The Kazakh Elena Rybakina, seeded n°6, only needed two sets (6-3, 6-4), but seven match points, to qualify for the round of 16 of the Open of Australia against the Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, seeded n°32.
Rybakina, 7th WTA player in the world, will face the winner of the match between No. 19 seed Madison Keys and No. 10 seed Danielle Collins, who will close the day’s program on Saturday on the Rod Wash Arena.
Despite a medical timeout requested at 2-1 in the first set, Rybakina never really trembled to enforce the hierarchy, the heaviness of her first two blows in the exchange being most often fatal to her opponent. Yastremska managed the break well at the start of the second set to lead 2-0 but the Wimbledon 2022 winner remained in steamroller mode to come back and win.
At 6-3, 5-3, Yastremska held on for 12 minutes to keep her serve and save 6 match points. But the Kazakh was not destabilized when the time came to conclude her commitment to the next game.
-Yastremska loses 2024 Australian Open points
Since the start of the tournament, Rybakina, despite the controversy linked to the suspension of her former coach, has continued the rounds without losing energy. She took out the Australian wild card Emerson Jones, without being worried by the score (6-1, 6-1), and the American wild card Iva Jovic (6-0, 6-3).
Yastremska leaves Melbourne after two good matches against the Egyptian Mayar Sherif (6-1, 6-4), and the Montenegrin Danka Kovinic (6-0, 6-1). But she will lose the points from her 2024 semi-final and find herself below 70th place in the world in ten days. A new season begins for that.
Other third round matches at the Australian Open (Grand Slam, Melbourne Park, hard, 60,627,573 USD, results displayed from newest to oldest):
- Madison Keys – Danielle Collins: scheduled for Saturday
- Elina Svitolina – Jasmine Paolini: scheduled for Saturday
- Beatriz Haddad Maia – Veronika Kudermetova: scheduled for Saturday
- Daria Kasatkina (N.9) – Yulia Putintseva (N.24) : 7-5, 6-1
- Eva Lys (LL) – Jaqueline Cristian : 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
- Iga Swiatek (N.2) – Emma Raducanu : 6-1, 6-0
- Emma Navarro (N.8) – Ons Jabeur : 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
- Olga Danilovic – Jessica Pegula (N.7) : 7-6 [3]6-1
- Coco Gauff (N.3) – Leylah Fernandez (N.30) : 6-4, 6-2
- Belinda Bencic – Naomi Osaka: Bencic qualified (7-6 [3] ab.)
- Mirra Andreeva (N.14) – Magdalena Frech (N.23) : 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
- Paula Badosa (N.11) – Marta Kostyuk (N.17) : 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
- Aryna Sabalenka (N.1) – Clara Tauson : 7-6 [5]6-4
- Donna Vekic (N.18) – Diana Schneider (N.12) : 7-6 [4]6-7 [3]7-5
- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (N.27) – Laura Siegemund : 6-1, 6-2
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