Rybakina takes one win in WTA finals after defeating Fernandez in Tokyo – Tennis Now
Elena Rybakina It was a win in qualifying for this year’s WTA Finals.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion defeated Leila Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo to set up a quarter-final matchup with Canada’s Victoria Mboko. If Rybakina can win, she will leapfrog Milla Andreeva into eighth place in the race for the WTA Finals, effectively ending the tournament.
Rybakina lost to Fernandez in a three-set tiebreak in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, but she beat the 22nd-ranked Canadian with relative ease in 88 minutes.
The first set was broken in the seventh game. Rybakina gained the upper hand after breaking three consecutive games. She broke Fernandez in the tenth game and won 6-4.
In the second set, Rybakina broke serve at 2-0 and then saved three break points to chase the score to 4-1. The world No. 7 easily held on for his 50th win of the season (50-19) and will be out of trouble.
Rybakina successfully resolved three of four break points on the day and saved four of five break points.
Seven players, including Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Jasmine Paolini, have been selected to participate on November 1 to qualify for the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
