"I am destroyed" - Elena Rybakina reflects on her 3 am victory over Daria Kasatkina in Canadian Open QF

Elena Rybakina made an honest admission after her high-octane quarterfinal against Daria Kasatkina at the 2023 Canadian Open, saying she was "destroyed."

Rybakina took the court against Kasatkina in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Montreal on Friday after numerous rain delays caused a backlog of matches. The Kazakh came out on top in the late-night thriller, just a few minutes shy of 3 am.

The neck-and-neck battle lasted an astounding three hours and 27 minutes. Daria Kasatkina would not go down without a fight, and she saved an impressive four match points.

After saving a match point herself, Rybakina closed out the grueling contest with a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (8) scoreline.

Following her victory, the 2022 Wimbledon champion confessed that she was "destroyed".

Rybakina also thanked the spectators for staying put throughout the marathon. She and Kasatkina received immense crowd support despite the match going on until the wee hours of Saturday.

“I am destroyed guys! But thank you so much for everyone who stayed so late. It’s really amazing that you supported us,” she said.

Rybakina further said that while she has been a part of close matches in her career, none compared to her latest one against Daria Kasatkina. She acknowledged the physicality of the contest and noted that she had never played a match this late.

“I have played three sets, tough battles. But like this? Honestly, physically it’s really tough. And it is so late! I never played that late. So, yeah. Guys, just thank you so much,” the former World No. 3 said.

Elena Rybakina further said she was hoping to recover in time for her Canadian Open semifinal clash, which will be played at 6 pm on Saturday itself.

“And hopefully somehow I can recover tomorrow,” she added.

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Elena Rybakina to take on Liudmila Samsonova in the semifinals of the 2023 Canadian Open

Rybakina at the 2023 Canadian Open

Elena Rybakina is through to her maiden semifinal at the 2023 Canadian Open with wins over Jennifer Brady, Sloane Stephens, and Daria Kasatkina.

This marks the Kazakh’s fourth WTA 1000 semifinal of the year. She was the winner in Indian Wells and Rome, and the finalist in Miami.

Rybakina is looking to reclaim her career-high ranking of World No. 3 too. She is locked in a tight battle for that spot with fellow semifinalist Jessica Pegula.

The 2023 Australian Open runner-up, who is hoping to make her fifth final of the year in Montreal, will face off against another Russian, Liudmila Samsonova, for a spot in Sunday’s summit clash.