Elena Rybakina was relentless in her Wimbledon pursuit, as she trampled a hobbling Anna Kalinskaya (6-3, 3-0, ret.) during yesterday’s round four proceedings.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion didn’t start out strong; Kalinskaya immediately broke her serve and jumped to a 1-3 lead, much to the delight of her box, which included men’s world number one and Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner.
But it was only a matter of time before the 25-year-old Kazakh found her footing, winning five straight games—which included winning 12 out of 13 points midway through the first set—to close the door on the Russian.
At 4-3, Kalinskaya called on a medical time-out as the doctor assessed her wrist. From then on, she looked half the player she was and ultimately lost all games played since.
Despite the match being cut short, Rybakina showed why the SBOTOP Wimbledon 2024 odds has her as the favourite to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish. She had 86-per cent wins on her first serve and converted 4/6 break points.
Speaking after the match, Rybakina showed sympathy to her fallen foe.
“Anna, she’s a great player. I know she was suffering with a couple of injuries and if it’s the wrist, it’s very difficult to continue to play. So, I just wish her a speedy recovery.”
This victory also gives the former champion a 90-per cent win-rate in the tournament (18-2), with her only losses coming against two-time Grand Slam winner Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur, whom she defeated in the 2022 final.
Prior to this match, Rybakina and Kalinskaya had faced each other on four occasions already, with both ladies winning two matches apiece. They last met a year ago in Rome, where the latter was also forced to retire.
Rybakina, ranked fourth, is the only remaining player in the tournament who is seeded in the top five. She faces Ukraine’s Elena Svitolina in the quarter-finals.
Ostapenko ends a fairytale run
Jelena Ostapenko wasted no time in battering Yulia Putintseva (6-2, 6-3), with the match finished in just a little over an hour.
Putintseva, who slayed world number one and five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek in the third round, was unable to carry over her momentum as Ostapenko’s ball-striking and groundstrokes proved to be too much for the Russian-born Kazakh.
Ostapenko finished the match with 29 winners, 5/6 break points won, and converted 9/11 net approach points.
The first set was brutal for Putintseva as Ostapenko hit her with 12 winners—compared to her two—and went 3/3 on all her break points.
Putintseva tried to rally in the second set, where Ostapenko had 18 unforced errors. But the Latvian showed her experience and pedigree as she halted Putintseva’s charge, ending the match with an oil painting of a sliced backhand.
Ostapenko credited her aggressiveness and freedom for winning the match.
“I’m playing aggressive, playing my game, just enjoying it probably more than before,” she said.
Playing exquisitely in the tournament so far, Ostapenko has only dropped 15 games throughout the first four rounds, and already has an abundance of Wimbledon 2024 highlights, with 88 winners in 63 games played.
“I have the ability to hit the ball hard, so why I shouldn’t use it?” she added.
She will face fellow former Roland-Garros winner Barbora Krejcikova in the quarter-finals.
Ostapenko has won this tournament before, albeit in juniors.
Around the grounds
In the lower-half of the bracket, world number two Coco Gauff was upset by fellow American, Emma Navarro in their round of 16 match (6-4, 6-3).
Gauff’s game was error-ridden, as she succumbed to 25 unforced errors and three double faults.
Navarro also ended the Wimbledon run of compatriot and former four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka earlier in the second round.
Elsewhere, another Emma made the headlines as Britain’s Emma Raducanu failed to reach the quarter-finals, bowing out against New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in three sets (6-2, 5-7, 6-2).
Sun had 52 winners and went 23/28 on her net approach points. Her inside-out forehands and volleys kept Raducanu at bay, even though the 21-year-old won the second set.
According to reports, she is only the second woman from New Zealand to reach this far into a Grand Slam tournament. Before their match, Raducanu was subjected to criticism as the Brit pulled out of she and Andy Murray’s mixed doubles match, to the dismay of some and Andy’s mother, Judy.
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