Rybakina wins in Rome after Kalinina pulls out

Elena Rybakina is discovering that her big serve and heavy ground strokes can do damage on clay courts, too.

The Wimbledon champion was dominating 21-9 with winners when Ukrainian opponent Anhelina Kalinina retired due to a left thigh injury early in the second set of the rain-delayed Internazionali BNL d’Italia, which ended shortly after midnight yesterday.

“I can play good on all the surfaces,” Rybakina said. “It’s just maybe for clay I need to be ready more physically and maybe have a lot of preparation.”

Photo: EPA-EFE

It has been quite a year for Rybakina, who reached the final of the Australian Open, won an elite title in Indian Wells and was runner-up in Miami.

“I’m proud that I can maintain this level,” she said. “I can see improvements on the court, physically also… I think there is still a lot of room to improve.”

On Monday, Rybakina is guaranteed to move up to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings, and is competing in the French Open, which starts next weekend.

Photo: Reuters

“She’s serving 200kph. She’s also making winners like no one on tour,” Kalinina said. “Anyone can win in Paris, but she has good chances.”

“I am sure if she’s going to do like this, maybe new world No. 1 for sure,” Kalinina added.

Rybakina was leading 6-4, 1-0, 15-0 when Kalinina called for a trainer and grasped her left leg as she teared up. She then decided she could not continue.

The final began at almost 11pm on Saturday and Rybakina lifted the trophy after midnight.

“I’m really sorry that I couldn’t play,” Kalinina said during the awards ceremony as the crowd — which had waited under the rain for hours before the night session started — whistled.

“I feel like I am at my physical limit today,” she said.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek also retired in the third set against Rybakina in the quarterf-inals due to a right thigh injury.

In the men’s singles, Holger Rune was set to face Daniil Medvedev in the final after press time yesterday.

The 20-year-old Rune rallied past Casper Ruud 6-7 (7/2), 6-4, 6-2, and Medvedev celebrated with a dance after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 7-5 in a semi-final that was suspended twice in the first set for a total of nearly four-and-a-half hours due to rain.

Rune, who eliminated six-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, improved to 7-1 in his career against players ranked in the top five.

“I play some of my best tennis when I play the top guys of the world,” Rune said. “You need it against those players.”

Making the final marked quite a turnaround for Medvedev, who lost his opening match in Rome in his three previous appearances. If he beats Rune, Medvedev would return to No. 2 in the rankings and thus be seeded second for the French Open, which starts next weekend.

It will be just the second clay-court final for Medvedev, and first since 2019.

He celebrated with a little dance after converting his first match point more than six hours after the match started.

“It’s like being in the club completely drunk,” Medvedev said. “When you are dancing — and I have a lot of friends like this — you feel like you are the god of the dance floor, but then when they show you the video it was not the thing.”