Former champion Rybakina powers to victory over Romanian qualifier

By Charlie Stong on No.1 Court at Wimbledon

Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan, 4, bt Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Rou (Q) 6-3,6-1.

Sometimes champions take their time to get into their groove, but once they’re there, there is often little to stop them.

That was certainly the case on No.1 Court this afternoon as 2023 champion Elena Rybakina was broken in the opening game of this match before shrugging off Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse to win 6-3, 6-1.

Ruse looked like she may threaten to cause the shock of all shocks early on, racing into a 2-0 lead thanks to some confident groundstrokes which defied her world ranking of 67.

Rybakina held for 1-2 but Ruse was not deterred, winning the next game thanks to a fine backhand down the line – showing guts after her opponent had come back from 0-40 to deuce.

But then Rybakina did what true champions can do – she moved to another gear, winning nine games on the trot and 11 out of the next 12 to power to victory.

There was what could have proved a turning point at 4-3 to Rybakina, 30-30 on the Ruse serve, when the Romanian failed to challenge what looked like a long groundstroke from her opponent – hitting a forehand long to make it 5-3 to the Kazakhstani player.

Rybakina then held to love to take the first set before storming into a 4-0 lead in the second set – and although Ruse broke the run of games to make it 1-4, Rybakina’s power took her into the second round in style.

Afterwards she told the No.1 Court crowd: “I am really happy to be back and to play my first match here this year. 

“I haven’t played much on grass this year but that performance made me very happy and it’s great to be back. I want to be happy on the court and that is the main thing for me.”

Pictured top: Action from No.1 Court today (Picture: Charlie Stong)