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Match Details
Fixture: (3) Elena Rybakina vs Leylah Fernandez
Date: February 15, 2024
Tournament: Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2024
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $3,211,715
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Elena Rybakina vs Leylah Fernandez preview
World No. 4 Elena Rybakina will face off against Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Qatar Open on Thursday.
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Following a first round bye, Rybakina made light work of Zhu Lin in the second round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. She next took on 16th seed Emma Navarro in the third round.
Rybakina cruised through the first set as she claimed it for the loss of a single game. She went down an early break in the second set, but managed to get back on serve soon enough.
The Kazakh led 4-0 and even held a match point at 6-5 in the ensuing tie-break, but Navarro held her nerve to flip the script and take the set. Rybakina got back on track in the third set as a lone break of serve in her favor set the stage for a 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-4 win.
Fernandez, meanwhile, kicked off her time in Doha with a 7-5, 7-6 (4) win over 12th seed Liudmila Samsonova. She rallied from a set down to defeat Paula Badosa 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 and reach the third round, where she faced World No. 7 Zheng Qinwen.
Zheng landed the first blow in the opening set as she went up a break to go 5-3 up. Fernandez then went on a four-game run to snatch her set from the opponent's grasp. The Canadian gained the upper hand in the second set with a break in the sixth game, which eventually helped her score a 7-5, 6-3 win.
Elena Rybakina vs Leylah Fernandez head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Elena Rybakina vs Leylah Fernandez odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Elena Rybakina vs Leylah Fernandez prediction
Rybakina made things difficult for herself after blowing a match point in the second set tie-break against Navarro. While she got the job done eventually, it could have come back to haunt her.
Nevertheless, Rybakina served quite well in the previous round as she hit 10 aces and won 71% of her first serve points. When it looked like the game was getting away from her, she made the necessary adjustments to get over the finish line.
Fernandez, meanwhile, is on another one of her giant-killing sprees. Australian Open runner-up Zheng was her latest victim, as the Canadian's timely drop shots, great returning and clever utilization of the court proved too much for her opponent.
Rybakina is in great form though, having won the Abu Dhabi Open over the weekend, and is on a six-match winning streak too. Fernandez could find it tough to counter the Kazakh's serve, which is even better than Zheng's.
Even though the Canadian seems to have raised her level considerably, Rybakina still has the edge in this encounter given her results this year.
Pick: Elena Rybakina to win in three sets.
