It had been a long time since we saw Elena Rybakina compete like she is this week at the WTA 1000 in Toronto. The way she turned the match around tonight against Naomi Osaka to reach the semifinals shows that she is back at her sweet spot.
The Kazakh had already been signing good victories from the beginning of the tournament, but what happened early this morning against Naomi Osaka is another level, a different height on her path to the title. We all know that winning the championship in Canada would put her only four points away from Aryna Sabalenka, although it seems better not to address that goal right now. Much better to focus on the present and take it match by match, so now she will have to study her next opponent, Cori Gauff. We heard Rybakina in the press conference.
Rybakina explains her comeback from 4-2 down in the second set
«It was again a very difficult match. Honestly, I don’t know how I managed to turn it around in the second set when I was down 4-2. I was just trying to stay positive, to keep close on the scoreboard. I’m very happy that I managed to turn it around.»
Osaka did not surprise her
«It wasn’t very different from the practices. She plays aggressively and has a very good serve, I knew what to expect because we had trained a couple of times. Of course, some moments under pressure are different from practice. In general, I felt like we knew each other a bit. For me, it was important to serve well, something I didn’t do at the beginning of the match. After that, I improved and I’m glad that in the end it worked out in my favor.»
Surviving in clutch moments
«In these kinds of points, I think I also had a bit of luck, because she should have won that point. But I also had a similar situation, with the ball on top of the net, and I couldn’t win it. I think it’s more about fighting and trying to return the ball in some moments. My mentality was just to stay close on the scoreboard, to try to play point by point. When I got to deuce and had my opportunities, I tried to play a bit more aggressively, perhaps with more risk, as also happened in the match point.»
15 aces and a decisive serve
«We worked on the serve all the time. I started this tournament really poorly, with too many double faults. Even today, I made quite a few, I would say in the first and second sets. In the third set, my serve improved a lot. We constantly worked on it due to the conditions, sometimes I lose my reference, and it’s also important to put all my energy into the serve. We always try to adapt and adjust things to the conditions, so it’s something we have to keep working on.»
An unexpected change in schedule
«I was expecting to hit a bit later, at least ten more minutes to get used to the night conditions. When we started, there was still a bit of sun, but then it was completely different from the matches I had played, because they had all been during the day. I couldn’t find the right feelings and it took me a while. Anyway, we arrived early because we knew anything could happen. I was prepared, but it would have been nice to hit when the conditions were really what we would have during the match.»
Coco Gauff, the next challenge for Rybakina in Toronto
«She is a great fighter, I know it will be a very difficult match, now it’s important to try to recover. If her serve starts functioning, it’s not easy to return it either, so I think what’s most important is to focus back on my serve, to stay concentrated, to take advantage of the opportunities when I have them, and to have a lot of energy from the start.»
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rybakina, tras su remontada épica ante Osaka: «Sinceramente, no sé cómo lo hice»