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Fixture: (1) Iga Swiatek vs (10) Elena Rybakina
Date: March 17, 2023
Tournament: BNP Paribas Open
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Indian Wells, California, USA
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $8,800,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina preview
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will face off against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the semifinals of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open on Friday.
Swiatek scored straight sets wins over Claire Liu, Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu to make the last eight here. She was up against Sorana Cirstea in the quarterfinals.
Swiatek kicked things off with a break of serve to lead 2-0, but Cirstea got right back in it by bagging the next couple of games. The defending champion then reeled off four straight games to take the set.
Swiatek broke her opponent's serve twice in the second set as she raced to a 4-0 lead. Cirstea put up a bit of a fight by claiming the next two games, but it wasn't enough. The World No. 1 remained ahead and soon won the match 6-2, 6-3.
Rybakina defeated Sofia Kenin, Paula Badosa and Varvara Gracheva to reach the quarterfinals, where she was up against Karolina Muchova. The Czech led 4-2 in the first set and even served for it at 5-4.
However, the Wimbledon champion broke back in time to level the score. Rybakina then came out on top in the ensuing tie-break to capture the opener. Muchova secured an early lead in the second set and didn't squander it this time to clinch it.
Rybakina gained the upper hand early on in the third set as she went 3-1 up. Muchova was unable to recover from this deficit. She even saved a couple of match points later on, but the Kazakh had the last laugh as she won 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-4.
Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina head-to-head
The two have split their couple of meetings evenly to tie the head-to-head at 1-1. Swiatek won their first encounter at the 2021 Ostrava Open in straight sets. Rybakina defeated her at this year's Australian Open in straight sets as well.
Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina prediction
Swiatek scored yet another comfortable victory as she eased past Cristea to continue her title defense. While there were a few minor hiccups, she never really looked to be in trouble.
Rybakina, on the other hand, was tested thoroughly by Muchova, but managed to sneak past the Czech. Her serve was instrumental in helping her out. The Kazakh is a better server compared to Swiatek, but the latter is also a great returner, thus balancing the scales.
Rybakina also went 2/14 on break points in the previous round. It's something she can't afford to do against a player of Swiatek's caliber in the next round. The Kazakh scored a resounding win over the World No. 1 at the Australian Open a couple of months ago.
However, the relatively slow conditions give Swiatek an edge over here. She'll have a much better shot at countering Rybakina's power-packed game this time around. As such, the defending champion has a good shot at making yet another final here.
Pick: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.
