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Elena Rybakina downed World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals of the 2023 China Open to book her place in the last four.
The Kazakh played flawless tennis to overcome Sabalenka in a high-intensity and powerful groundstroke-laden affair. The Belarusian was feeling the pressure as she double-faulted right at the end of the first set to hand Rybakina the lead and was broken twice in the second set. The former Wimbledon champion closed out the contest eventually in one hour and 36 minutes, 7-5, 6-2.
Tennis fans congratulated Rybakina for her second straight win over Sabalenka and her fourth straight win over a World No. 1 player this year. She previously defeated Iga Swiatek three times (Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Italian Open).
Many on X (formerly Twitter) were particularly impressed by Rybakina's impeccable serving as she hit 12 aces and did not face a single breakpoint in the second set.
"Rybakina the Number 1 slayer! 4-0 this year so far against the number 1 ranked player," a fan wrote.
"LoL rybakina is unbeatable when she's believing again," another user posted.
"Remember when aryna said indian wells would be the last time things would go elena’s way?" another account tweeted.
"I don’t know if I have ever seen her play so well. The serve and the forehand was frightening," another fan said.
"Baby face assassin..lol," one fan joked.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to Elena Rybakina's win over Aryna Sabalenka:
Elena Rybakina enters 5th WTA 1000 semifinal of 2023
Elena Rybakina will play her fifth semifinal at a WTA 1000 tournament this year when she takes on Liudmila Samsonova on October 7.
Besides winning the Indian Wells Open and the Italian Open, the World No. 5 also played in the final of the Miami Open (lost to Petra Kvitova) and reached the last four at the Canadian Open.
Samsonova will enter the semifinal clash in Beijing with a strong track record against Rybakina, whom she has beaten thrice. Their most recent encounter came at the 2023 Canadian Open, where the Russian ended Rybakina's run in the semifinal to make it into her first-ever WTA 1000 final.
Samsonova bettered Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 to qualify for her fourth semifinal on the 2023 WTA Tour in China.
Elena Rybakina began her China Open campaign with a stunning win over home favorite, Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 6-2. She then swept aside Tatjana Maria, 7-5, 6-0, and had to fight hard to survive against the young Russian sensation Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.
