Elena Rybakina secured her second victory over Simona Halep today after also ousting the former world No. 1 in singles 6-4 at the World Tennis League.
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On Friday, the Kazakh tennis star and Caroline Garcia gave an early lead to Team Falcons after they edged out the Romanian and Jasmine Paolini 7-6 (5) in a doubles thriller.
Shortly after the doubles match ended, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and the two-time Grand Slam winner kicked off their singles encounter.
And again, it was Rybakina who finished on the winning side and now Team Falcons have a 13-10 lead against Team Kites. But unlike in doubles - where she and Garcia nearly blew a 5-3 lead and multiple match points - the 25-year-old completed this victory without major drama.
It was the first meeting between the two since the Kazakh won their 2022 Wimbledon semifinal en route to lifting her maiden Grand Slam title at The Championships that year.
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How Rybakina saw off Halep at the World Tennis League?
Through the opening three games of the match, as many breaks were seen. Only in the fourth game, the first hold of serve was seen as the current world No. 6 opened a 3-1 lead.
Then, the 2022 Wimbledon championhad a great chance to go up by a double break but Halep saved three consecutive break points before winning the game via a deciding point at deuce.
However, blowing four consecutive break points didn't impact the 25-year-old, who didn't panic and routinely on to her serve for the rest of the match to register the win.
It should be noted that the Kazakh had her first match point on Halep's serve in the ninth game but didn't convert.
By sealing two triumphs today, Rybakina perfectly bounced back after losing to Aryna Sabalenka in singles yesterday and also falling short to the Belarusian and Mirra Andreeva in her doubles match with Garcia.
