STUTTGART, Germany - Elena Rybakina ended defending champion Iga Swiatek’s 10-match winning streak in Stuttgart on April 20 to reach the final of the clay-court tournament.
Fourth seed Rybakina came through their semi-final clash 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, stunning the Polish world No. 1 who had captured the last two titles at the German event.
Rybakina will face Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in the second semi-final on April 20, for the title.
Rybakina now boasts a 4-2 career head-to-head record against four-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek and will be playing in her fifth final of 2024 on April 21.
“Like always it was a very tough match,” Rybakina said, of her opponent.
“My serve helped me a lot in important moments. I was fighting for the ball.
“It was such a close match. I’m really happy I managed to win and could show a good game.”
Winners of the Stuttgart tournament, sponsored by German automobile company Porsche, receive a car but Rybakina revealed the prize would be of little use.
“I actually don’t have a driver’s licence,” said Rybakina, 24, who has titles to her name this season in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi and runners-up spots at Doha and Miami.
Kostyuk took just one hour 35 minutes to beat world number eight Vondrousova, just a day after coming through a three-set epic against US Open champion and world number three Coco Gauff.
“I don’t think a lot of people know but I started my career 0-14 against top 10 players so I’m really trying to catch up,” said world number 27 Kostyuk, who also eliminated seventh-ranked Zheng Qinwen earlier in the week.
“These are some of the best players in the world in the last year, and it’s incredible to beat all of them – and I’m hoping for a Grand Slam too for myself one day.”
The 21-year-old Ukrainian will play in her second final of the season, having finished runner-up to Katie Boulter at the San Diego Open in March.
It will be her third career final having claimed her maiden WTA title in Austin last season. AFP
