Ten set points saved, one set still lost
Diana Shnaider threw everything at Elena Rybakina in the first set of their Ningbo semi-final on Saturday. She saved ten set points. She still lost it 6-3. In the second, the 22-year-old Russian broke back to level at 5-5, then dropped her own serve immediately and the match was gone, 7-5.
It puts Rybakina into the final of the WTA 500 in China, and it is her first as world No. 1. The week has not been easy. On Friday she needed three sets to get past Katarzyna Kawa (6-1, 3-6, 6-1), and before Ningbo she had played one match since winning the US Open more than a month ago, a first-round exit in Beijing.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
Fernandez stands in the way
The opponent on Sunday is Leylah Fernandez, ranked 30th. The Canadian has beaten Rybakina in two of their five meetings, which makes this a less comfortable final than the ranking gap suggests. Shnaider, a Roland-Garros semi-finalist this season, will be left wondering how those ten set points slipped away.
There is another final on the schedule at the WTA 250 in Osaka. American Ashlyn Krueger, ranked 55th, knocked out top seed and fellow American Ann Li, and will face Katerina Siniakova. The doubles specialist, ranked 86th, is playing her first singles final at that level since 2023.
Discover the rest of the TENNIS news on our mathodds website and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply