Elena Rybakina beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4 in a rain-delayed semi-final at the Italian Open and will play Anhelina Kalinina in Saturday’s final in Rome.
Rybakina prevailed in a straightforward first set after the match was delayed by more than an hour and then interrupted by more rain. Ostapenko gained momentum in the second set and took a 3-0 lead, but the seventh seed had closed the gap at 4-2 when rain briefly forced the players off court.
Rybakina was leading 40-15 in the game when play was suspended once more, but the Kazakhstani came out on top on the resumption, rallying to win five games in a row.
“It was a really tough day overall, with all the rain delays. I’m just happy to be in the final,” she said. “I didn’t start that well the second set. A bit low on energy, lost my serve. So it was difficult. Then a few good shots from [Ostapenko], good serves. It changed very quickly.”
In her third WTA 1000 final of the season, Rybakina will face Kalinina, after the Ukrainian No 30 seed survived a second-set scare against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia in a battling 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 victory.
Kudermetova started strongly, but the tables turned as the Russian failed to convert eight out of nine break points in the first set, with her 26-year-old opponent capitalising on her wastefulness.
Kalinina broke early in the second set to take a 3-2 lead and appeared on course for a comfortable win, but Kudermetova mounted a spirited comeback, winning 16 straight points to level the match.
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Kalinina headed off for a lengthy bathroom break to regroup before the third set and emerged a player reborn, playing with renewed confidence to win the first four games of the decider on the way to sealing a spot in her first WTA 1000 final.