Elena Rybakina found herself in another very tight contest this summer but this time the 2022 Wimbledon champion ended on the winning side after edging out No. 19 seed Elise Mertens 4-6 6-3 7-5 in the Cincinnati third round.
Early in the match, the ninth-seeded Kazakh struggled with consistency on her serve as she sprayed a stunning eight double faults and lost her serve twice. And she paid the price by dropping the opener.
After a not-so-impressive first-set display, Rybakina primarily stabilized on her serve and the break she earned in the second game was enough for her to seal the second set and force a decider.
Midway through the third set, the Kazakh was in danger of losing her serve but managed to save three break points in the sixth game. Mertens paid the price for not converting her chances as the No. 9 seed earned the key break in the 11th game before serving out for the match in the following game.
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Rybakina is now set for a Cincinnati round-of-16 showdown against Madison Keys.
Rybakina wasn't happy with her first-set double-fault number
"In the first set I struggled a lot. I think I never did so many double faults. Something for me to learn. Happy in the end I managed to find my game. Thank you so much guys for staying so late," the 26-year-old said in her on-court interview.
Truth be told, Rybakina's serving was poor in the first set. But in the rest of the match, she improved drastically and hit only two double faults.
