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Elena Rybakina said she played "unbelievable" against Iga Swiatek as the Kazakh is now hoping to deliver the same level of play in the Indian Wells final. Rybakina, seeded at No 10, destroyed world No 1 Swiatek 6-2 6-2 in the Indian Wells semifinal.
"Thank you. Yeah, today was really great match for me, because I played unbelievable. I would say one of the best matches I played this year. So, yeah, hopefully I can keep the level for Sunday," Rybakina said after the match.
Rybakina routinely handled Swiatek
At this year's Australian Open, Rybakina defeated Swiatek 6-4 6-4. Prior to their Indian Wells clash, Rybakina said this time the situation would be different considering that the court conditions in the desert were much slower than in Melbourne.
But Rybakina was somehow even more dominant this time. "Well, I would say it is important, of course. But I’m happy that even I was saying that it’s not my advantage, this surface, because it’s too slow. I think that in the end it proves me that I actually can play in such slow conditions.
It’s only good for me in the end, if physically I feel well and I’m healthy, that it’s possible to play on any surface for me, which is a good thing. I had such tough battles in the first matches, and also conditions are not predictable with the wind.
Either it’s too hot or too cold. Like today I would say it was perfect conditions to play," Rybakina explained. In the first set of their Indian Wells semifinal, Rybakina broke Swiatek twice to easily win the opener. After easily winning the first set, Rybakina broke Swiatek twice at the start of the second set to open a 5-0 lead.
Swiatek managed to get one break back in the seventh game but Rybakina broke the Pole again in the eighth game to complete a two-set win.