness again that got Rybakina. After brushing aside Aryna Sabalenka in Brisbane, it was the Belarusian who stormed to Australian Open glory.
She then went to Abu Dhabi and sealed that title as well as reaching the final in Doha and Miami recently, the latter after she had just come through a bout of Gastrointestinal flu. But ahead of defending vital points from Rome, her return to the court has been superb once more. Brutal power, superb serving and aside from a few wobbles at times supreme confidence as she took down the Queen of Clay.
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She now leads the head to head 4-2 over the Pole and it is 2-0 on clay. The World No.4 also becomes the first player to reach five finals in the first four months of the year since Victoria Azarenka back in 2012 showing an incredible level of consistency. This aside from of course ending Swiatek's run which didn't look like coming to a close.
Sealing the match in just under three hours, she could've sewed up the first set a lot more comfortably. After breaking Swiatek twice to go 4-2 up, she had chances at 5-2 to seal the set but missed four set points and survived a break point before finally claiming it. The second was one of fine margins as Rybakina saved break points in two separate service games from Swiatek before finally succumbing at 5-4 down to the World No.1 to force a decider. But she eventually broke to make it 3-2 and went two away from the title. She survived a break point at 4-3 and went on to go one away before breaking to seal the match on her second match point. Superb from the Ice Queen.
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