Elena Rybakina guided Kazakhstan to their opening win at the United Cup on Friday with a 2-1 triumph over Spain.
The former Wimbledon champion was making her debut in the mixed team event which is being held in Australia. In her opening singles match, Ryabkina beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2, 6-3, to bring her country back into contention after her teammate Alexander Shevchenko lost the opening match of the tie against Pablo Carreno Busta. Rybakina saved nine out of 10 break points faced and won 69% of her first service points.
“It was a really tough one, first matches are always difficult,” Rybakina said after beating Maneiro. “It’s not easy to get used to [it] that quick, but I’m really happy with the way I played today.”
The world No.6 didn’t have much time to rest as she then returned to the court to play in the mixed doubles match alongside Shevchenko. In what was a tightly contested encounter, the duo edged out Carreno Busta and Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 10-7.
“The key was probably to stay together until the end. It was a lot of chances, a lot of opportunities, to be honest… In the moments that you could not capitalize on the chances, you need to find a way to stay positive,” Kazakh team captain Aleksandr Nedovyesov said of the victory.
”That’s why the team, the bench was important for the players to get behind them, to get as much positive vibes to them so they can stay calm, they can stay focused.”
Rybakina is playing in her first tournament since appointing Goran Ivanisevic as her coach. A Croat who is also a former Wimbledon champion and previously worked alongside Novak Djokovic.
“We did preparation for a couple weeks, and now [we’re] still getting to know each other better,” she said of their collaboration.
“There is a lot of things I can improve, I think. We’re working a little bit on everything. … Slowly, I think, we’ll see the result of the work.”
Kazakstan will next play Spain on Greece on Monday which will likely feature both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari. A win will secure their place in the quarter-finals.
