Rybakina rings in 26th b'day with win in Berlin
A last-minute shake-up to the draw did little to spoil Elena Rybakina's 26th birthday on Wednesday at the Berlin Tennis Open. The 2022 Wimbledon champion had been slated to play No. 5 seed Zheng Qinwen in the opening round, but found herself facing lucky loser Krueger on Tuesday instead after Zheng withdrew in the early hours of the day with a neck injury. Having lost to Krueger earlier this year in Miami, Rybakina was under no such threat on German grass and came through the win 6-3, 7-6(3) in 1 hour and 36 minutes. 'It was a really tough match, especially the second set,' Rybakina said afterwards. 'It was very close and I had some chances, didn't take them, but I'm happy with how I played the tiebreak. It was a good present for myself! I tried to play point by point. She started to serve really well in the second set, so I knew that I needed to focus on my serve and take the chances as soon as I got them.' (WTA)
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