“I’m jealous of her,” Alex Corretja star-struck by Elena Rybakina’s power game against Elise Mertens at Roland Garros

It seems Elena Rybakina has huge fans in the tennis pundit box.

“I’m jealous of her,” Alex Corretja star-struck by Elena Rybakina’s power game against Elise Mertens at Roland Garros

Elena Rybakina at Roland Garros (via Imago)

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina displayed her immense power game in a convincing 6-4, 6-2 win over Elise Mertens. The Kazakh superstar needed a little more than an hour to secure her place in the Round of 16 at the clay slam.

Her dominant power game has captured the attention of everyone, including Alex Corretja. The Eurosport commentator was at a loss for words watching Rybakina’s display against Mertens and feels that the 24-year-old is the ‘dark horse’ in the second week of Roland Garros.

She can hit winners all over the place, with the forehand, the backhand, the serve. The ball is so hard all the time, I’m jealous of her power, I would say. She also has the feel, even if she hits very hard. Mertens is a smart player but has a lack of power to over-power Elena. She dictated so much.
Alex Corretja said on Eurosport

Since the start of the 2020 WTA season, Rybakina has become just the third player to reach the fourth round in multiple majors on both clay and grass. The 2022 Wimbledon champion joins an elite group that includes Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur in achieving this milestone.

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I don’t think there are that many clay-court specialists on the women’s side, because pretty much they play with a lot of flatness on their shots.
Alex Corretja added

The 24-year-old entered this year’s French Open after withdrawing from the Italian Open. Her last tournament before the clay slam was the Madrid Masters, where she lost in the semi-finals to Aryna Sabalenka.

Elena Rybakina eases past Elise Mertens to enter Roland Garros Round of 16

Elena Rybakina advanced to the fourth round of the French Open 2024 women’s singles, continuing her strong performance on clay. The Kazakh star defeated Elise Mertens on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The 24-year-old needed only an hour and 7 minutes to secure victory over her Belgian opponent.

Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina at Roland Garros (via Imago)

Rybakina has not lost a set at Roland Garros this season, defeating Greet Minnen, Arantxa Rus, and now Mertens in straight sets. She secured five breaks of serve and achieved a 75% win rate on her first serves.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion will next face Ukraine’s 15th-seeded Elina Svitolina. Svitolina beat unseeded Ana Bogdan 7-5, 6-2 to advance to the second week of the French Open.

Last year, Rybakina had to withdraw due to injury before her third-round match against Sara Sorribes Tormo at Roland Garros. This year, she has already surpassed her previous result and seems poised to progress even further in the tournament.

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