Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina returns the ball to Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva during the 2024 WTA Tour Madrid Open tournament quarter-final tennis match at Caja Magica in Madrid on May 1, 2024. (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)
Madrid: Elena Rybakina battled back from 2-5 down in the deciding set and saved two match points to overcome Yulia Putintseva 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 and reach the Madrid Open semi-finals on Wednesday.
The fourth-seeded Rybakina produced key serves to swat away two match points at 2-5 and broke Putintseva as she was serving for the victory at 5-3.
In the first all-Kazakhstani quarter-final at this level on the women’s tour, Rybakina lacked efficiency on her break point opportunities, converting just three of 12 chances, and struggled to deal with Putintseva’s deft drop shots.
But a late-match collapse from Putintseva, who smashed her racquet and left it on court after the match – helped Rybakina advance to her sixth semi-final of the season, where she will face defending champion Aryna Sabalenka or 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva.
Rybakina owns a tour-leading 30 wins in 2024, and has been successful in her last 12 deciding sets this season.
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