Elena Rybakina made it pretty clear that she only fears herself after starting her US Open campaign with a statement win over Marta Kostyuk. In the US Open first round, fourth-seeded Rybakina destroyed world No 39 Kostyuk 6-2 6-1. After the match, the interviewer mentioned the fact that Rybakina has had wins over pretty much every top player in the world over the last year. The interviewer then asked Rybakina if there’s a player she fears. “Only myself. It all depends how I do it on the court. I mean I am trying to focus one match at a time and hopefully I will continue playing like this today,” Rybakina said.
Rybakina on her dominant win over Kostyuk
Earlier this year, Kostyuk defeated Rybakina in Adelaide in their first meeting on the WTA level. In their US Open clashes, Rybakina handled the business and didn’t let Kostyuk upset her again. “I knew it would be tough. We already had some tough battles. I was prepared. I didn’t expect the score would be like this, but it doesn’t show the match. It was really tight,” Rybakina said. Prior to the US Open, Rybakina said she felt “destroyed” after Montreal and then skipped Cincinnati. “I wasn’t feeling the greatest physically after Montreal and Cincinnati, but we had time to recover and then practice again so now I’m feeling well. I’m feeling much better and we’re going to take it a day at a time. Hopefully I continue like this physically,” Rybakina said. Last year, Rybakina played her US Open first-round match on an outside court. This year, Rybakina’s first-round match at the US Open was scheduled for Grandstand. “Well of course it’s much better to play on a bigger court. I saw that many seeded players played on smaller courts, even the men. I don’t really care from now on which court I’m playing,” Rybakina said.