Italian Open: Elena Rybakina clinches maiden last-eight berth in Rome

Elena Rybakina made it to the quarters of the Italian Open for the first time in her career. The Kazakh put an end to Marketa Vondrousovaā€™s upset-causing ways in their fourth-round match on Monday. The seventh seed prevailed 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 12 minutes.

Rybakina won 73% of her first-serve points to the Czechā€™s 69%. She also won 82% points on return on the latterā€™s second serve. The world no. 6 had more than as many winners as Vondrousova, 28 to the latterā€™s 13. In terms of break point conversions, the 23-year-old five of seven break points on her opponentā€™s serve while saving six of eight break points she faced.

Post-match, Rybakina said, ā€œI’m happy to stay aggressive. There were some moments it was up and down but overall, it was a good match, good serving from me. For sure now I need as many matches as I can to be more confident at the French Open.ā€

In the quarter-finals, Rybakina will take on either the top-seeded Iga Swiatek or the 21st-seeded Donna Vekic. Their fourth-round match was pushed to Tuesday after rain forced the abandonment of the latter matches.

Italian Open: Jelena Ostapenko’s showing signs of peaking

Jelena Ostapenko also made her way into the quarters in Rome. The 20th seed downed eighth-seeded Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in an hour and 59 minutes.

Ostapenko gained the upper hand early on against Kasatkina and while the higher-ranked took the second set for herself, it didnā€™t come easy to her. The deciding set once again saw Ostapenko recapture the momentum and secure the win for herself.

Now a three-time Rome quarter-finalist, Ostapenko awaits the winner of Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova. Their match, too, was among those rescheduled.

Meanwhile, in the bottom half of the draw, 11th seed Veronika Kudermetova booked a quarter-final clash against 22nd seed Qinwen Zheng. Kudermetova got the better of Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-2 in an hour and 19 minutes. Zheng won against fellow countrywoman Xiyu Wang 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

The final quarter-final at the Italian Open will be contested between 12th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and 30th seed Anhelina Kalinina. The Brazilian defeated Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-3 while the Ukrainian came from a set down to defeat 19th seed Madison Keys, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. For both Haddad Maia and Kalinina, this is a career-first quarter-final in Rome.

Photo Credit: Italian Open Twitter