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Elena Rybakina stunned in French Open quarterfinals as Jasmine Paolini books semis berth
Elena Rybakina faced a defeat at the hands of Paolini in the quarterfinal of the French Open 2024.
Elena Rybakina, the fourth seed at the French Open, was knocked out in the tournament's quarterfinals as Italy's Jasmine Paolini defeated the Kazakh tennis star 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Paolini will now face the winner of the fourth quarterfinal between Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva.
In her first Grand Slam quarter-final at 28 years old, Paolini started strong by winning the first two games, forcing her opponent to fight hard to hold serve before breaking again to secure the first set.
Paolini's impressive backhand winner earned her another break in the third game of the second set. However, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina responded with a break of her own and gradually adapted to Paolini's power and precision.
The Russian-born Kazakh and Paolini traded breaks once more, but Rybakina held her ground to level the match at one set each and recovered after losing her serve at the start of the final set.
Paolini held serve to love to make it 4-4, demonstrating the level of play she showed at the beginning of the match. She capitalized on Rybakina's errors to close out a memorable victory, drawing huge cheers from the crowd on the main showcourt.
"It's my first time playing on this beautiful court. It's a pleasure. It's really a privilege," Paolini said. "I'm happy I got the win in my first match here because this is one of the best courts in tennis."
With Jannik Sinner also reaching the last four, Italy will have representatives in the semi-finals of both the men's and women's singles at a major for the first time in the Open era.
