Elena Rybakina surprised even herself with her level in her opening WTA Finals match as the Kazakh revealed that she had a tough time adjusting to the Riyadh conditions in practice, but then did everything perfectly on the court against Amanda Anisimova.
On Saturday, a clinical Rybakina made light work of Wimbledon and US Open finalist Anisimova, completing a 6-3 6-1 win in just 58 minutes of play. From start to finish, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist played very clean tennis and was dictating everything on the court. In the end, the Kazakh finished with seven aces, impressively converted four of her five break point chances, and saved the lone break point she faced.
Before arriving in Saudi Arabia, Rybakina appeared in four tournaments during the Asian swing. In her pre-tournament presser in Riyadh, the 26-year-old noted that the playing conditions in Saudi Arabia were completely different to the ones in Asia.
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Rybakina: I didn't expect to put so many balls is, everything was flying around in practice
"Honestly, I didn't expect that I would put so many balls in, just because it's the third day for me... The first few practices, everything was flying too much," the Kazakh tennis star said on Sky Sports following her dominant opening win against Anisimova.
As mentioned above, Rybakina's victory was never a doubt - she started the first set with a 2-0 lead and also the second set with a 3-0 lead.
Happy with my serve. Amandas a great player and tough opponent. I knew I had to serve well. Today, everything worked out. Im very happy with the way I played. Hopefully, I can continue serving like this," the world No. 6 added on Tennis Channel.
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In her second WTA Finals match, Rybakina is set for a showdown versus Iga Swiatek. The Kazakh has five wins in their previous 11 meetings.
