Elena Rybakina on Track for Sunshine Double After Reaching Miami Open Final

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina secured her spot in the Miami Open final by defeating American Jessica Pegula in a rain-disrupted match. Rybakina, who recently won the Indian Wells tournament, is now in contention for the Sunshine Double if she can clinch the Miami Open title. The 23-year-old is currently ranked seventh in the world and will face either Petra Kvitova or Sorana Cirstea is in the final. The match against Pegula was intense, with 11 breaks in total throughout the two sets, but Rybakina managed to gain the upper hand and win 7-6 (7/3), 6-4. The crucial turning point came when Pegula found the net on a return, giving Rybakina is the lead. Rybakina then held her serve to secure back-to-back WTA 1000 finals. Meanwhile, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova reached the semi- finals for the first time after beating Ekaterina Alexandrova in a hard-fought match. Kvitova, ranked 12th in the world, won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, with the match postponed due to rain on Wednesday. She fought off four break-points at 2-2 before Alexandrova finally broke her at 4-2 to force a third set. Kvitova, however, made a decisive break to go 5-3 up and served out for the match.

Staff Reporter