In a rematch of the 2021 French Open quarterfinal, Elena Rybakina will go up against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open. Rybakina has already started the year by winning the Brisbane International while Pavlyuchenkova has put up impressive displays since returning from a career-ending knee injury. 

For Rybakina, it is a chance to continue her winning form while Pavlyuchenkova will look to gain momentum for the 2024 season. 

Elena Rybakina vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: Preview

Rybakina has been improving steadily since the beginning of 2022. She stunned the tennis world by winning the Wimbledon in 2022 and then went on to play in the final of the 2023 Australian Open. She would also go on to win the Indian Wells Masters and the Italian Open to further move up the rankings. Rybakina had a shot at accomplishing the Sunshine Doubles as she played in the final of the Miami Open. 

Her efforts launched her to rank 3 and helped her end 2023 ranked 4. She started 2024 with a bang by winning the Brisbane International. However, the Adelaide International and the Australian Open would not show great results. But the Kazakh got back to winning ways in the Abu Dhabi Open and lifted the title. Now, she has a shot at winning the first Masters of 2024.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenko will be competing in her first hard-court semifinal at a WTA 1000 in 14 years. She has made her comeback to the court after a devastating knee injury in 2022. She was sidelined for 10 weeks after the Australian Open with the injury and wasn’t sure of a comeback. Shen then returned to the court in the French Open in 2023.

Her best result in slams in 2023 was reaching the quarterfinal of the French Open. Coming to Masters tournaments, she would reach round 2 of three WTA 1000 tournaments before crashing out. But she managed to climb to rank 32 after entering 2023, ranked 367.

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In 2024, Pavlyuchenkova reached the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open but crashed out of the ASB Classics in the first round. Her Adelaide International stint would see much better results, but once again, a loss in the quarterfinal would await her. In the first slam of the year, the Russian Pavlyuchenko lost in round 2. After losing the semifinal of the Linz Open, she will now play in the semifinal of the Qatar Open, her first WTA 1000 semi-final since the 2021 Madrid Open.

Rybakina vs Pavlyuchenkova: Head-to-Head

The two semifinalists of the Qatar Open have only faced each other once before. They battled it out on the clay court of the French Open in 2021. Their clash was nothing short of impressive as it went to three sets with both players going toe-to-toe. Rybakina won the first set, 7-6, with Pavlyuchenkova replying with a 6-2 win in the second set. Their final set would be an advantage set as tie-breakers weren’t implemented in slams for final set ties. Pavlyuchenkova would win the match 9-7 to move on to the semifinal.

She would go on to reach the final that year before losing to Barbora Krejčíková in three sets.

Prediction: Rybakina takes the win in straight sets

Although their first clash did not conclude in her favor, Rybakina is highly likely to take revenge against her previous loss. She is currently on a rampage and has seven consecutive wins to her name. On the other hand, Pavlyuchenkova’s serve and court coverage have hampered her from time to time recently.

Thus Rybakina will start as a favorite to avenge her 2021 French Open loss and reach the final of the Qatar Open.

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