Aryna Sabalenka topples Elena Rybakina 6-4 4-6 6-3 in the quarter in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Sabalenka will play Maria Sakkari in the semifinal.
Live score progression and stats
The set was pretty even as both players managed to hold serve with the notable exception of 1 break that the Belarussian conquered in the 10th game (6-4).
The Belarussian was clinical in converting the only break point that she conquered in the 10th game (5-4 0-40). On the other side, Sabalenka didn’t concede a single break point during this set.
They contested 52 points. The Belarussian was the winner of the set after clinching 6 more points than the Kazakhstani (29-23). The Belarussian lost 7 points on serve (22-7). Regarding the other side of the net, Rybakina conceded 7 points on serve (16-7).
Rybakina had a favorable start in this set after breaking Sabalenka in the 1st game (1-0). Anyhow, that wasn’t sufficient for Rybakina to win the set as Sabalenka managed to break back in the 6th (2-4) game.
The Kazakhstani converted 40% of her break points (2/5). She had 5 break points opportunities in the 1st (0-0 40-A and 40-A) and the 5th game (3-1 15-40, 30-40 and 40-A). Moreover, on the other side, Aryna converted 50% of her break points (1/2). She had her opportunities in the 6th game (1-4 30-40 and 40-A).
They played 71 points. The set was a huge battle since finally the Kazakhstani won just 3 more points than Sabalenka (37-34). Elena lost 13 points on serve (20-13). on the other side of the net, Aryna conceded 17 points on serve (21-17).
Sabalenka was in a great position at the beginning of the set to break Rybakina in the 2nd game (2-0) before consolidating her break and lead 3-0. That was decisive for Aryna to win the set (6-3) as no one dropped a serve anymore.
The Belarussian converted 25% of her break points (1/4). She had 4 break points opportunities in the 2nd game (1-0 0-40, 15-40, 30-40 and 40-A). On the other side, the Belarussian didn’t concede a single break point during this set.
They played 54 points. Sabalenka won 4 more points than the Kazakhstani (29-25). Aryna dropped 10 points on serve (21-10). On the losing side, Elena conceded 8 points on serve (15-8).
Stats: aces, double faults, breaks, winners
1h:58
At the end of the match, Sabalenka scored 92 points vs. Rybakina’s 85.
The Belarussian won this match even if she had some problems converting her break points after she converted only 43% (3/7) of the procured opportunities. On the other side, Rybakina wasn’t that great in converting her break points (only 40% – 2/5). That was one of the key issues for her loss.
After this encounter, the head to head between Sabalenka and Rybakina is 2-0 for Aryna.
Highlights Aryna Sabalenka vs. Elena Rybakina Abu Dhabi Tennis Open – Abu Dhabi
Draw and next match H2H: Aryna Sabalenka vs. Maria Sakkari – stats
Sabalenka will fight against Sakkari in the semifinal.
This will be the 5th time that Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari face off. The head to head is 3-1 for Sabalenka (see full H2H stats), 3-1 on hard.
The last time that they locked horns, Sabalenka won 6-3 6-0 in the 3rd round in Doha back in 2020.
Tennis Scores in Abu Dhabi
- Maria SakkariSakkari – Sofia KeninKenin (2-6 6-2 6-0) – Stats and score progression
- Aryna SabalenkaSabalenka – Elena RybakinaRybakina (6-4 4-6 6-3) – Stats and score progression
- Veronika KudermetovaKudermetova – Elina SvitolinaSvitolina (5-7 6-3 7-63) – Stats and score progression
- Marta KostyukKostyuk – Sara Sorribes TormoSorribes Tormo (0-6 6-1 6-4) – Stats and score progression
Upcoming matches
- Maria SakkariSakkari – Aryna SabalenkaSabalenka (1-3) – H2H details and stats
- Marta KostyukKostyuk – Veronika KudermetovaKudermetova (0-0) – H2H details and stats
