STUTTGART, Germany – World number two Elena Rybakina dominated her semifinal match at the Stuttgart Open on Saturday, defeating Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1 to advance to the championship match of the WTA 500 indoor clay court event.
The top-seeded Kazakhstani player will face Czech seventh seed Karolina Muchova in Sunday’s final after both players secured convincing semifinal victories.
Rybakina and Andreeva exchanged service games early in the first set until Rybakina seized control with a break to take a 4-2 advantage. The young Russian fought back to even the score at 4-4, but the 26-year-old Rybakina elevated her game when it mattered most to claim the opening set.
The second set belonged entirely to Rybakina, who dominated from start to finish, building a commanding 5-0 advantage before wrapping up the match in one hour and 17 minutes.
“First set, we were going pretty even,” Rybakina said. “I had some opportunities to go up but didn’t take them. But I’m happy that in these important moments, my serve worked and I stayed aggressive.”
“Then in the second set being up, I was more free to hit, to step in, to play even more aggressive. So I’m pretty happy with the performance. It was really solid. And I guess the three-hour match yesterday, it did help me today.”
Andreeva entered the tournament in excellent form, having captured the Linz Open title and stunning six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek and defending Stuttgart champion Jelena Ostapenko during her run.
This marks Rybakina’s third final appearance of the season. The former Wimbledon champion claimed the Australian Open title earlier this year and reached the final at Indian Wells.
In the other semifinal, Muchova advanced by defeating Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a hard-fought three-set battle.
Muchova started strong, breaking Svitolina’s serve in the opening game and racing to a 3-0 lead. Though the Australian Open semifinalist fought back to narrow the gap, Muchova held on to take the first set.
The momentum shifted dramatically in the second set as Svitolina found her groove, jumping ahead 3-0 and extending her lead to 5-1 before evening the match.
The final set remained tight throughout until Muchova struck at the crucial moment, breaking serve at 4-4 before closing out the victory in two hours and 14 minutes.
