Qualifier Rybakina upsets Garcia in St. Petersburg

[February 01, 2018]  Eighteen-year-old Russian qualifier Elena Rybakina saved a match point on the way to a three-set upset of third-seeded Caroline Garcia at the St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy on Wednesday.

Rybakina, ranked 450th in the world, won 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) over the world's No. 7 player in a match lasting nearly 2 ½ hours to advance to her first WTA semifinal.

Rybakina twice recovered from a break down in the second set to reach a tiebreaker. Trailing 4-0 in the tiebreaker, the teenager won five points in a row to get back in it, and later saved a match point on her serve at 6-5.

Rybakina earned a break in the fifth game of the decisive set. Garcia broke back to make it 5-5 before Rybakina twice led by a mini-break in the tiebreaker and closed out the match with back-to-back points.

French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko overcame former world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva of Russia 7-6 (6), 6-3 to move into the quarterfinals. Ostapenko trailed 5-3 in the first set before recovering.

Two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova was sharp with a 6-2, 6-0 opening-round victory over seventh-seeded Russian Elena Vesnina as she looked to rebound from an early exit at the Australian Open.

The Czech needed just over an hour to advance.

"I'm very happy with the win and with the game I was able to play today," said Kvitova, who lost in the first round in Melbourne. "I love to play indoors, and it's great to be in St. Petersburg playing for the first time as well."

Her next opponent will be Irina-Camelia Begu in the second round after the Romanian edged Andrea Petkovic 7-6 (5), 6-1.

"I'm playing well and (Begu) is playing good, too," Kvitova said. "I just need to be focusing on myself."

In other matches Wednesday, Daria Kasatkina of Russia defeated Alize Cornet of France 6-2, 6-1 and Ekaterina Makarova of Russia eliminated countrywoman Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4.

-- Field Level Media

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