Elena Rybakina’s impressive run at Roland Garros continued in style as she beat Elina Svitolina with consummate ease to book her place in the quarter-finals.
Rybakina’s match with Svitolina was anticipated to be a competitive contest, but the Kazakhstani star ultimately outclassed her opponent.
Svitolina failed to ever really threaten throughout the match, as Rybakina picked up a comprehensive 6-4, 6-3 victory.
The world number three showed her full repertoire of skills as she overpowered Svitolina from the baseline and made very few mistakes throughout the contest.
Rybakina is increasingly becoming more and more of a threat on clay nowadays, with Alex Corretja saying he is becoming very jealous of her ability.
And Wilander feels that even his opinion on the 24-year-old is starting to change, as her forehand is getting more spin than many realise.
“Rybakina is such a good tennis player these days,” he enthused on EuroSport.
“She doesn’t miss very much. I didn’t think that she had enough spin on a clay court, but she actually has more spin that you realise, on the forehand side especially. Backhand is just solid anywhere. The serve becomes a weapon when the sun is out, and it becomes a huge weapon with the side that has the wind. Her movement is literally improving day by day. After this, wow, you have to play good to beat her.”
Elena Rybakina’s strong record
Rybakina has now won 34 matches over 2024 to date, with only five defeats to her name.
She has now reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the second time in her career, with Aryna Sabalenka the only player to beat her on the dirt this year.
Rybakina even has a victory over Iga Swiatek on clay to her name in 2024, which proves she is now capable of beating the very best on the red surface on her day.
Rybakina will face Italian Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals, where she will once again be the favourite to progress.
Elena Rybakina press conference controversy
While Rybakina has sailed through Roland Garros on the court, it is away from the tennis where she has faced more problems.
The in-form star first criticised the WTA for their scheduling, after Indian Wells and Miami were extended in duration to two weeks, allowing for less recovery time.
Rybakina then got tetchy with journalists after being asked about her outfit of choice at the tournament.
She said: “These colors I didn’t choose. It was the brand who chose for me so… some other questions?”
After her next win she was then not requested by any media outlets, meaning she did no press following that victory. She has since returned to doing press conferences as usual.
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