28 Mar 2024 11.25pm - WTA
by Diego Barbiani
[4] E. Rybakina b. [28] V. Azarenka 6-4 0-6 7-6(2)
Elena Rybakina had been absent from the courts since mid-February, due to various setbacks and ailments, and upon her return, despite struggling in practically every match, she managed to reach the final. The second final for her at the WTA 1000 in Miami came with a tough journey: four matches out of five so far lasting at least two and a half hours. The only “serene” day was that round of 16 match against Madison Keys which made her say that she finally felt like she was growing, before the great effort against Maria Sakkari and some doubts about her physical condition due to an ankle discomfort that seemed to emerge in the second set.
Rybakina, today, won a match played not at 100%, at times far from a good level, but with great character. Practically always helped by her serve, she managed to prevail against Victoria Azarenka in the decisive tie-break, but above all by stopping the pace of the Belarusian who, very fast, had dominated the second set in the first games of the decisive set. 6-4 0-6 7-6(2) the final score of a rather fluctuating match, where the former number 1 could perhaps eat his hands for not being able to maintain the brilliance of the second partial dominated in numbers rather than in scores : 24 points for her, only 5 for her rival.
Both came from two really delicate matches in the quarter-finals, because if Rybakina defeated Sakkari 6-4 in the third, Azarenka had a physical struggle against Yulia Putintseva, beaten just a couple of minutes before the three-hour mark. And in the first minutes today Elena seemed very careful in her steps on the pitch. When she held the game to 1-1 she looked at her corner and seemed to make a half-hearted grimace as she tested the support on her left ankle. Despite everything, the first set for her was impeccable with the former coming to help every time she had to win crucial points: three consecutive aces from 2-2 15-40, ace on a new break point at 4-3 and 40 -30 as he tried to consolidate the lead he had just taken, and a simply perfect service game at 5-4. In the first set, the break that the Kazakh took at 3-3 weighed heavily, a game in which Azarenka also committed two double faults.
Everything changed in the second set, as if to confirm the sensations that between the two Victoria was the one with more energy and cards still to play. Recovering an initial 15-30 deficit, the former world number 1 launched into a solo of great value, raising the return to levels that are often almost unattainable even for an excellent server like Rybakina, who lost serve at 0- 1 began to collapse, losing 15 consecutive points and reaching the third set with all the inertia possible. Here it was fundamental for Rybakina to return to serving to stop her opponent’s positive streak. She succeeded, finding her serve again and starting to make the forehand travel quite well down the line, and with Azarenka back a little more down to earth the match was again back in the balance. Indeed, the first break of the set was for the Kazakh, at 2-2, in a phase where the Belarusian had once again made several errors. In the game at 4-3, the culmination of this phase: Rybakina held the serve thanks to three gifts from her opponent, two of which directly from returns on second balls.
The last twist came when the number 4 seed served for the match, where she wasn’t able to complete the various points well when the serve wasn’t enough. For two games, Rybakina made mistakes right at the moment of finalization and Azarenka, very good at staying alive in every exchange, went up 6-5. At the worst moment, Elena brought out the best: seven consecutive first balls on the court, four direct points, a quick game for the tie-break and then rising to 5-1 at the tie-break, securing the victory. Perfect in this final phase, as in 2023 she is now one success away from the title in Miami. This year, in case, you won’t want to say Sunshine Double as it might have been 12 months ago, but it is a great step after the doubts about participation that will have remained until the day of the debut. She is now waiting for either Danielle Collins or Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Back to home
