Rybakina prevails over Cornet in hard-fought second round match at Wimbledon

Elena Rybakina overcomes Alize Cornet to advance to the second round of 2023 Wimbledon.

The Kazakh player continues her quest to defend the title she won in 2022 at the All England Club. Rybakina arrived at the tournament with doubts due to physical difficulties in the past month, having played only two grass court matches before Wimbledon (record 1-1).

She faced a dangerous opponent in the form of French player Alize Cornet, who, despite not being in good form (world No. 73), has had good results at Wimbledon. Last year, she surprised by defeating world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round, ending a streak of 37 consecutive victories, but was eliminated in the fourth round by Australian player Ajla Tomljanovic.

Rybakina started strongly, securing an early break in the second game and quickly taking a 3-0 lead. With a nearly unbreakable serve against Cornet, she comfortably took the set 6-2, losing only one point on her serve and earning another break in the eighth game. The world No. 3 won 91% of points with her first serve and 100% with her second serve.

The second set saw Cornet finding her rhythm, improving her returns and becoming more effective on serve. With the score at 5-5, Cornet and Rybakina played an epic 25-minute game, featuring 12 deuces, until Cornet suffered a fall that forced her to take a medical time-out and receive treatment on her knee, visibly affecting her physically. Rybakina held her serve, and despite Cornet's resistance, the set went to a tie-break, which Rybakina won decisively 7-6(2).

Rybakina's victory sets up a meeting with local player Katie Boulter, who has reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the second time in her career, both times at Wimbledon. The 26-year-old British player defeated Viktoriya Tomova in the second round 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, allowing her to achieve her career-best ranking so far: world No. 71.