Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot en route to a straight sets defeat of China’s Zheng Qinwen at the Miami Open. Photo: AFP
MIAMI:
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, the two top women’s players in the world, will battle it out in a Miami Open semi-final on Thursday after coming through their quarter-final matches.
World number one Sabalenka took down American Hailey Baptiste 6-4 6-4 on Wednesday and is looking to complete the coveted ‘Sunshine Double’ after her triumph in the Indian Wells final over fellow big-hitter Rybakina.
“It’s definitely going to be a battle,” Sabalenka said in an on-court interview. “It’s always a battle, always a fight, always a challenge.”
“We push each other to the limit and we always bring the best tennis… These are the matches where I get better as a player.”
With the win, the defending champion from Belarus improved to 21-1 for the year. She also holds a 9-7 edge over Rybakina in their career meetings.
RYBAKINA RALLIES
Earlier in the day, Rybakina rallied from a set down to beat Jessica Pegula 2-6 6-3 6-4 in their quarter-final to reach the Miami Open last four for the third time. It was her fifth consecutive win over the American, following victories this season at the Australian Open and Indian Wells.
“It’s always very difficult matches with Jessica,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview. “She started playing well, and I was a bit rushing and frustrated, but I’m happy that I managed to bounce back and turn it around in the second set.
“Couple times I got lucky. I was trying to come a little bit more to the net. Jessica plays very fast and sometimes short, so it was not easy to just stay back I had to adapt a little bit.”
Rybakina started the match slowly with 12 unforced errors in an opening set that had seen Pegula cruise out to a 4-0 advantage.
A decisive moment came in the fifth game of the second as Pegula squandered three break points at 2-2, throwing momentum in favour of Rybakina on her way to clinching the set.
Rybakina marched on from there to win the deciding set while finishing the match with 15 aces but having won just 98 points to Pegula’s 100.
Thursday’s other semi-final will see American Coco Gauff take on Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic for a place in the final of the WTA 1000 event.
