By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday January 17, 2025
Elena Rybakina got past Dayana Yastremska to reach the round of 16, but back issues clouded her victory on Day 7.
Photo Source: Cameron Spencer/ Getty
Elena Rybakina survived an injury scare to defeat 2024 Australian Open semifinalist Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday in Melbourne, but the cloud will follow the 2023 finalist as she prepares for the business end of the Happy Slam.
“Honestly I didn’t know how it was going to go because it came all of a sudden,” Rybakina said on court. “I didn’t expect it and of course it was not easy, I knew that it would be very difficult for me to stay long in the rallies, I was trying to play aggressive and sometimes risk a little bit more – really happy that it went my way in the end.”
Rybakina benefitted from 37 unforced errors from Yastremska, who stayed with her aggressive game plan rather than committing to make Rybakina run. It was a strategy that backfired as Rybakina won 76 percent of her first serve points and converted three of 11 break points to take the victory in 90 minutes.
Asked if she felt okay, the 2022 Wimbledon champion said: “Not really, so I am going to hopefully see my physio and he will do some magic.”
Sixth-seeded Rybakina will face either Danielle Collins or Madison Keys in the fourth round. She improved to 14-5 lifetime at the Australian Open, and reached the second week at a major for the eight time. Despite her injury concerns, Rybakina has still only dropped 12 games through three matches.