Aryna Sabalenka ‘happy’ to rise to the challenge of another battle with Elena Rybakina
Aryna Sabalenka in Miami
Aryna Sabalenka admitted that any time you have to face Elena Rybakina you will be in for an immense challenge.
Sabalenka made that confession after her Madrid Open quarter-final win over Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday evening.
The Belarusian had to end the Madrid run of teenager Mirra Andreeva for the second year in a row to book that date with Rybakina.
Sabalenka extended her winning streak in Madrid to 10 matches and advanced to the semifinals for a third time.
The no 2 ranking spot will also be on the line when Sabalenka takes on Rybakina and although the world No 4 cannot snatch No 2 status given Coco Gauff’s points haul from Madrid has put her out of reach, she can still overtake Sabalenka and take over the No 3 ranking if she wins the WTA 1000 event.
If Sabalenka wins their semi-final meeting she will secure the No 2 ranking ahead of Gauff when the next update is performed on Monday 6 May.
The Australian Open champion is out to become just the second woman to win three Madrid titles following in the footsteps of Czech star Petra Kvitova, and will face No 4 seed Rybakina in the semifinals in their ninth career meeting.
The former world No 1 appears to be peaking at the right time as she played some of her best tennis in Madrid against Andreeva.
During the one-hour and nineteen-minute match played under a closed roof at Manolo Santana Stadium, Sabalenka didn’t face a break point, and a run of successive game wins in each set enabled her to seize control of the contest. It was Sabalenka’s first victory in straight sets throughout her championship defence; she had to win in a decider against Danielle Collins, Magda Linette, and Robin Montgomery.
Sabalenka took a lot from the manner of her win given how well Andreeva has played this week.
“I’m super happy with the level I played today, and with this win,” Sabalenka said afterwards. “She’s an incredible player even though she’s super young. Conditions suit me well, and hopefully, I can just keep going the way that I’m going.”
While she holds a 5-3 lead in their head-to-head, Sabalenka expects Rybakina to lift her game for the last four meeting between these great rivals.
“It’s never easy if you get to the semifinals. Elena, we’ve had so many great battles,” Sabalenka added.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge for me, but I’m happy to accept this challenge, and I’ll do my best to get this win and hopefully. I’m going to bring my best tennis.”
Sabalenka and Rybakina will headline the evening session in Madrid on Thursday.