Elena Rybakina shares her honest thoughts on facing Aryna Sabalenka again in Miami
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Elena Rybakina kept her good form going on Wednesday, coming from behind to beat Jessica Pegula in the Miami Open quarter-finals. Rybakina didn’t start well and dropped the opening set. She then went down a break early in the second set but managed to turn it around after that.
The Kazakh eventually pulled away to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and now moves on to face Aryna Sabalenka in the last four. With that win, Rybakina became the first player on the WTA Tour to defeat Pegula five times in a row. Elena Rybakina looks ahead to Aryna Sabalenka clash Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images During an interview on the Tennis Channel, host Steve Weissman asked the world number two whether she would like ‘revenge’ for her Indian Wells final loss.
Rybakina responded, “Well, not necessarily. I want to play of course any top player straight away. Aryna of course – I would prefer maybe to play in the final if she wins.
” She went on to say that her motivation isn’t about getting back at Sabalenka for that loss, but rather about learning from their matches and taking any positives she can from their battles. “But for me honestly, it’s not really about revenge. I had a lot of opportunities [Indian Wells] and it was in the third set kind of a roulette in Indian Wells and of course I just know we push each other and can learn from these matches,” Rybakina continued.
“But I want to come out from the match, no matter the result, and be happy with what happened on the court, what worked, maybe some little improvements. “It’s already a plus and hopefully we’ll play many more times. ” How to Watch Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: Start times and broadcast Info In the UK, fans might have a tough time catching Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina live, with the match scheduled for a 12:30 am GMT start.