* Moves past Svitolina in comfortable straights win
By Dwayne Ferreira
No.4 seed Elena Rybakina continued her impressive run at Wimbledon with a commanding 6-3, 6-2 victory over No.21 seed Elina Svitolina in the Centre Court quarterfinal on Wednesday. The 2022 Wimbledon champion needed just 61 minutes to defeat last year’s semifinalist, advancing to the third Grand Slam semifinal of her career. This victory also gave Rybakina a 3-2 lead in her head-to-head matches with Svitolina.
Rybakina’s performance at Wimbledon has been outstanding, boasting a 19-2 record in main-draw matches. She reached the Round of 16 in her Wimbledon debut in 2021 and won the title the following year by defeating Ons Jabeur. Although her title defense ended in last year’s quarterfinals when Jabeur avenged her loss, Rybakina’s 90.4 percent win rate at Wimbledon is the third-best in the Open Era.
With this latest win, Rybakina joins an elite group of players who have won 19 of their first 21 singles matches at Wimbledon in the Open Era. She stands alongside legends Maria Sharapova, Billie Jean King, and Chris Evert, with no other player achieving a better record in their initial 21 matches at this prestigious tournament.
Rybakina’s dominance on the grass courts continues to solidify her status as a formidable competitor at Wimbledon. As she advances to the semifinals, her consistent performance and high winning percentage underscore her potential to add another Grand Slam title to her name.
