Elena Rybakina acknowledges Aryna Sabalenka has been lights out over the last few months but also warns the Belarusian that she is planning to "make it difficult" for her and potentially spoil her world No. 1 hopes.
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On Monday, the Kazakh tennis star lost all the chances of qualifying for the semifinal at the WTA Finals after Zheng Qinwen handed her a 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-1 loss. Two days earlier, the world No. 5 was also beaten by Jasmine Paolini in two sets.
However, Rybakina's campaign in Riyadh in still not officially over because she is still due to meet Sabalenka on Wednesday.
By winning her opening two matches in straight sets, the reigning Australian Open and US Open champion sealed a semifinal spot and also secured to finish Purple Group as the winner. But against the 2022 Wimbledon winner, she will definitely have something to play for - if she wins and finishes the Round Robin with a 3-0 record, she leave Iga Swiatek without chances of overthrowing her at the top spot and finish the year ranked as the world No. 1 for the first time in her career.
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But Rybakina won't be interested in simply handing out Sabalenka a win.
"She's been playing really well this year and she has a lot of confidence and it's going to be a difficult one definitely. But I feel that even today I played better than the last match so hopefully against her I can try to push myself a little bit more and we see how it goes. She's No. 1 now, so I want to enjoy and make it a bit difficult for her too."
What's the head-to-head between Rybakina and Sabalenka; What the Belarusian said?
Going into the match, the current world No. 1 leads their head-to-head 6-3. Between 2019 and 2021, the Belarusian won their opening three meetings. But since the start of 2023 and the period when the Kazakh established herself as a top player, they have split wins in their six matches.
When it specifically comes to this season, Rybakina annihilated Sabalenka on the hard courts of Brisbane earlier this year 6-0 6-3 in the final clash. A few months later, the world No. 5 was inches away from also winning their Madrid match but didn't manage to serve out for the match and ended up losing in three sets in the semifinal.
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However, there is no doubt who will be the favorite this time - the Belarusian has won 22 of her last 23 matches while Rybakina is playing just her first tournament in two months. But since accomplishing a major goal will be at stake, there may be somepressure on the 26-year-old's side. And she is the first to admit that it could get "tricky."
"Well, it's definitely, it's tricky, but you know, we're chasing here No. 1 so I'm gonna just keep that in mind, and I want to go for all of the points possible. And that's my motivation right now, and yeah, advancement," Sabalenka said.
How Rybakina felt about the Zheng loss?
When the Kazakh tennis star arrived in Riyadh, she admitted that she didn't have big hopes for the tournament simply because she was out for an extended period and just getting into shape for the season-ending event was a success. And after looking rusty versus Paolini, the same was the case against Zheng in certain moments.
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At one point in the second set, Rybakina was down by a set and a break but managed to force a decider after winning four consecutive games from 2-3 down in the set. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, she didn't have enough in the tank to complete a comeback after the Chinese dominated the third set with a 6-1 scoreline.
"Yeah today was a longer match and I think I had some chances also in the first set. I was always down but then in the tiebreak, just a couple of better points and then it would've been easier but overall I played again from beginning till the end this tough match, three sets. Not the result I wanted of course and definitely in the third set, physically I was already very tired and didn't feel the greatest but overall it's a good one for me," Rybakina reflected.
Meanwhile, Zheng was happy with the win but not that happy with the fact that she didn't get the job done earlier.
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I was the one to make the first break, and then I let her back in the first. Then it happened again in second. But in the third set I talked to myself. I broke her first and I stayed focused. Finally in the third set I start to play my tennis again. So Im really happy to win the match," the world No. 7 said after beating Rybakina.
