Barbora Krejcikova has never lost to Elena Rybakina heading into their semi-final tussle at Wimbledon, but the Czech player has never faced the No. 4 seed at the Championships.
Both players came through their semi-finals in straight sets, with the No. 31 seed defeating Jelena Ostapenko while the Kazakhstani star and 2022 champion bested two-time semi-finalist Elina Svitolina.
Match preview
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Ostapenko had gone through five rounds at this year's Championships without dropping a set and held a 5-2 lead over Krejcikova before Wednesday's last eight meeting, but the Czech player was having none of that.
Defeating the player who had lost only 15 games en route to the quarters sent a strong message, and the 6-4 7-6(4) triumph over the Latvian continued the No. 31 seed's run of not losing a set since her tournament-opening win over Veronika Kudermetova.
Krejcikova's momentum is unmistakable, and the 28-year-old is now two wins away from claiming a Slam in the singles circuit — she is a 10-time doubles champion — since her 2021 French Open triumph.
Having come through the opening two rounds without facing a seeded opponent, defeating Danielle Collins (11th seed) in the fourth and Ostapenko (13th seed) in the quarters already demonstrated her mettle against higher-ranked players on the other side of the net.
Now she aims to eliminate the highest-ranked seed left to make her first Wimbledon singles final.
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Rybakina needs no reintroduction on this surface, even if she has claimed only one victory in 2022, as her consistency at SW19 makes her favourite against most players on the WTA Tour.
The No. 4 seed was tied with two-time semi-finalist Svitolina in their head-to-head before Wednesday but got the job done in two, surprisingly dispatching her Ukrainian opponent 6-3, 6-2.
The 2022 champion and 2023 quarter-finalist came into this year's tournament having won 14 matches from 16 at the Championships, and she has added five more at SW19, taking her to 19 victories from 21.
Made the favourite to notch another major after several top seeds dropped out allied with her impressive record, Rybakina recording a statement win in the quarters was only the start, and she seeks to make another final at her favourite Slam.
However, she has a losing record against her last-four opponent, one she aims to snap at what is turning out to be her favourite playground — the lawns of Wimbledon.
Tournament so far
Barbora Krejcikova:
First round: vs. Veronika Kudermetova 7-6[4] 6-7[1] 7-5
Second round: vs. Katie Volynets 7-6[6] 7-6[5]
Third round: vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-0 4-3 ret.
Round of 16: vs. Danielle Collins 7-5 6-3
Quarter-final: vs. Jelena Ostapenko 6-4 7-6[4]
Elena Rybakina:
First round: vs. Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3 6-1
Second round: vs. Laura Siegemund 6-3 3-6 6-3
Third round: vs. Caroline Wozniacki 6-0 6-1
Round of 16: vs. Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 3-0 ret.
Quarter-final: vs. Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-2
Head To Head
Melbourne (2021) - Round of 16: Krejcikova 4-6 6-2 10-6
Ostrava (2022) - Semi-final: Krejcikova 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4
The Wimbledon semi-finalists have met twice on Tour, with Krejcikova the victor.
Strikingly, both match-ups have never been decided in two sets, indicating that the 2021 meeting in Melbourne and their last encounter a year later could have gone either way.
Having won the opening set in those losses, Rybakina will hope to ward off any Krejcikova fightback if she claims the first set again.
We say: Rybakina to win in three sets
Whoever is successful in Thursday's semi-final will go on to face a first-time Grand Slam finalist — Jasmine Paolini or Donna Vekic — and we are backing the No. 4 seed to edge out her opponent.
While both players have dropped one set each en route to the last four, Rybakina's expertise in this tournament allied with the Czech player's three-set exertion in her doubles quarter-final match lasting nearly three hours should help to end the fourth seed's losing run against Krejcikova.
