Former Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina, emerged victorious against Dayana Yastremska with a score of 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday, securing her spot in the quarter-finals of the WTA Canadian Open in Montreal, where she will face Marta Kostyuk.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, who claimed her first title in over a year at Strasbourg in May, was hindered by nine double faults.
Despite this, she managed to overcome Ukraine’s Yastremska, who was fresh off a straight-sets victory over eighth-seeded American, Emma Navarro.
Yastremska initially led in the first set but capitalized on Rybakina’s serving struggles, securing a break to win the opening set after Rybakina had been leading 40-0.
Rybakina, seeded ninth, responded by breaking Yastremska twice to clinch the second set.
An ill-timed double fault cost her a break in the third set, but she broke Yastremska once more to lead 6-5, ultimately securing victory on her fourth match point with a high backhand volley winner.
Next, she faces Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who rallied from behind to defeat American McCartney Kessler 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
Kostyuk has reached the quarter-finals of WTA-1000 events in Qatar and Madrid this year. However, she arrived in Montreal without a win since making the fourth round in Rome.
“I hadn’t won a match in three months before this tournament. I didn’t have much confidence coming in,” she confessed, expressing gratitude to her team for their unwavering support.
The night session will feature top-seeded American Coco Gauff against 18-year-old Canadian wild card Victoria Mboko.
Gauff, the reigning French Open champion, has battled her way into the fourth round with two three-set victories and aims to raise her game against the Canadian favorite, who has captured crowd attention in her debut main draw appearance.
Mboko, participating in a 1000-level event’s round of 16 for the first time, took Gauff to three sets at the Rome clay courts earlier this year and expressed her excitement for another encounter with the American.
“She’s the number one seed of this tournament,” Mboko noted. “I am anticipating a tough match. It’s always special to face such phenomenal athletes and players like her.”
The winner will face either Zhu Lin of China or Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, each chasing their first quarter-final berth at a 1000-level event.
Zhu, once ranked as high as 31st globally, has fallen to 493rd following extended absences due to an elbow injury.