Melbourne, Jan. 22 (BNA): World number one Iga Switek crashed out of the Australian Open on Sunday, losing 6-4 6-4 to Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina at Rod Laver Arena.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina stormed into the quarter-finals of the season-opening Grand Slam tournament for the first time with an impressive display against the uneven pole, reports Reuters.
“It was a really tough match and I really respect Iga for her strike and the Grand Slam tournaments,” said Rybakina.
“She’s a young player and she’s playing really well. Today I think she was also serving well, just suffering from one side.
“Then in the important moments I played really well and made a difference.”
Rybakina, seeded 22, will face Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals.
French Open and US Open champion Swiatek got off to a rocky start, abandoning her opening game after receiving a warning from the chair umpire during the time she took on pre-match preparations.
She fought back to level the scores in the fourth game but Rybakina broke again, clinically punishing the pole’s second serve to win the first set.
Swiatek seemed to have rebounded after slamming in three straight games early in the second set behind a more aggressive forehand, only for Rybakina to equalize with another break of serve.
The Russian-born right-hander broke Swiatek again 4-4 in the second set before convincingly holding serve to seal the match.
Rybakina’s win sees her advance to her third Grand Slam quarter-final having also reached the quarter-finals of the 2021 French Open before winning Wimbledon last year.