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Elena Rybakina registered a dominant 6-3, 6-0 win against Martina Trevisan on March 28, Tuesday, to advance to the 2023 Miami Open semifinals. Rybakina gradually improved her performance throughout the match and won in 68 minutes with a bagel over her Italian opponent in the second set.
Rybakina is the first woman since Sofia Kenin (in Toronto and Cincinnati in 2019) to advance to her first two WTA 1000 semifinals in consecutive tournaments. This was her 12th straight victory, a run which began at the Dubai Tennis Championships. She will play in her 18th career semifinal and 13th on a hard court on March 30, Thursday.
During her quarterfinal clash, Rybakina also made history by becoming the first woman since Serena Williams at the US Open 2020 to serve 10+ aces in four separate matches of the same tournament.
Following her victory, Elena Rybakina stated in her on-court interview that while she was happy to have won, she was dissatisfied with her first serve percentage. However, the Kazakh quickly expressed her hope that, despite everything, she can continue to win like this.
"I’m very happy to go through. I managed to change my game in the second set. I was not rushing so much, I was not playing that fast maybe," Rybakina said.
"I’m not really happy with my first serve percentage but overall it was a good match and hopefully I can continue like this," she added further.
Elena Rybakina to meet either Jessica Pegula or Anastasia Potapova in the semifinals
Elena Rybakina will face either American Jessica Pegula or Russian Anastasia Potapova in the semifinals. Interestingly, the Kazakh does not have a head-to-head advantage over either of the players. While her record against Pegula is 2-0 in favor of the American, against Potapova, it is 1-0 in favor of the Russian.
World No. 3 Pegula is coming off a fourth-round victory over Poland's Magda Linette, while Potapova is coming off a triumph over China's Qinwen Zheng.
If Elena Rybakina progresses to the final, there is a high chance that she will meet Aryna Sabalenka in the title bout, whom she defeated a week ago in Indian Wells to win the WTA 1000 title. They also met in the finals of the 2023 Australian Open, where Sabalenka defeated the 23-year-old to win her first Grand Slam singles title.
Furthermore, the 2022 Wimbledon champion is now just two victories away from becoming the fifth woman to complete the "Sunshine Double," winning back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami in the same season.
