Elena Rybakina defeats Belarusian 27th seed Victoria Azarenka in a classic encounter to reach Saturday's final where she will face Danielle Collins; you can watch the Miami Open women's final live on Sky Sports Tennis from 4.30pm
Saturday 30 March 2024 09:21, UK
Elena Rybakina edged out Victoria Azarenka in a topsy-turvy encounter to reach the final of the Miami Open for the second consecutive year where she will face Danielle Collins.
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina improved to 4-0 over Azarenka and is now 22-3 this season after defeating two-time Grand Slam champion Azarenka 6-4 0-6 7-6 (7-2) to reach Saturday's final, which is live on Sky Sports Tennis from 4.30pm.
"The first set was really on the limit for me and I was pushing myself. I was serving well but then I knew the energy might go down and I stayed a bit on the court, which was a mistake because it's really humid and Vika came very aggressive, she started to play so well," Rybakina told Sky Sports Tennis.
"Also the return serve was difficult in the second set after three quick games. I knew it was going to be a third set, so I was preparing for that.
"Physically I haven't been at my best this tournament and I knew if I was negative there is no chance for me to win any match and honestly, I didn't have any energy to cheer myself up and show it to the box.
"I was just trying to focus on myself and keep the energy for myself."
In the opening set, Rybakina squandered her first five break-point chances before solving Azarenka's serve to grab a 4-3 lead and she leaned on her astonishing power before closing out the 51-minute set with a hold to love.
Azarenka refused to go quietly, however, conjuring up a flawless display in the second set in which she limited Rybakina to five points and broke her serve three times to force a decider.
Rybakina, after a change of outfits, opened the third set moving much better and broke at the fifth attempt in the fifth game to move 3-2 up when Azarenka splashed a backhand into the net.
The 24-year-old crumbled in her first chance to serve out the match, however, as Azarenka got a break to get to 5-5 after she chased down a drop shot before her opponent sent a backhand volley into the net.
The Russian-born Kazakh, serving to stay in the match, held to love to force a tiebreak and she won the first three points of it before closing out the win.
Rybakina, a title winner this year in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Doha, will next face unseeded American Danielle Collins in the final on Saturday.
Collins defeated No 14 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the other semi-final, winning in straight sets 6-3 6-2.
It will be Collins' first WTA 1000 final, though she has already announced that she will be retiring at the end of this year.
Collins said: "This feels like a really big accomplishment. I think all of us want to make finals of 1000-level tournaments. These are our biggest tournaments of the year, aside from the Grand Slams.
"This is just so special. I can't stress it enough about being in my home state and having my dog here, friends, family. It's really special. I've had a couple of good years here, but this is definitely the most memorable."
On facing Rybakina, Collins added: "We've had a lot of tough battles, and that's what we play for. We want to have these matches. I think I actually did get a win on her in San Jose a while ago.
"Fingers crossed, I'll have to do my homework. She's been playing fantastic tennis, and another big hitter. So, I have to be ready."
"Oh my goodness, they don't get much better than that. It had a bit of everything in that match. There were twists and turns, ups and downs, spellbinding tennis out there and I'm not sure how Rybakina got herself together to win that," said analyst, Annabel Croft.
"She regrouped, stayed calm, found a way to compose herself and even when she hadn't served it out at 5-4 with the new balls she still had to regroup again. She's extraordinary. She gives no emotion away.
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