Sabalenka and Rybakina ease through openers at bett1 Open Berlin

Tuesday, 20 June 2023 at 17:51

The second day of action at the bett1 Open Berlin saw both Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka surge through to the second round in Germany.

Sabalenka cruised through in a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 win over Vera Zvonareva.

Sabalenka needed just 66 minutes to defeat the former Wimbledon finalist and fellow former World No.2. This in a 6-3, 6-2 victory to extend her undefeated record against her to 3-0 after their first grass court meeting.

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This featured 27 winners as she quelled three from her opponent as well as the same number of break points converted by Sabalenka who will face either Veronika Kudermetova or Qinwen Zheng next.

It was another Kudermetova that fell to Rybakina. The No.2 seed eased through 6-4, 6-2 against Polina Kudermetova.

This extends her active winning streak to nine heading back to her Rome title in May. It was also her first match since withdrawing from Roland Garros due to illness.

It was a first match for Rybakina since she won Wimbledon with her only vulnerability being break point conversion. She had 11 chances but only took three.

Kudermetova as a result had the knack of finding her biggest serve at these moments to take it away but it was still a comprehensive win. Another grass court stalwart is next Donna Vekic with a 1-0 head to head record for her.

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José Morgado

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#2 Aryna Sabalenka starts her grass season with a win over 2010 Wimbledon runner up Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 to reach the 2nd round in Berlin. She was very good today.

2:53 PM · Jun 20, 2023

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