One aspect of Elena Ryabakina’s game has left one tennis pundit feeling rather ‘jealous’.
The World number four continued her fine start to her French Open campaign with an impressive win over Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
The 25th seed is a tricky opponent who has a Grand Slam semi-final appearance under her belt, but the Kazak player made short work of her latest opponent.
She looked very comfortable under the roof on court Philippe Chatrier, where she played for the first time in the tournament.
Why did Alex Corretja say he is jealous of Elena Rybakina?
Rybakina dictated throughout her match against Mertens, using her serve and heavy groundstrokes to devastating effect.
The former Wimbledon champion lost her serve twice in the first set, but stayed in control by breaking her opponent’s serve for the rest of the set.
The second set was more straightforward as the 24-year-old needed just over an hour to claim a 6-4, 6-2 win. Post-match, pundit and former French Open finalist Alex Corretja said he was envious of the power Rybakina possesses.
“She can hit winners all over the place, with the forehand, the backhand, the serve,” the Spaniard told Eurosport. “The ball is so hard all the time, I’m jealous of her power, I would say. She also has the feel, even if she hits very hard.”
Elena Rybakina shows to play on all surfaces in different conditions
Rybakina claimed her fifth win over Mertens to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros for just the second time.
By doing so she became just the third player after Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur to reach the round of 16 at multiple Grand Slams on clay and grass courts since the start of the decade in 2020.
Corretja was also impressed by Rybakina’s ability to play her best tennis in slow and heavy conditions, which has been the theme of the 2024 French Open so far.
“The fact they are playing in these heavy conditions, I think Rybakina likes it as she can hit as hard as she wants, she’s not missing, and it’s difficult to move her,” he added.
“If it’s a little bit faster, maybe she gets a little bit off balance, but it’s not the case in these conditions with the roof on, with the heavy clay, so I think she likes the way it’s going this year at Roland-Garros, raining every day.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
