(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Elena Rybakina’s grass season began on a winning note with the world no. 3 advancing to the second round of the Bett1 Open on Tuesday. Seeded second in the German capital, Rybakina came through the round-of-32 against Polina Kudermetova, 6-4, 6-2 in just 66 minutes.
Both players hit nine aces each but Kudermetova’s four double faults let her down in the match. Rybakina won 76% of her first-serve points to Kudermetova’s 71% and 68.8% of her second-serve points. The 24-year-old also won 62% points on return on her opponent’s serve.
For the match, Rybakina saved the only break point she faced, which came in the opening set, while converting three break points on her rival’s serve. This is the eighth straight match Rybakina’s won on grass, going back to her 2022 Wimbledon victory last year.
Meanwhile, Donna Vekic will be her opponent in the next round, here.
Bett1 Open: Ons Jabeur grass season’s first goes awry
Another player who started her grass season in the WTA 500 event this week was Ons Jabeur. The Tunisian was trying to defend her title here but her campaign didn’t go exactly as planned.
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