Elena Rybakina Dominates, Advances to Australian Open Second Round

Elena Rybakina kept pace with the rest of the Top 10 players who have taken the court thus far at this year’s Australian Open, advancing to the second round on Tuesday. Australian Open: Scores | Draws | Order of play Kaja Juvan, the World No. 100, put up an inspired fight, but Rybakina proved too solid, winning 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour and 12 minutes at Margaret Court Arena. “It was not an easy match,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview. “(In the) first set I was struggling a lot on the return, and I’m happy with the serve; it really worked today. Kaja, she’s a good player and hopefully we’ll play many more times.” The 2023 finalist has now won seven straight opening-round matches in Melbourne to begin her career. And in a bit of déjà vu, she also defeated Juvan in the second round during her run to the final that year. There were plenty of signs that point to Rybakina potentially making another deep run Down Under on Tuesday: Stat spotlight: Chief among them? You guessed it: Rybakina’s serve again set the tone, as she routinely raced to 40-0 leads and held to love three times. But it was her second serve that truly separated her from Juvan. She won 10 of 18 points behind it (56%), a key reason she didn’t face a break point until the final game of the match. Juvan more than held her own on serve, winning 73% of her first-serve points, but the drop-off on her second serve -- down to 37% (7 of 19) -- left her vulnerable. Key moment: Rybakina exploited that flaw with one break in each set, but it was her late move in the opening set that served as the catalyst for her win. After generating minimal pressure early, she found herself double break point up at 5-4 and converted with a backhand winner to take the set. From there, she fully settled in and played her own game. She notched a forehand winner to break for 3-1 in the second set and closed out the match with her fifth ace a few games later. What’s next: The World No. 5 will face Varvara Gracheva in the second round. Rybakina leads their head-to-head 2-0, including a straight-sets win in their most recent meeting at Indian Wells in 2023. She has dropped just three games in each of their first two matches.