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Thanasi Kokkinakis has hailed Elena Rybakina as the 'nicest girl ever' after the Kazakh beat Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the Indian Wells final on Sunday (March 19).
In a rematch of the pair's Australian Open final this year, which Sabalenka won in three sets, the reigning Australian Open champion made a bright start, breaking for 3-2. However, Rybakina restored parity at 4-4 and saw a set point at 6-5 come and go as a tiebreak ensued.
In the 17-minute breaker, the Kazakh squandered four set points and saved two before taking the opener. Incredibly, that was her sixth tiebreak won in 2023, and there would be no looking back. Rybakina streaked ahead 5-2 in the second, and despite Sabalenka reeling off eight straight points, the reigning Wimbledon champion converted her first championship point to win her first WTA 1000 title.
Following Rybakina's win, Kokkinakis tweeted:
"Rybakina looks like the nicest girl ever."
As if to reiterate that he intended no pun with his previous tweet, the Australian tweeted:
"Not having a crack. relaaax"
The defeat was Sabalenka's second in 19 matches this year as she fell short of becoming the first woman to win three titles in 2023. Meanwhile, Rybakina came up trumps against the Belarusian for the first time at the fifth time of asking.
"Feels amazing" - Elena Rybakina after winning Indian Wells
Elena Rybakina was understandably over the moon after landing the first WTA 1000 title of her career.
Acknowledging that she had another tough battle with an opponent who has had her number, the Kazakh expressed relief at getting across the line. She said in her post-match press conference about the importance of taking an 'epic' first set:
"Feels amazing. It's been tough but really good two weeks for me here. We both had chances (in the first set), but in the end, it went my way. So I think it was important this first set, and then it was a bit easier to start the second with an early break. This tiebreak was really epic, I would say, with all these double faults and nerves. So in the end, it was just focusing on every point and try to fight till the end."
Having dumped out top seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semis, Elena Rybakina downed another top player - Sabalenka - to win one of the biggest titles on tour. In the process, she became the first player to beat the top two players at Indian Wells and is projected to rise to a career-best ranking of No. 7
