By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Photo credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty
Forward thinking helped Elena Rybakina reach a milestone moment in Melbourne today.
Rybakina rolled through the first seven games sparking a 6-0, 6-3 dismissal of 17-year-old American Iva Jovic to charge into the Australian Open third round.
It is Rybakina’s 50th Grand Slam main-draw match win and it took her only 80 minutes to find the finish line against the youngest woman in the singles field.
“I started really well and I think for her she need a bit more time to get used to the speed,” Rybakina said afterward. “I started really well and struggled a bit in the second set.
“But pretty happy to get through another one.”
The sixth-seeded Rybakina joined compatriot Yulia Putintseva as the second woman from Kazakhstan to reach the AO third round. No. 24-seeded Putintseva defeated Shuai Zhang 6-2, 6-1 in today’s second round.
A cloud of controversy swirled around Rybakina’s coaching situation as she arrived in Melbourne last week. Rybakina began working with former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic in the offseason, but announced her plan to reunite with former coach Stefano Vukov earlier this month.
However, Vukov is currently serving a WTA suspension and was not given a credential for the AO.
Rybakina has put her power game above the coaching controversy with a dynamic performance. Through two rounds, Rybakina has dropped just five games.
Coach Goran has been working on Rybakina’s transition game and it showed today: She won 12 of 15 trips to net and nearly tripled Jovic’s winner total (29 to 10).
“He’s a fun guy and of course we didn’t know each other so well before so we need some time to get used [to each other],” Rybakina said of Ivanisevic. “But he’s fun—just looking forward to get some titles with him.
“If I can serve better it’s even better. Always, I need to work on my serve. I think still it’s possible to make some improvements. Today I think my serve was not working really well so hopefully I can improve it for next match.”
Today, the 2022 Wimbledon winner played a near flawless first set slamming 18 winners—15 more than the AO debutant.
Shots flowed like all the right answers on an exam as Rybakina roared through seven games in a row.
Credit the talented Jovic for scrambling her way back into the match. Jovic fought off four break points in a physically-punishing second game of the second set to finally get on the board.
That hard-fought hold helped the world No. 191 loosen her arm and take some cracks at her drives. Jovic immediately broke than stretched her lead to 3-1.
When she’s on her game, Rybakina is an immaculate ball-striker. Rybakina is more comfortable hitting her forehand crosscourt, but she can blast her two-hander anywhere and bolted several backhands down the line to reel off five games in a row.
The wild card’s second double fault gave Rybakina a break point in the eighth game. Jovic hit a shallow second serve and Rybakina bulleted a backhand winner down the line breaking for a one-set, 5-3 lead.
Rybakina threw down a heavy serve to convert her second match point and book her return to the third round against Dayana Yastremska.
The 2024 AO semifinalist Yastremska won 11 of 14 second-serve points in a 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Danka Kovinic that lasted just 51 minutes.
Yastremska has lost only six games through two rounds and will face Rybakina for the first time
