Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina dug deep to overcome Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday, earning a place in the quarter-finals of the WTA Canadian Open in Montreal. The ninth-seeded Kazakh, who has struggled with inconsistency and serving issues of late, found her rhythm just in time to close out a thrilling three-set contest.
This hard-fought win sets her up for a clash with another Ukrainian, Marta Kostyuk, in what promises to be a high-octane quarterfinal.
Slow Start, Strong Finish
Rybakina, who won her last title in Strasbourg earlier this year, had a sluggish start—riddled with nine double faults and broken leads. After taking an early break in the opening set, she faltered under pressure, allowing Yastremska to claw back and win the first set. At one point, Rybakina was leading 40-0 but ended up dropping the game and, ultimately, the set.
However, the 2022 Wimbledon champion regrouped quickly. Her experience and grit came through in the second set, where she broke Yastremska twice and took control of the match. The third set was a tense tug-of-war, with both players trading breaks. But Rybakina held her nerve, broke Yastremska at 6-5, and closed the match on her fourth match point with a deft backhand volley at the net.
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Kostyuk Finds Her Mojo
Next up for Rybakina is Marta Kostyuk, who came from a set down to beat American qualifier McCartney Kessler 5-7, 6-3, 6-3. Kostyuk has had an inconsistent season, and prior to this tournament, hadn’t won a match since reaching the fourth round in Rome three months ago.
“I didn’t have a lot of confidence coming in,” Kostyuk admitted. “I want to thank my team for sticking with me.”
Gauff vs Mboko: Clash of Generations
Later in the night session, top-seeded Coco Gauff faced off against Canadian wildcard Victoria Mboko, 18, in what was one of the most anticipated matchups of the day. Gauff, who has had to fight through two three-set battles to reach the fourth round, was looking to tighten up her game.
Mboko, meanwhile, thrilled home fans with her debut main draw run at a WTA 1000 event and looked to continue her giant-slaying journey. The pair previously met in Rome earlier this year, where Mboko pushed Gauff to three sets.
“She’s the top seed,” Mboko said with a smile. “I know it’s going to be tough, but I’m really excited. Matches like these are why we play.”
Elsewhere, Zhu Lin of China and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain are battling for their first-ever WTA 1000 quarterfinal appearances. Zhu, who had a career-high ranking of 31, has dropped drastically due to recurring elbow injuries that kept her off the court for most of the past year.
