Kvitova takes her chances to down Rybakina in Adelaide

09.01.2023 - 06:41 channelnewsasia.com

ADELAIDE : Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova ousted the current holder of the All England Club title Elena Rybakina 6-3 7-5 in the opening round of the Adelaide International 2 on Monday to continue her winning start in the new season.

Preparing for her 15th visit to the Australian Open where she was a finalist in 2019, Czech Kvitova pounced on her one break opportunity to claim opening set in just over half an hour.

The second set of the contest was just as tight with no break points until the 11th game when Kvitova earned two and converted the second for a 6-5 lead with a blistering forehand return.

The 32-year-old, who beat world number three Jessica Pegula while representing her country at the United Cup last week, served out for the match to set up a second round clash with American Shelby Rogers or China's Qinwen Zheng."I was trying to wait for my chance to see if I could break her," said the world number 16. "My serve worked really well today, so I'm happy with that.

Petra Kvitova Sloane Stephens Elena Rybakina Iga Swiatek U.S.Open Jessica Pegula Caroline Garcia France Usa Australia China Czech Republic county Rogers county Shelby

Aryna Sabalenka tamed her nerves to blast her way to a maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Kazakh 22nd seed Elena Rybakina on Saturday in a thrilling final featuring two power-hitters in the women's game.

Rybakina to enter top 10 but says career boost won't change her

MELBOURNE : Elena Rybakina will become the first Kazakh tennis player to enter the top 10 singles world rankings after her run to the Australian Open final on Saturday, making up somewhat for the points she missed out on in her Wimbledon triumph last summer.

Rybakina says struggled under Sabalenka ‘pressure’ in final loss

MELBOURNE: Elena Rybakina said she struggled with the “pressure” and aggression from Aryna Sabalenka in falling to defeat in the Australian Open final on Saturday. The Russian-born Kazakh gave as good as she got over three pulsating sets at Melbourne Park before losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the face of some ferocious hitting from fifth seed Sabalenka. Rybakina, who has one of the most potent serves in women’s tennis and some of the fiercest groundstrokes, powered down nine aces and 31 winners over two hours and 28 minutes of punch and counter-punch.

Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka registers come-from-behind win over Elena Rybakina to secure maiden Grand Slam title

The 24-year-old registered a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over the Kazakh 22nd seed Rybakina in a thrilling final between two of the most exciting power-hitters in the women's game at the Rod Laver Arena. The finale between Sabalenka and Rybakina lasted close to two and a half hours.

Aryna Sabalenka battles back to beat Elena Rybakina and win maiden grand slam at Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a set down to defeat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and claim her first grand slam title in a terrific Australian Open final.