Elena Rybakina on Friday said she showed glimpses of her best form during her dominant win over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals at the BNP Paribas Open, adding that she feels she can beat anyone by maintaining that level.
The world No. 10 thrashed Swiatek 6-2, 6-2 to set up a clash with Aryna Sabalenka.
The Kazakh said that her aggressive style and booming serve made all the difference.
Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY
“Today I was pushing a lot. Overall, some players it’s more difficult to play against,” Wimbledon champion Rybakina said. “With Iga, she’s a tough opponent, but when I play like this and everything goes in... Today in some moments I played at my highest level. There are moments you feel: ‘OK, I can beat anyone if I always play like this.’”
“It’s the goal, but you never feel amazing and perfect every match,” she said. “I think today it was really good from me.”
Rybakina said she was reaping the rewards of the hard work she had done.
“I think I’ve been improving in these four years on tour. It’s just everything coming together — the experience, the team became bigger and I’m working a lot on fitness,” she said. “Just getting stronger a bit physically and just the work we did for the past four years. It’s showing now on the court and with my results.”
Rybakina is seeking to beat Sabalenka for the first time in their fifth meeting after losing to the Belarusian in the Australian Open final in January.
“It’s not going to be an easy match,” Rybakina said. “It’s going to be in these clutch moments that I need to play better. Hopefully now it’s going to change the score between us.”
Sabalenka defeated Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-2, 6-3 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS