Elena Rybakina won her first WTA 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on a cool, cloudy, and windy Sunday afternoon in a match that lasted just over two hours. The Kazakhstani player defeated Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(11) 6-4, breaking the curse of losing in all four of their previous encounters.
Reflecting on what made the difference, the victor explained to the media: “We both had chances, but in the end, it went my way. So I think it was important this first set, and then it was a bit easier to start the second with an early break.”
After losing in their Australian Open final just over two months ago, Rybakina, who will jump from world No.10 to 7 on Monday, learned some important lessons that she was able to implement on court. Sunday’s winner explained, “On the second serve, I tried to push more because I remember since Australia she was putting a lot of pressure on the second serve. So this is something for me to improve also. I think here, since the conditions are a bit slower, it was kind of easier to play the next shot.”
Asked about how she was going to celebrate, the 23-year-old smiled at the suggestion but was clear that there would be no wild partying, “Probably nothing special. Just because tomorrow we have to leave already to Miami, so we will…
