By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday July 10, 2024
Elena Rybakina eased past Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in a cool 61 minutes to take her place in the Wimbledon semifinal.
Photo Source: Getty
There can be no doubt about who is the favorite to win the women’s singles title this year. Not anymore.
Elena Rybakina, 2022 champion and tour de force on grass, is that woman. As expectations soar, the soft-spoken 25-year-old Kazakhstani will try to meet them this weekend on Wimbledon's hallowed lawns.
So far, so good.
The only former Wimbledon singles champion remaining in the draw – and the only Top-5 player as well – dismissed Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in 61 minutes on Wednesday in Centre Court, powering 28 winners and seven aces in a 6-3, 6-2 victory to improve her career record at the Championships to 19-2 overall.
“I am really pleased with the way I played today,” said the No.4 seed. “It’s always tough to play against Elina, she’s a great player and fighter, no matter the score it was not easy.”
Rybakina, who will face No.31-seeded Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals, improved to 3-2 lifetime against Svitolina by hugging the baseline and dictating the terms of the contest. She won 10 of 14 second-serve return points and converted four of six break points on return, and was equally forceful behind her serve, dropping just four points behind her first offering.
"Everybody can see why she won Wimbledon two years ago, and how big of a weapon that serve is,” gushed Chris Evert, who was commentating the match for ESPN.
In a season that has been marred by injury and illness withdraws, Rybakina has still managed to put up a very full CV in 2024. She improves to 40-7 on the year and reaches her seventh semifinal of the season. When she’s healthy, she’s one of the toughest outs in women’s tennis.
At Wimbledon, where she has only lost twice in four appearances, Rybakina's current winning percentage ranks third all-time, among players with at least ten matches. Only Ann Jones (12-1, 92.3) and Steffi Graff (74-7, 91.4) have a higher winning percentage than Rybakina’s (90.5).
“Of course I have such amazing memories from 2022,” she said. “I’m just really enjoying every time I step on the court.”
Krejcikova Holds the Edge
Though they have never met on grass, and haven’t faced each other in nearly two years, it must be noted that Krejcikova holds a 2-0 lifetime edge against Rybakina. The Czech, who reached her first Wimbledon semifinal on Wednesday with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Jelena Ostapenko, defeated Rybakina in a match tiebreak at Melbourne in 2021, and again on her home soil in Ostrava in three sets (3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4)
The lower half semifinal on the women's side at Wimbledon pits seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini against unseeded Donna Vekic in a battle of first-time Wimbledon semifinalists.