Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina beat Victoria Azarenka 6-4 0-6 7-6 (7-2) in the semifinal of the Miami Open to reach her fourth final of the season.
Rybakina has improved to 4-0 in her head-to-head matches against Azarenka and has a seasonal record of 22 wins to 3 defeats.
Both players were not able to convert their early break points in the opening set.
Azarenka saved four break points in the first game to hold serve after three deuces. Rybakina fended off two break points in the sixth game.
Rybakina earned the first break of the match in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. Azarenka earned a break point in the eighth game, but she was not able to convert it. Rybakina served out the first set with a hold at love.
Azarenka broke three times to race through to a bagel win in the second set. The three-time Miami Open champion dropped just two points on serve in the second set. She made a double faul on one of these points.
Rybakina stopped Azarenka’s seven-game streak by holding serve to draw level to 1-1 in the third set. Rybakina earned her fifth break point in the fifth game with a backhand pass, as Azarenka was serving at 2-2, and converted her chance to take a 3-2 lead, when Azarenka hit a backhand into the net. Rybakina consolidated the break by holding serve to take a 4-2 lead. Rybakina fended off a break point with her 10th ace, as she was serving for the match at 5-4, but Azarenka earned a second break point after a long baseline exchange. Azarenka converted her break point when Rybakina volleyed into the net. Rybakina earned three mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-2.
Rybakina won two titles in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi and reached her first WTA 1000 final of the season in Doha on hard court.
Last year the Kazakh player won in Indian Wells and was a win away from winning the Sunshine Double in the Miami Open final, where she lost to Petra Kvitova 7-6 (16-14) 6-2.
Rybakina is just the third player in the last ten years to reach back to back Miami finals following Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty.
