Top-seeded tennis player Aryna Sabalenka reached the semi-finals of the WTA Finals after defeating Elena Rybakina 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The match in the Mexican city of Cancun was stopped on Thursday due to bad weather conditions.
The match resumed the next day with a score of 6-2 and 3-5 in the second set. Moments later, Rybakina leveled the score in sets with his serve. Sabalenka had some difficulties winning her first serve in the third set, but the Belarusian then took a 3-1 lead. It had to allow a break in the fifth game, and then regained the margin in the next game. In the long ninth game, she won five break points and won her fourth match point.
With this victory, Sabalenka ranked second in the group behind American Jessica Pegula. Sabalenka will meet in the semi-finals with Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the champion of the other group. Swiatek won her third match against Tunisian Ons Jabeur in just 67 minutes: 6-1, 6-2.
Pegula will play in the semi-finals against her compatriot Coco Gauff, winner of the US Open. Despite the difficult weather conditions and multiple interruptions, Gauff returned well against Czech Marketa Vondrousova: 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
It seemed that Vondrousova was on her way to winning 5-7, 5-6, but Gauff turned the match upside down. The American beat the Wimbledon champion to 6-6 and then won the tie-break. She then broke Vondrousova in the fifth game of the third set and secured the win with a second break of serve.
