Elena Rybakina claims Stuttgart title after beating Iga Swiatek in semi-finals; live tennis continues on Sunday with Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Casper Ruud in Barcelona ahead of the Madrid Open live on Sky Sports Tennis throughout next week
Monday 22 April 2024 08:28, UK
Elena Rybakina stormed to her third title of 2024 as she thrashed an emotional Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-2 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
The Kazakhstani fourth seed broke to love in the opening game and cruised to the first set, breaking again to make it 5-2 and then holding to love.
Kostyuk had no answer and when her opponent broke serve once more in the first game of the second set, the unseeded Ukrainian cut a forlorn figure as she dropped to her knees.
Rybakina, who defeated world No 1, and winner of the last two titles, Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, showed no mercy and Kostyuk forced her only break points over the course of the match when 3-2 down in the second set.
If there was to be a comeback, this was Kostyuk's chance, but the 21-year-old looked close to tears as she failed to take advantage of three break points, constantly looking in frustration at her coach in the crowd.
After holding serve, Rybakina broke again to make it 5-2 to leave her serving for the match. After hitting 10 aces in her win over Swiatek, she did not need any to dismiss Kostyuk.
Speaking after the victory, she said: "Thank you so much. I want to congratulate Marta for a great tournament. You're playing really amazing. Hopefully we play many more finals.
"Of course I want to say thank you to my team. My coach Stefano and also the president of Kazakhstan federation for coming to support. Thank you so much, it means a lot.
"Of course the crowd, it was an unbelievable week. It was nice to play every match here and fight. Your energy gives a lot during these tough matches, so thank you so much.
"I want to thank everyone for the great tournament, everyone who made it possible. It's an amazing tournament and I'm really looking forward to coming back next year."
Rybakina adds the Stuttgart title to her wins in the Brisbane International and the Abu Dhabi Open this year and will now turn her attention to the Madrid Open, which is live on Sky Sports throughout next week.
For Kostyuk, this was her second final defeat of 2024 after she lost the decider of the San Diego Open in March.
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