Elena Rybakina is discovering that her big serve and heavy groundstrokes can do damage on clay courts, too. (More Tennis News)
The Wimbledon champion was dominating 21-9 with winners when Ukrainian opponent Anhelina Kalinina retired due to a left thigh injury early in the second set of the rain-delayed Italian Open final on Saturday.
Elena Rybakina is discovering that her big serve and heavy groundstrokes can do damage on clay courts, too. (More Tennis News)
The Wimbledon champion was dominating 21-9 with winners when Ukrainian opponent Anhelina Kalinina retired due to a left thigh injury early in the second set of the rain-delayed Italian Open final on Saturday.
바카라I can play good on all the surfaces,바카라 Rybakina said. 바카라It바카라s just maybe for clay I need to be ready more physically and maybe have a lot of preparation.바카라
It바카라s been quite a year for Rybakina, who reached the final of the Australian Open, also won an elite title in Indian Wells and was the runner-up in Miami.
바카라I바카라m proud that I can maintain this level,바카라 she said. 바카라I can see improvements on the court, physically also. ... I think there is still a lot of room to improve.바카라
On Monday, Rybakina will move up to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings and will be a contender at the French Open, which starts next weekend.
바카라She바카라s serving 200 kph (125 mph). She바카라s also making winners like no one on tour,바카라 Kalinina said. 바카라Anyone can win in Paris, but she has good chances.
바카라I am sure if she바카라s going to do like this, maybe new world No. 1 for sure.바카라
Rybakina was leading 6-4, 1-0, 15-0 when Kalinina called for a trainer and grasped her left leg as she teared up. She then decided she couldn바카라t continue.
The final began at almost 11 p.m. on Saturday and Rybakina lifted the trophy after midnight on Sunday.
바카라I바카라m really sorry that I couldn바카라t play,바카라 Kalinina said during the awards ceremony as the crowd 바카라 which had waited under the rain for hours before the night session started 바카라 whistled.
Holger Rune will face Daniil Medvedev in the men바카라s final on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Rune rallied past Casper Ruud 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2 and Medvedev performed a little celebratory dance after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 7-5 in a semifinal that was suspended twice in the first set for a total of nearly 4½ hours due to rain.
Rybakina earned her biggest title on clay. Her only other trophy on the surface came in Bucharest in 2019.
The 47th-ranked Kalinina was playing in the biggest final of her career, and has been dedicating her performances to her war-torn country.
Kalinina바카라s family home was destroyed in a Russian attack last year. Also, her elderly grandparents have had to relocate from the southern city of Nova Kakhovka 바카라 which is held by Russian forces 바카라 to Kyiv. Kalinina바카라s parents work as tennis coaches in Kyiv and she said on Friday there was a 바카라huge, huge bomb near them, near their academy바카라 a few days ago.
Rybakina was born in Moscow and has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered funding to support her tennis career.
Kalinina spent more than four hours longer on court than Rybakina entering the final, having won the longest match on the women바카라s circuit this season 바카라 3 hours, 41 minutes against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarterfinals. She also required three sets to beat Russia바카라s Veronika Kudermetova in an emotionally charged semifinal.
바카라I feel like I am at my physical limit today,바카라 Kalinina said.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek also retired in the third set against Rybakina in the quarterfinals due to a right thigh injury.
Rune, who eliminated six-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, improved to 7-1 in his career against players ranked in the top five.
바카라I play some of my best tennis when I play the top guys of the world,바카라 Rune said. 바카라You need it against those players.바카라
Making the final marked quite a turnaround for Medvedev, who lost his opening match in Rome in his three previous appearances. If he beats Rune, Medvedev will return to No. 2 in the rankings and thus be seeded second for the French Open, which starts next weekend.
It will be just the second clay-court final for Medvedev, and first since 2019.
He celebrated with a little dance after converting his first match point more than six hours after the match started.
바카라It바카라s like being in the club completely drunk,바카라 Medvedev said. 바카라When you are dancing 바카라 and I have a lot of friends like this 바카라 you feel like you are the god of the dance floor. But then when they show you the video it was not the thing.바카라
Medvedev embraced the challenge of the delays: 바카라Sometimes it can throw you off, you can be a little bit angry. Today, I don바카라t know why, I was just kind of laughing.바카라
The seventh-ranked Rune was down a set and a break before he overcame Ruud, who had won all four of their previous meetings.
바카라It바카라s crazy. I really played some of my best tennis, especially the last two matches, first against Novak and then against Casper,바카라 Rune said.
It will be Rune바카라s third clay-court final this season after losing to Andrey Rublev in Monte Carlo and beating Botic van de Zandschulp in Munich.
바카라He plays very fearless, takes the ball early, which is really impressive to do on clay,바카라 Ruud said.
The semifinal was filled with memorable points as both players routinely ran down drop shots and rushed back and forth across the baseline.
바카라There were some great rallies,바카라 Ruud said. 바카라It was a fun match to play.바카라