Rybakina, Shnaider set first hard-court showdown in Cincinnati
Four months ago, Elena Rybakina and Diana Shnaider had their first head-to-head meeting when they faced off in the Round of 16 of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Their first hard-court clash will come in the Round of 16 again -- this time, at the Cincinnati Open after both won their third-round matches in straight sets on Monday against Magdalena Frech and Maja Chwalinska, respectively.
Both Rybakina and Shnaider rallied from deficits in their victories. Frech had a 2-0 lead in the opening set, and later, served for the second set at 5-4. Shnaider, meanwhile, trailed the Roland Garros finalist 4-1 in set two -- in a rematch of their final-eight tilt in Paris -- before winning four straight games, and was two points away from being taken the distance at 6-5.
Rybakina feels 'relief' after stop-start day
On an afternoon that was plagued by rain, Rybakina acknowledged that she had one eye on looming clouds as she struggled to close out Frech.
The players were forced off court twice throughout 2 hours of play, first after nine games of the first set and again in the seventh game of the second.
"I saw the clouds, but I was trying not to rush because it never ends good when you rush," Rybakina said afterwards, saying that she felt relieved to win the last six points of the tiebreak.
"It was a crazy day, to be honest, coming out every time into clouds and humidity," Rybakina added. "I felt that I was on top of the ball in the tiebreak, but it was a difficult one.
"I had the opportunities on the three match points but when you are tired it's difficult to keep concentration. I'm happy the tiebreak went my way, I just tried to win as many points as I could."
Shnaider gets her revenge, 12 weeks later
Shnaider was left to rue opportunities lost in her defeat to Chwalinska in Paris back in June. She tried not to stew too much, she said, on six unconverted break points across the first two games in the second set when the players left the court for a rain delay.
Shnaider said that low-bouncing hard courts proved more to her liking in evening her head-to-head against Chwalinska -- even if she confessed that the Pole's variance of height and spins is still "pretty effective" on the surface.
"I was very frustrated with myself because I had a couple of opportunities, break points, and then I missed those, lost my serve," Shnaider said. "So definitely, I was upset with it, and I was kind of getting ready for the third set just kind of trying to keep my energy. But, my team was like, 'Hey, it's just one break. It's OK, you can still win those games.'
"I talked with Sasha, who was just like, 'You're doing everything right. Don't try to go for too much. Eliminate your own mistakes, play with a bigger margin. I feel like that's what I tried to do from coming back on court."
