“Gonna take time for me to get back in my best form” – Elena Rybakina “happy” with Miami Open 2R win on return after illness

Elena Rybakina advanced to the third round of the Miami Open 2024 by defeating Clara Tauson on Thursday, March 21.

It wasn't an easy day at work for Rybakina as she was made to grind hard for nearly two and a half hours. She lost the opening set after failing to defend three out of five break points that Tauson created.

Rybakina started her comeback from the second set onwards and broke Tauson in the first game. The Dane, however, saved two set points in the tenth game and brought the proceedings on serve with a break. Rybakina, however, didn't look back and clinched the set by winning the next two games.

The deciding set also witnessed a fierce struggle between the two players. The World No. 4, however, eventually edged through on the back of a superior point conversion percentage of 74% on the first serve against Tauson's 61.

This was Rybakina's first appearance after pulling out of the quarterfinal match against eventual champion Jasmine Paolini at the Dubai Tennis Championships a month ago due to gastrointestinal problems.

The Kazakhstani player sounded content with the 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 win during her on-court interview but reckoned that she would need a couple of days to return to her best self.

"Really happy with the win. It was such a tough match especially first rounds, they're always difficult and for me, this win means a lot because I was not really playing for more than a week and of course, it's gonna take time for me to get back in my best form but really happy to get another chance and play in the next days," Elena Rybakina said.

Rybakina would hope to better her previous Miami Open campaign as she fell at the last hurdle before she could lay her hands on the trophy last year. She lost to Petra Kvitova 6-7(14), 2-6 in last year's final.

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"His advice helps a lot" - Elena Rybakina praises coach Stefano Vukov for providing insights during Miami Open 2R win

Elena Rybakina's coach Stefano Vukov

Further during her on-court interview at the Miami Open, Elena Rybakina praised her coach Stefano Vukov for getting her out of tricky situations against Clara Tauson during the second-round battle on Thursday.

"Definitely, his [Stefano Vukov's] advice helps a lot, especially when you don't feel your best and some shots that usually work, doesn't. So, yeah, I was just trying to focus point by point, trying to serve better and here it’s kind of tricky conditions also to play that late compared to the day so yeah, just happy that I managed in the end," Elena Rybakina said.

The Kazakhstani star has been training under Vukov, who is a former tennis player, since February 2019. Her next challenge at the Miami Gardens will be overcoming home-favorite Taylor Townsend. It will be her first-ever meeting with the American, who downed Elise Mertens in the previous round.