Elena Rybakina admits she is feeling tired after playing a lot of tennis over the past 10 days, but also underlines she is on a mission and determined to "make a last push."
After winning last week's WTA 500 event in Ningbo, Rybakina came to the 500-category tournament in Tokyo needing to reach the semifinal to beat out Mirra Andreeva for the last WTA Finals spot. As the second-seeded player, the Kazakh didn't have to play in the first round in the Japanese capital. On Thursday, she kicked off her campaign with a notable 6-4 6-3 round-of-16 win over Fernandez, who won Osaka last week.
For Rybakina, this was her fifth match over the last seven days.
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Rybakina: I'm tired but also ready to make a last push
"Today was a very difficult match -- it's always not easy against Leylah, and especially the first match for me here ... I'm pretty happy with the win and looking forward for my next match. I'm feeling a little bit tired of course, but I'm ready to make a last push. I'm very happy with the last week, and I'm trying to bring everything from last week into here," the 2022 Wimbledon champion said in her on-court interview after beating Fernandez.
In what will be the match that determines whether she makes the WTA Finals, Rybakina will face off against Victoria Mboko. It will be the third meeting between the two over the past three months. In late July, the Kazakh beat Mboko 6-3 7-5 in the Washington round-of-16, but the Canadian got her revenge the following week in Montreal when she registered a 1-6 7-5 7-6 (4) semifinal win.
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Rybakina will be determined to get the win for the last WTA Finals spot, but she will certainly also be motivated to get her revenge for the Montreal semifinal loss she suffered to Mboko.
