Elena Rybakina furthered her reputation as the “Comeback Queen” in Thursday’s US Open semifinal against Coco Gauff.
The Kazakh came back from a set down to beat Gauff, less than 48 hours after doing the same against Qinwen Zheng in the quarterfinals. In the process, she achieved a feat never seen before in the 58-year history of the Open Era of tennis.
“Elena Rybakina is the first woman in the Open Era to reach the US Open Finals after coming from a set down in both the quarterfinals and semis,” wrote ESPN Insights.
After her 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win, Rybakina admitted that she was nervous after losing the first set, especially since the jam-packed Arthur Ashe crowd was firmly behind Gauff.
“Of course there were nerves,” she said, via Tennis Letter. “Coco is a great player. It’s always tough to play her. Even if sometimes her first serve doesn’t go the second one is so heavy it’s difficult to dictate the rallies. I took a deep breath, tried to talk positive with myself… and just told myself I need to fight and try to show good tennis.”
“It was such a close third set,” she continued. “I feel like I got a bit lucky on her serve. Couple of deep returns, one mistake from her, it went quickly my way. I know you guys wanted Coco to win. I think it was really a battle.
“A few moments went my way. In the end I was just trying to be focus and stay aggressive and somehow won the match.”
Elena Rybakina Reaches US Open Final
Rybakina will next face two-time defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s final. While Sabalenka is trying to become the first woman to threepeat at the US Open since Serena Williams, Rybakina is gunning for her first-ever title at Flushing Meadows. The 27-year-old is in the middle of her best-ever run in New York after failing to get past the fourth round in eight previous attempts.
Despite history not being on her side, Rybakina is ready to face Sabalenka, whom she dethroned as World No. 1 earlier this week.
“She’s an unbelievable player,” Rybakina said of Sabalenka, who cruised into the final with a straight-sets win over Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.
“She was playing really well today I feel like. I definitely need to step my game up and serve much better than today.. Stay aggressive, go for the shots, whenever you get an opportunity you really need to go for your shots.. Especially with Aryna.
“I’ll try to enjoy. I think I did maximum on this tournament already. I was doubting if I’d be able to play here. It was an incredible atmosphere. I’m super happy. Thank you.”
Saturday’s US Open final will mark a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final, where Rybakina overcame the Belarusian Sabalenka to claim her second career major.
According to Opta Ace, this is the first time since 1988 that the Australian Open finalists are meeting in the US Open final in the same calendar year.
Elena Rybakina Makes US Open History Never Seen in 58 Years