Winner's Circle: Rybakina rebounds with title win in Hobart

Welcome to Winner’s Circle, a segment where we review each winner of every ATP and WTA tournament during the truncated 2020 season.

This week, we shall journey along with Elena Rybakina as she builds off her impressive early season form to capture her 2nd career title at the 2020 Hobart International.

Hobart International
Winner: Elena Rybakina

Having fallen in the final at the Shenzhen Open the previous week, Rybakina was eager to keep her foot on the pedal in Hobart. Being seeded third, the Kazakh native made quick work of Tamara Zidansek 6-1 6-4 in her opening round match.

Awaiting Rybakina in the second round was France's Alize Cornet. The third seed saved four break points before finally vanquishing Cornet 7-5 6-3 in an hour and 35 minutes.

Rybakina faced unseeded Australian Lizette Cabrera in a two and a half hour marathon quarterfinal. She edged out her opponent 6-7(4) 7-6(2) 7-5, despite the home crowd being fully behind Cabrera.

The 20-year old's mental fortitude was on display again during her semifinal match against Heather Watson. The Brit had upset top seed Elise Mertens in the quarterfinals, and was playing remarkably well.

In a match that saw frequent exchange of breaks, Rybakina was able to outlast her opponent. The Kazakh prevailed 6-3 4-6 6-4 and advanced to her second consecutive final of the season.

Rybakina would face fourth seeded Shuai Zhang of China in their first meeting on the WTA circuit. Zhang was looking to remain undefeated in WTA singles finals, winning her previous two at Guangzhou in 2013 and 2017.

After racing to a 3-0 lead in the first set, Rybakina's momentum faltered as Zhang leveled the set at 4-4. A tiebreak ensued with the Kazakh emerging triumphant after Zhang squandered a set point. The second set was evenly-contested until Rybakina played more aggressively, breaking to take a 4-3 lead. She ultimately served out the match 7-6(7) 6-3 to claim the second WTA singles title of her career.

This victory saw Rybakina rise four spots to World No.26 in the WTA rankings. It also signaled the young Kazakh's ascent into the top tier of WTA superstars.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDNoRjA7Tzo[/embed]

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