Elena Rybakina
2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina will face Ukrainian qualifier Marta Kostyuk in the round of 16 of the Adelaide International on Wednesday.
After her surreal performance at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, the player from Kazakhstan has experienced rough sailing. While there were some encouraging results like the runner-up finish at the Slovenia Open and run to the semis at the Ostrava Open, there were also quite a few early exits as well.
Rybakina began the new season on a positive note with an excellent win against Danielle Collins after dropping the first set. The match eventually ended 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in favor of the 23-year-old. Rybakina was exceptional with her serves and sent across 14 aces. She had a win percentage of 86 on the first serve. This come-from-behind win will surely give her a lot of confidence going forward in the tournament.
The 20-year-old had to get through the qualifiers before playing in the main draw. She faced dangerous players like Cristina Bucsa and Mayar Sherif in the qualifiers and won both matches in straight sets.
In the round of 32, Kostyuk squared off against Australia’s Jaimee Fourlis and won the match in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Kostyuk committed 8 double faults during the match and would be thankful that it didn’t come back to haunt her. She would hope to reduce the number when she takes on Rybakina.
Elena Rybakina and Marta Kostyuk have not faced each other as yet. Therefore, the head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0.
Prediction: Elena Rybakina to win in three sets.
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