Rybakina knocks out defending champion Swiatek to reach Indian Wells final

Indian Wells (Reuters): Elena Rybakina knocked out defending champion Iga Swiatek with a 6-2 6-2 semi-final victory at Indian Wells on Friday to set up a clash against Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Two months after Rybakina knocked Swiatek out of the Australian Open in the fourth round, the Wimbledon champion once again put in an impressive display against the world number one.

Rybakina was in control from the start, breaking early to take a 2-0 lead, before going on to clinch the first set when Swiatek produced a double fault on set point.

Swiatek tested Rybakina’s serve in the first game of the second set, but the Kazakh held under pressure and then won the next four games to take a 5-0 lead.

The Pole saved a break point to hold and avoid a bagel before breaking to further reduce the arrears, but Rybakina broke back immediately to extinguish the comeback and secure the win.

“I really played well today, it was a really nice atmosphere tonight,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview.

“I didn’t expect I would play that well today. I had nothing to lose, I just wanted to enjoy. I think it was one of my best matches this season.” Rybakina will be out for revenge when she faces Sabalenka, who defeated her in the Australian Open final in January. The Belarusian leads 4-0 in their head-to-head.

“It was really close, we had so many battles and so far I’m losing, but hopefully that will change,” Rybakina added. Earlier on Friday, Australian Open champion Sabalenka was not at her best in a 6-2 6-3 win over Greece’s Maria Sakkari, but maintained her composure even when her old nemesis – the double fault – reared its ugly head on a sunny day in the Southern California desert.

“In the past I lost so many matches like that after a few not super smart mistakes,” said Sabalenka.”I was reminding myself that it is okay to make mistakes. I’m not a robot, I’m a human. I can miss those shots, and probably that’s why I was able to keep fighting and keep trying.”