Elena Rybakina struggled to close out Dayana Yastremska but avoided suffering a catastrophic loss after coming up big in the third set and completing a 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-3 win in nearly three hours of play to reach the Ningbo quarterfinal.
Fighting to seal a spot at the WTA Finals, the Kazakh found herself in trouble early on after Yastremska opened a 4-2 lead. However, the No. 3 seed swiftly responded and took the next four games to overturn the deficit and seal the first set.
After winning the first set, Rybakina was twice up by a break in the second set, but twice allowed her rival to come back and ultimately force a tie-break. There, the 2022 Wimbledon champion still had a great chance to get the job done in two sets after earning two consecutive match points at 6-4. But then, the No. 3 seed's focus collapsed - she lost the next four points - as Yastremska stole the second set to force a decider.
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Fortunately for Rybakina, she bounced back in the third set by claiming a break in the sixth game and then holding to her serve for the rest of the match.
Who is Rybakina's next rival in Ningbo?
For a place in the Ningbo semifinal, the third-seeded Kazakh will play against Ajla Tomljanovic, against whom she has a perfect 3-0 head-to-head record.
Meanwhile, doing well in Ningbo is very important for Rybakina, who is battling to secure one of the two last spots for the WTA Finals. Currently, she is ninth on the list with 3,913 ranking points in the Live WTA Race to Riyadh.
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Ningbo is a tournament from the WTA 500 category so that's the maximum that the Kazakh could gain this week.
