STUTTGART: Elena Rybakina ended defending champion Iga Swiatek’s 10-match winning streak in Stuttgart on Saturday to reach the final of the clay-court tournament.
The fourth seed came through their semi-final clash 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, stunning the Polish world number one who had captured the last two titles at the German tournament.
Rybakina now boasts a 4-2 career head-to-head record against the four-time Grand Slam winner and will be playing in her fifth final of 2024 on Sunday.
“Like always it was a very tough match,” Rybakina said of her opponent.
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“My serve helped me a lot in important moments. I was fighting for the ball.
“It was such a close match. I’m really happy I managed to win and could show a good game.”
Winners of the Stuttgart tournament, sponsored by German automobile company Porsche, receive a car but Rybakina revealed the prize would be of little use.
“I actually don’t have a driver’s licence,” said Rybakina who has titles to her name this season in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi and runners-up spots at Doha and Miami.
Rybakina, 24, will face either Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk or Marketa Vondrousova, the Wimbledon champion from the Czech Republic, in Sunday’s final.
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