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English Woman's Journal - Rybakina, Pavlyuchenkova into Doha semi-finals as Swiatek and Osaka wait

Rybakina, Pavlyuchenkova into Doha semi-finals as Swiatek and Osaka wait

SPORTS 15.02.2024
Rybakina, Pavlyuchenkova into Doha semi-finals as Swiatek and Osaka wait

Elena Rybakina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova set-up a semi-final clash at the WTA 1000 tournament in Qatar on Thursday as four-time major winners Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka hoped to secure their last-four spots.

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Third seed and former Wimbledon champion Rybakina came from 4-2 down in the first set to defeat 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-2.

Pavlyuchenkova secured her first 1000-level hardcourt semi-final in 14 years with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Danielle Collins of the United States.

"I hope it will be a good match, we know each other well, both on and off the court," said Rybakina, last weekend's champion in Abu Dhabi, of her clash with Pavlyuchenkova.

Later Thursday, world number one Swiatek takes on Victoria Azarenka while a resurgent Osaka is up against Karolina Pliskova, winner on Sunday of the Transylvania Open.

Pavlyuchenkova, ranked 32 in the world, needed one hour and 34 minutes to see off Collins, a former world number seven who had to qualify this week.

The Russian's only stutter came in the first set when she coughed up a 5-2 lead but she regrouped to take it 7-5 and went on to claim victory on her first match point.

"I was injured for a long time, so I'm happy to be back and able to fight on all points, and victories give me confidence," said Pavlyuchenkova in the post-match court interview.

"I've been working a lot on the mental aspect and I feel like it's paying off," added the 32-year-old, a finalist at Roland Garros in 2021.

N.Steward--EWJ

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