The Elena Rybakina experience rarely lasts long. Which is not to say you don’t get value for money when watching the Kazakh star – quite the opposite. She’s a whirling dervish of entertainment.
It's just that, especially on grass, she has no interest in engaging in long rallies, preferring a “no guts, no glory”, “blink-and-you’llmiss-her” approach to most points, which means the winner and unforced error counts both ratchet up pretty quickly. When she’s more hit than miss – as she was en route to the Wimbledon title in 2022 and appears to be again this year – it’s tough to work out how to stop her.
Elina Svitolina tried in this quarter-final, she really did, but her opponent’s point-ending flashes of racquet were generally finding the lines rather than the grass beyond. Combined with a ferocious serve that pumped down six aces to reach a tournament-high total of 31 and saw her win 84 per cent of points on first serve, the result was a ruthless 6-3 6-2 win in just 61 minutes.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin July 11, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin July 11, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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