World No. 7 Elena Rybakina bounced back from the set to beat former No. 2 Paula Bedosa 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the third round of the Miami Open. She kept her bid alive to achieve a rare feat, the “ Sunshine Double”.
Rybakina will next face Elise Mertens in Round 16 on Monday. Mertens beat 29th seed Petra Martic 6-4, 6-3 to secure her first fourth-round appearance in her WTA 1000 this season.
Following her victory in the California desert a week ago, Rybakina had to go the distance in her first two matches in Miami. In her opening match, Rybakina defeated Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, leaving little doubt about the final score.
However, facing Bedosa for the seventh time in her career was another challenge. The Spaniard may have a tough start to the 2023 season after dropping her rankings to her No. 29, but Badosa thrashed out with her 4-2 lead. Badosa is also in her transition and recently split from her coach Jorge Garcia.
Rybakina struggled to find a rhythm on her serve from the first game of her game. Badosa was able to use his second serve to break serve four times in the first set. Ryvakina won just 22% (4 of 18) from his second serve in the opening frame.
But Rybakina gradually changed her momentum early in the second set. After her four breaks in the first set, Rybakina held all but one of her games for the rest of the game. However, as Bedosa calmly managed her own serve, Rybakina turned her back to 5-4 in the second set and faced her points in the match at 30-40. Rybakina responded with a perfect moment, a good first serve, and two forehand shots.
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