Aryna Sabalenka denies Coco Gauff rankings breakthrough after Madrid Open win
Reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka produced a stunning fightback to beat Elena Rybakina in a sensational Madrid Open semi-final, which ended Coco Gauff’s hopes of climbing to No 2 in the WTA Rankings for the first time.
Sabalenka needed to reach another final in Madrid to deny Gauff a rise in the rankings and that seemed unlikely as Ryabkina stormed to the first set 6-1 and was a break up in the second as she closed in on victory.
Rybakina served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but a battling Sabalenka would not surrender and she fought back to secure a 1-6 7-5 7-6 (5) victory.
The quality of her tennis in the third set tie-break was simply sublime and she is relishing a match against world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the final.
“Definitely going to be a great battle,” said Sabalenka ahead of her latest showdown with Siwatek.
“We’re always fighting as hard as we can. It’s always incredible matches. I’m really looking forward to this final. I’m gonna do everything I can to get this win.”
READ MORE: The 15 countries that have produced WTA world No 1 singles players
Swiatek stormed into the final in the space of 71 minutes with a 6-1 6-3 win over Madison Keys before Sabalenka needed more than two hours to overcome Elena Rybakina and continue the defence of her title.
Swiatek, the world number one, broke serve in the second game of her match with Keys and, after saving two break points for a 4-1 lead, never looked in danger of relinquishing the upper hand against her big-hitting opponent.
“Feels really good,” Swiatek said in a courtside interview broadcast on Sky Sports.
“I wasn’t really thinking about what happened last year, but for sure repeating this great result is a great thing and I’m going to have a chance to play a nice match in two days, so it’s really exciting and I’m happy overall with the whole tournament.”
When asked to reflect on her battles with Sabalenka, the world No 1 admitted she has yet to play her best against her big rival despite leading their head-to-head 6-3.
“I wouldn’t say we’re trying to figure out, because we kind of know what I should play, but sometimes it wasn’t easy to implement it,” she continued.
“So I still feel like I haven’t played this match where I tactically played the best, you know, from the beginning till the end against these players.
“This is something that I want to kind of improve. So it’s not like we need to change a lot, but we need to, you know, stick to the plan and I need to implement it a little bit better, I think, sometimes.
“I’m feeling pretty confident right now. Every tournament I play, I reach the semi-finals or finals, so that is a nice place to be.”
Swiatek also revealed she is focusing on one key shot as she counts down to the French Open.
“I’m working on my first serve,” she added. “I didn’t feel like I needed to work on my second serve. We are focused on the first. It (her serve) has always been good on clay and this surface makes it better.”
