Indian Wells (United States) (AFP) – World number one Aryna Sabalenka heads into a blockbuster final with Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina determined to fill a gap in her resume with a first Indian Wells WTA 1000 title. “I’ve lost a couple of finals here, so I’ll make sure that I’m more than ready on Sunday,” Sabalenka vowed after beating Czech Linda Noskova in the semi-finals. “I’ll bring my best tennis and this is the year,” the Belarusian said after reaching the final for the third time in four years. She fell to Russian teen Mirra Andreeva in last year’s title match, and back in 2023 it was Rybakina who beat her.
Rybakina has also won their last two meetings, in the title match of the WTA Finals last year and in a nail-biting final at the Australian Open. The Kazakh has beaten the last 12 top-10 players she’s faced and by reaching the semi-finals in the California desert is assured of rising to a career-high number two in the world on Monday. Sabalenka still leads their overall head-to-head 8-7, but Rybakina has won four of the five finals they have contested, the lone exception the 2023 Australian Open final.
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Sabalenka is on a mission to even up that record. “I’m so done with losing these big finals,” she said. “If I make it to the final, I want to make sure that I get the trophy,” Sabalenka said. “I’ll go out there and I’ll do everything I can and everything I cannot to get that trophy.” Sabalenka’s recollections of her 7-6 (13/11), 6-4 loss in the 2023 Indian Wells final were hazy. But she’s crystal-clear as to the challenge posed by Rybakina. “I remember that it was really tight tiebreak, and I remember I had set points, and I double-faulted. Things didn’t really go well in the second set. That’s what I remember.”
This time around she’s expecting Rybakina’s powerful best. “Against Elena, it’s always super-aggressive, it’s all about the first few balls in every point. It’s very aggressive, very fast tennis … I’m excited, actually.” Rybakina’s 7-5, 6-4 semi-final victory over Ukrainian veteran Elina Svitolina had the Kazakh aiming to improve on a few things by Sunday. She was up a double break and 5-1 in the second set but let a pair of match points go begging before serving it out on her second opportunity.
“I definitely need to get better before the final,” Rybakina said, adding that against Sabalenka it would come down to who comes through in the close moments. “Whoever steps in, plays more aggressive … it’s going to be a very difficult match,” said Rybakina, who leads the WTA Tour with 130 aces this season.
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