A HUGE day of quarter finals action at the 2020 Internationaux de Strasbourg saw a couple of intriguing names head through to the semis, as second and fifth seeds Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina continued their good form with respective straight sets victories, while Nao Hibino got the chocolates over a confident Jelena Ostapenko in a massive 7-6 7-6 close affair. The battle between Katerina Siniakova and Aryna Sabalenka was postponed with the continuation expected tomorrow morning, and Siniakova leading 6-2 1-2 prior to the weather disruption.

Rybakina will take on Hibino in the semi finals tomorrow, after the Japanese talent held her ground in an excellent upset effort against Ostapenko. Ostapenko had a great start with a 2-0 advantage early before Hibino bit back, and with that a see-sawing affair would not stop as neither player could hold onto the momentum to take out the first set.

On two occasions Ostapenko had a two-game lead and twice served for the set, before Hibino seemed to control proceedings to have three set points but forced into a tiebreaker. The tightness of the contest did not stop after the first set, with Hibino just making it over the line in what is surely a confidence-boosting win for the world number 84, who sees herself in her first WTA Tour semi final. 

Rybakina was convincing in her 6-3 6-2 demolition of Zhang Shuai, running away with victory in just 59 minutes and ruthless on the court. Hitting 21 winners and just eight unforced errors, Rybakina was clinical and continued her hard-hitting ways with six aces to just one double fault, winning 81 per cent of her first serve points. 

“It wasn’t easy. “Of course, it’s never easy,” Rybakina said post-match. “I played much better today than in my last match. “I’m pleased with my serve today. “It wasn’t easy. Of course, it’s never easy… I played much better today than in my last match. “I’m pleased with my serve today.

“With every win, you become more confident but I’m going to focus on the next match and we’ll see how we go.” 

Taking on the victor of the Siniakova-Sabalenka battle is Ukrainian Svitolina, after defeating Jil Teichmann 6-4 6-3. While Teichmann led much of the early stages of each set, Svitolina was clinical working her way back into the contest and fighting hard for her first semi final berth in six months. 

“I was down in the first set and I was not ‘on’ straight away, which really I think pushed me to raise my level and to try to find a way,” Svitolina told media after the match.

“Every single match, you have to raise your level to beat your opponent… especially when you are a top player. I think it was important to just raise my level, really fight for every single point and go for my opportunities.”

Svitolina’s consistency shone through is this matchup, and while she was not her cleanest she won the unforced error count 14-20  and was a fraction more convincing on serve with points won off 58 per cent of her attempts, about 10 per cent more than Teichmann.