Rybarikova Topples Jakupovic to set up Linz Final Rematch Against Strycova in Birmingham

Magdalena Rybarikova returned to the semifinal stage of the Nature Valley Classic with a comprehensive and outstanding performance to get the better of the very inexperienced Dalila Jakupovic in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. The World No. 19 now meets Barbora Strycova in tomorrow’s semifinal as Rybarikova looks to make her first final here in nine years, while Strycova is bidding for a third final at this event since 2014.

Jakupovic was playing just her third tour-level quarterfinal, but her form has been excellent in the weeks leading up to this event, after making the Nottingham quarterfinals, where she beat some top players, and did not look out of place against former Top 10 player Johanna Konta in that quarterfinal match.

Jakupovic had made a bit of a name for herself on the grass. Picking up wins over Camila Giorgi last week and then coming through qualifying to get her first two wins over Top-20 players when she beat Elise Mertens and Naomi Osaka back-to-back. That put her in a good position to see what she could do against a player that thrives on this surface, plays her best tennis on the grass and is a Wimbledon semifinalist in her own right.

Jakupovic had trouble finding the right solutions to Rybarikova’s game very early. She gave up a break in the opening game, then lost a 0-40 lead in the following game, as Rybarikova looked to come through all those close mini-battles and tussles between the two. Jakupovic started to play a better brand of tennis to win two games in a row, but she never really sustained a good level on serve for a long period of time in the first set, but she also did not play the match-up well. The problem for Jakupovic is that she was pulling the trigger way too quick in the rally. She was going for shots that were never really percentage plays, but that is partly down to how Rybarikova likes to give you headaches from the other side of the court. Jakupovic missed the timing off her forehand side, tried to rush her shots and she got punished for it as she dropped the next four games to lose the first set 6-2.

The second set was almost a mirror image of the serving that Rybarikova produced in the three-sets win against Kristina Mladenovic in the second round, where she was bullet-proof on serve, losing just the one point in that final set. In the second set of today’s match, Rybarikova dropped just the two points on serve up until the last game of the match, but in Rybarikova’s moment of truth she had to really dig deep to stave off a late revival in the level of Jakupovic. She started playing her best tennis when the chips were down, when her back was against the wall, but ultimately she left it way too late and Rybarikova held her nerve, saved two break points and advanced to the semifinal.

Rybarikova now progresses to her third semifinal at this particular event, having previously won the tournament in 2009 and also made the semi-finals here in 2013. The Slovakian talked through the key ingredients to her game that allowed her to flourish against Jakupovic, particularly when the match got a bit tighter when she served for the match.

“I was having no troubles during my serve. I was having maybe 20-second games on my serve, especially in the second set. I don’t know if it was patience or not. I think I chose with the coach a great tactic. If I give her a lot of rhythm, then that’s the game that she likes, so that’s why I was changing the rhythm. I was playing lot of slice. Be more patience, yes, in some moments, but when I had a ball to kill, I’d kill it. So I think I just played pretty good match today.”

“Yeah, she did, but think I was more offensive at the end. I didn’t take my chances too much. I didn’t put the first serve in in the last game. But I had 40-15 on her serve, so if I would make that game, then it would be done. But I didn’t make the game obviously. At the end, I somehow made it, but in the last game, I was pretty tired on my side.”

A 20-year-old Rybarikova rallied away to a first WTA title win in Birmingham all the way back in 2009 and the Slovakian notifies that particular moment as the turning point to her realising that her game is built for grass and that she could play on this surface at a high standard.

“It was a huge moment obviously because I remember Sharapova was here, Li Na was here that year. I would never say I could win this tournament. So, yeah, I was very young and kind of didn’t know what to expect. It was my first final and I managed to win. It was a huge moment for my career and then I realized I had quite a good game for grass.”

The 2016 season was a difficult and testing time for Rybarikova, who took time away from the sport to take surgeries on her wrist and knee, but now is hoping that those times are behind her and she can only look forward after an amazing twelve months that has taken her inside the World’s Top 20 and playing the best tennis of her career to date.

“Well, definitely, especially in the beginning when I was coming back, I was kind of pleased with the way I was playing. But it was small tournaments and I was doing step by step. And then I started to play bigger tournaments. Again, I was having good results. I was definitely surprised. I was surprised with the way I was managing to be on the court. I was pretty relaxed. And maybe it was easier because I didn’t expect much from myself. I was coming from the injury so nobody expect anything. The biggest boost was obviously Wimbledon. It make so much. And then obviously the people expect or maybe I also was expecting a little bit more from me. I think I did quite well. Also after Wimbledon, I did quite good results. Also this year, I made fourth round of Australia, third round of Roland Garros which is my best result on clay. So obviously those will help when you are seeded. Before I wasn’t seeded and I could play first round against really tough opponents, so that really also helps to be seeded to do more rounds in the Grand Slams. So, yeah, definitely I was surprised about it. I would like to continue in that way.”

Barbora Strycova had to come through a high quality first set before winning via retirement against the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko. Tsurenko fought hard in the first set and had her chances to get the break back in the twelfth game of that set, but in the second game of the 2nd set she started to struggle incredibly with injury, required a medical time-out for a left hip problem before retiring after just one more game.

In her post-match press conference, Strycova discussed the match-up against Rybarikova, what she expects in tomorrow’s semi-final and what she remembers from their big clash in the Linz final of last year.

“We play such a good match in Linz. We always play against each other big matches and it’s a lot of fight because we have similar game. We also very good friend, so we know our game. I know her game very well and she knows mine. It’s going to be very tough one. I like to play on grass and she does, too, and she showed that last year in Wimbledon. But there will be a lot of chip- and-charge, a lot of serve-and-volley, a lot of different game than you see in women tennis right now. So I really look forward to play to tomorrow, yeah. I have to try a lot of volleys tomorrow in the warmup.

“We know each other so many years already. She’s just so normal. We go out. We talk about other stuff than tennis. We really get along very well. We have a lot of fun together. We watch every night football here. Going to be today as well.”

There are plenty of similarities to the games of both players. Both like to utilise as much variety as possible and look for ways to upset the rhythm of their opponent, which can be highly profitable on this surface. Rybarikova is prepared for one of her toughest battles of the week when she faces Strycova tomorrow.

“Well, I think everything is tricky about Barbora because she is really very talented, extremely talented player. She knows what I know. It’s little bit different. It’s going to be someone similar to me. It’s not going to be easy. I lost to her I think twice last year. So, yeah, it’s going to be definitely tough match because she serves well. She returns well. She feels great on the grass. Very tricky player. Definitely going to be a very tough match. She played twice the final here. She feels very good here. I hope it’s going to be entertaining for the people and for us maybe. Hopefully it’s going to be a good match.”

(Main Photo from Getty)