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Elena Rybakina struggled a bit early against 46th-ranked Rebecca Sramkova but ultimately managed to break the Slovak's resistance and get the job done in two sets 7-6 (1) 6-2 in their Doha round-of-16 match.
Early in the match, the No. 5 seed opened a 3-0 lead but it didn't take long before the Slovakian tennis player managed to get the break back.
A few games later, the Kazakh earned another break for a 5-3 lead - but when serving for the set - she got broken back again.
Ultimately, the first set went into a tie-break, where Rybakina stayed pretty calm and dominated it by losing only one point.
Failing to complete a first-set comeback turned out to be the end of Sramkova in the Doha match as the 2022 Wimbledon winner started the second set with a 4-0 lead before serving out for a two-set win in the eighth game.
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Now, Rybakina awaits the winner of the match between Iga Swiatek and Linda Noskova.
If the second-seeded Pole beats Noskova today and sets up a meeting against the Kazakh, fans in Doha would get an absolute quarterfinal treat.
Rybakina wins after tough Stefano Vukov news
On Tuesday evening, the WTA confirmed that the investigation into Vukov's behavior concluded and that he would remain suspended.
For the 25-year-old Kazakh, it was certainly a big blow as she didn't hide that she wanted the 37-year-old to be cleared and allowed to officially coach on the Tour again.
"Following this process, the suspension remains in place," the WTA announced on Tuesday.
"To protect the confidentiality and integrity of the investigation and its findings, the WTA will not provide further details.
"We remain committed to ensuring that all matters are handled in a fair and objective manner in accordance with the WTA Code of Conduct."
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The news wasn't great for Rybakina but she managed to handle the business against Sramkova.
