Elena Rybakina Proud of Her “Fight” Against Victoria Mboko Despite Crashing Out of the Doha Open

Elena Rybakina exits the Doha Open after losing to Victoria Mboko in three sets.

Elena Rybakina Proud of Her “Fight” Against Victoria Mboko Despite Crashing Out of the Doha Open

Elena Rybakina, Victoria Mboko (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Team Canada)

In Short
  • Elena Rybakina lost to Victoria Mboko in the quarter-finals of the Doha Open despite being the favorite.
  • Rybakina expressed pride in her performance, highlighting the challenge of playing back-to-back long matches.
  • Victoria Mboko's victory marks her second win over Rybakina in their last four meetings, showcasing her rising form.

Elena Rybakina has maintained that she will keep her head up after a disappointing defeat to Victoria Mboko in the quarter-finals of the Doha Open. The World No.3 was the favorite to win the tournament after the three-time champion Iga Swiatek fell to Maria Sakkari on Thursday (February 12), but Rybakina failed to take her chances against Mboko.

Rybakina had arrived at the Doha Open in tremendous form, losing just two matches in the last three months on tour. She had won three of her five tournaments, including the WTA Finals in November, where she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Also, she claimed her second Grand Slam after beating Sabalenka in three sets at the Australian Open.

The 26-year-old was in a position to rise to World No.2 in the WTA rankings had she reached the final of the Doha Open. But she met an in-form Mboko in Qatar, which caused her a lot of trouble on the hard court. She lost the first set after allowing the Canadian star break her twice in the match.

In the second set, she responded vehemently, breaking the teenage star once and hitting a brilliant ace to seal the set. In the third set, she continued the momentum, leading 4-2 after breaking Mboko, but shockingly couldn’t win any game after that. Mboko took the driving seat, breaking the Kazakhstan star twice to win the match 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Rybakina looked exhausted after leading 4-2 in the third set as she had played a long three-set match against Qinwen Zheng in the round of 16. During her post-match press conference, she noted that she didn’t get the needed break after playing a long match in the round of 16, but was proud of her performance on the court:

It was a tough match and I’m actually happy that I managed to give this fight. I hadn’t played such long matches in a long time. In Australia, we always had a day in between and I was playing all the matches in two sets except for the final. I think it was still a good tournament for me. I had to do some stuff outside of the court. I think it’s a good preparation, even for the other tournaments.

Rybakina will now have to reset and take a very short break ahead of the Dubai Tennis Championships. She reached the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament last year, so she will need to defend the points or hope to reach the final. Her best run in a WTA 1000 tournament last year was a semi-final finish in Dubai, Cincinnati, and the Canadian Open.

Victoria Mboko admits she had to bring her A game to beat Elena Rybakina

Victoria Mboko has been the latest sensation on the court since last season. Apart from her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 16 of the Australian Open, she has given a good performance on the court. The 19-year-old was ranked outside the Top 300 at the start of last season, but she’s currently on the brink of breaking into the top 10.

Victoria Mboko
Victoria Mboko (Image via X/Sportsnet)

Her win against Elena Rybakina at the Doha Open was her second victory against the Australian Open champion in their last four meetings. After the match, she revealed that she needed to bring her A game to stand a chance of beating Rybakina at the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha:

I didn’t really have that many expectations because she has a great record now, she just won the Australian Open. Going into the match I knew I had to play my ‘A’ game. I understand that the higher profile players you play, you’re going to have to raise your level.

Mboko claimed her maiden WTA 1000 title at the Canadian Open last July, so she understands what it means to play in the tournament. However, she will have to be at her best against a rejuvenated Jelena Ostapenko, who has been playing great tennis at the tournament. Ostapenko reached the final of the tournament last year before losing to Amanda Anisimova in straight sets.

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