Elena Rybakina moved one win away from completing the 'Sunshine Double' and did so on the back of a serving feat last achieved by Serena Williams almost seven years ago.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Rybakina battled past Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals of the Miami Open, scoring a 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 win to book a clash with Petra Kvitova or Sorana Cirstea in the title match.
In doing so, Rybakina set up the chance of sealing an Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back double, a feat that only four women have pulled off before: Steffi Graf (1994, 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005), Victoria Azarenka (2016) and Iga Swiatek (2022).
She also becomes just the sixth woman to appear in the finals of the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami in the same year after Monica Seles (1991), Graf (1994), Lindsay Davenport (2000), Martina Hingis (2000) and Maria Sharapova (2012).
The Williams accomplishment that Rybakina has matched stands as testament to the Kazakhstani player's serving prowess.
She has served at least 10 aces in each of her five matches in Miami, and Williams at Wimbledon in 2016 was the last player from the WTA Tour to serve 10-plus aces in five matches in a single tournament.
Rybakina lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final in January but has put that behind her and enjoyed a stellar March. She beat Swiatek in the Indian Wells semi-finals before toppling Sabalenka in the final, and now another chance of a trophy awaits.
Discussing the challenge of completing the hard-court US double, Rybakina said: "It's really difficult, and because of different conditions in these two weeks by the matches you could see that it's much more difficult for me here than even in Indian Wells.
"It's just the finals, still close but the same time far. The Sunshine Double, I try my best, and hopefully I can make it. I didn't expect to be in the final. I knew that it was going to be very tough from the beginning, from the first match. And it was, actually. First two matches was really tough."
She came through dicey three-setters against Anna Kalinskaya and Paula Badosa before kicking on, winning in straight sets against Elise Mertens, Martina Trevisan and Pegula.
"Actually, the whole two weeks were really tough," Rybakina said after seeing off Pegula late on Thursday. "I'm happy to be in another final."
With her runs in Indian Wells and Miami, the Russian-born 23-year-old has already won 13 main-draw matches at WTA 1000 level in 2023, matching her personal best for an entire season, achieved last year.
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina pulls out of French Open due to illness
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina pulled out of the French Open ahead of her third-round match because of illness.
The fourth seed was one of the favourites for the title having enjoyed a brilliant season and won the Italian Open in Rome last month.
She won both her first two matches comfortably against teenagers Brenda Fruhvirtova and Linda Noskova but withdrew minutes before she was due to take to Philippe Chatrier to face Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Rybakina said: “I was not feeling good already yesterday and the day before, so I didn’t sleep two nights and had some fever. Today I really tried in the warm-up but I feel that the right decision is to withdraw, because it’s really tough to play with these conditions.
“I saw the doctor and they said that actually it’s all a virus here in Paris. I guess with my allergy, immune system just went down and I picked up something. It’s difficult to perform and obviously to run and even breathe. So I think that was the only right decision I could make.
“Today I just wanted to give 100 per cent and obviously I’m far from being 100 per cent. It was unlucky for me. I just try to recover and do my best to be prepared for the grass season already.”
The timing is hugely unfortunate for the 23-year-old, who has established herself at the top of the tree in women’s tennis alongside Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek and was seeded to meet the Pole in the semi-finals.
“Of course I’m really upset not to be able to play but I guess that’s life,” added the Kazakhstan player. “There is a lot of ups and downs.”
Rybakina is due to play her first grass-court tournament in Berlin beginning on June 19 before heading to Eastbourne as she builds up to the defence of her Wimbledon title.
French Open day six: Norrie out as Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sabalenka march on
British interest in singles at the French Open ended after Cameron Norrie lost meekly to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round, castigating his attitude and performance in a 6-1 6-2 6-4 defeat.
Novak Djokovic survived the longest three-set match of his grand slam career, battling past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in three hours and 36 minutes, while Carlos Alcaraz had a much easier time against Denis Shapovalov.
In the women’s event, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka reached round four for the first time but third seed Jessica Pegula is out.
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Naomi Osaka and boyfriend Cordae are expecting a girl.
Shot of the dayStat of the day
A disastrous first week for the home country, who began with 28 players in the main singles draws.
Fritz earns Mac approval
Not surprisingly, Taylor Fritz’s baiting of the French crowd in his late-night win over Arthur Rinderknech was right up John McEnroe’s street. “I like to see a little confrontation,” said Eurosport pundit McEnroe. The booing was so loud that the on-court interview was limited to one question.
China return
The WTA announced earlier this year that it would be ending its boycott of China over the Peng Shuai affair. Details of the autumn calendar have now been announced, with seven tournaments taking place in the country, including the WTA Finals in Shenzhen.
Fallen seeds
Men: Andrey Rublev (7), Hubert Hurkacz (13), Cameron Norrie (14), Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29).
Women: Jessica Pegula (3), Anastasia Potapova (24), Irina-Camelia Begu (27).
Who’s up next?
The boot will be on the other foot for 19-year-old Coco Gauff when she takes on Russian Mirra Andreeva, three years her junior, in the third round on Saturday. Defending champion Iga Swiatek meets Wang Xinyu of China while fourth seed Elena Rybakina plays Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo. The night session again features a men’s match – Alexander Zverev up against Frances Tiafoe – while Casper Ruud and Holger Rune are also in action.
Rafael Nadal undergoes surgery in bid to overcome troublesome hip injury
Rafael Nadal underwent surgery on Friday evening in a bid to discover the extent of his hip problem.
The 22-time grand slam champion only expected to be out for six to eight weeks with the injury he suffered at the Australian Open in January but nearly five months on he has not recovered.
Nadal was forced to miss the French Open for the first time in nearly two decades having admitted his team had not been able to find a solution to the issue.
The Spaniard, who turns 37 on Saturday, announced last month that he would be taking a break, potentially for the rest of the season, before what he expects to be farewell tour next year.
Nadal’s representatives revealed the surgical intervention on Friday, with the 14-time French Open champion undergoing an arthroscopic investigation on his left psoas muscle in Barcelona.
The results are expected to be announced on Saturday morning.
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