ABU DHABI: Top seed Elena Rybakina made a fast start before battling past Russian Liudmila Samsonova 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 in the Abu Dhabi Open semi-finals on Saturday to book an intriguing title clash with Daria Kasatkina.

The former Wimbledon champion, seeking her second title of the season following her Brisbane triumph, breezed through the opening set in double quick time by unleashing her big serve and heavy groundstrokes.

But eighth seed Samsonova had other ideas and went ahead 4-1 in the second set, mixing up her power game with deft drops shots before levelling at one set apiece to keep alive hopes of a fifth win over the Moscow-born Kazakh in as many meetings.

Rybakina ramped up the pressure and grabbed a break in the fourth game of the decider after an untimely double fault by Samsonova and there was no looking back as the world number five wrapped up the contest.

Earlier, seventh seed Kasatkina also shook off a mid-match blip to move into her second final of the season with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2) victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia in an absorbing contest lasting nearly three hours.

The Russian dropped serve twice in the opening set but took full advantage of her sixth-seeded opponent’s struggles to break four times and wrest the early advantage in the match.

Haddad Maia rediscovered her rhythm, however, and led 4-2 in the next set before Adelaide runner-up Kasatkina squandered the opportunity to draw level and allowed the 27-year-old to take the contest into a decider.

The breaks continued to flow in the final set, where the rallies seemed never-ending, but Kasatkina raised her game in the tiebreak to quell the challenge of Haddad Maia.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2024