After failing to serve out for a two-set victory, Rybakina was defeated by Leylah Fernandez.
In her first encounter following a bout of acute bronchitis, Elena Rybakina lost brutally, as the No. 4 seed failed to convert either of her two straight match points that would have won the match in two sets over Leylah Fernandez.
In her first competitive match since Wimbledon on Thursday in Cincinnati, Rybakina experienced ups and downs early on but somehow positioned herself in a position to win in straight sets. However, in the twelfth game of the second set, the world No. 27 Fernandez took advantage of a huge opportunity to win the match and the 25-year-old Kazakh lost it 3-6 7-6 (3) 6-3 after two hours and thirty-five minutes of play.
Before Rybakina secured the crucial break in the opening set in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead, Fernandez twice wasted leads in the early going in the match. Rybakina had an opportunity to serve out for the opening, and he made no mistakes.
What transpired in the match between Fernandez and Rybakina then?
Following her defeat in the opening set, Fernandez continued her previous pattern of play into the second set, giving Rybakina two opportunities to regain the break; the Canadian led 3-1 and then 5-3.
And in the twelfth game, Rybakina opened up a 40/15 advantage on her serve after earning back-to-back breaks to reverse the deficit. However, the Kazakh player remarkably failed to convert either of her next two match points. After Fernandez forced a decider in the second-set tie-break by winning four straight games from 3-3, the 2022 Wimbledon champion ultimately paid the price for it.
Eight breaks occurred in the first two sets combined, but the third set was rather quiet as Fernandez broke for the first time in the decider in the seventh game and won the match on her service in the tenth.
Fernandez’s next matchup in the Cincinnati round of 16 is with Diana Shnaider.
