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Elena Rybakina edged out Victoria Azarenka in a topsy-turvy encounter to reach the final of the Miami Open for the second consecutive year on Friday.

Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina improved to 4-0 over Azarenka and is now 22-3 this season after defeating two-time Grand Slam champion Azarenka 6-4 0-6 7-6 (7-2) to reach Saturday’s final.

“The first set was really on the limit for me and I was pushing myself. I was serving well but then I knew the energy might go down and I stayed a bit on the court, which was a mistake because it’s really humid and Vika came very aggressive, she started to play so well,” Rybakina told Sky Sports Tennis.

“Also the return serve was difficult in the second set after three quick games. I knew it was going to be a third set, so I was preparing for that.

“Physically I haven’t been at my best this tournament and I knew if I was negative there is no chance for me to win any match and honestly, I didn’t have any energy to cheer myself up and show it to the box.

“I was just trying to focus on myself and keep the energy for myself.”

In the opening set, Rybakina squandered her first five break-point chances before solving Azarenka’s serve to grab a 4-3 lead and she leaned on her astonishing power before closing out the 51-minute set with a hold to love.

Azarenka refused to go quietly, however, conjuring up a flawless display in the second set in which she limited Rybakina to five points and broke her serve three times to force a decider.

Rybakina, after a change of outfits, opened the third set moving much better and broke at the fifth attempt in the fifth game to move 3-2 up when Azarenka splashed a backhand into the net.

The 24-year-old crumbled in her first chance to serve out the match, however, as Azarenka got a break to get to 5-5 after she chased down a drop shot before her opponent sent a backhand volley into the net.

The Russian-born Kazakh, serving to stay in the match, held to love to force a tiebreak and she won the first three points of it before closing out the win.

Rybakina, a title winner this year in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Doha, will next face either No 14 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova or unseeded American Danielle Collins in the final on Saturday.

Croft: Rybakina is extraordinary

“Oh my goodness, they don’t get much better than that. It had a bit of everything in that match. There were twists and turns, ups and downs, spellbinding tennis out there and I’m not sure how Rybakina got herself together to win that,” said analyst, Annabel Croft.

“She regrouped, stayed calm, found a way to compose herself and even when she hadn’t served it out at 5-4 with the new balls she still had to regroup again. She’s extraordinary. She gives no emotion away.”

Tale of the Tape

Zverev sees off in-form Marozsan to reach semi-finals

German fourth seed Alexander Zverev overcame tricky conditions to beat Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 6-3 7-5 to reach the semi-finals.

Zverev attacked Marozsan’s serve and converted three of his seven break-point chances, swatted aside the two break points he faced and won 80 per cent of his first serve points en route to the last four in Miami where he has yet to drop a set.

Despite not dropping a set in windy conditions, Zverev had his hands full with Marozsan, who is making his Miami debut and enjoyed top-10 upsets over Holger Rune and Alex de Minaur on the way to the quarter-finals.

“If he continues playing like that he’s going to rise up the rankings very quickly and he’s going to be one of those (top 10) guys himself,” Zverev said in his on-court interview.

“When we are in control, I think all top players when they are in control they feel like they can manage the match, manipulate the match a little bit in their own favour.

“But against him that’s not possible. That’s why he has such a great top-10 record and he’s an unbelievable player.”

Zverev’s win, sealed with a break when he unleashed a brilliant backhand down the line, marked his return to the Miami Open semi-finals for the first time since his runner-up finish in 2018.

Zverev: I play a lot of Mario Kart

Asked on Sky Sports Tennis what he does to switch off from tennis, Zverev said: “I play a lot of Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch! Am I good? If you ask my girlfriend she will probably say ‘no’ because she likes to beat me a lot but I think I’m decent at it.

“It’s a fun surrounding. It’s something we’ve been doing for years. It’s a good way to switch off to keep the mind busy and not busy.”

Zverev will next face either Spanish top seed Carlos Alcaraz or Bulgarian 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov.

Tale of the Tape

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