Madrid Open: Elena Rybakina downs Yulia Putintseva to book semi-final spot

Rybakina wrapped up her maiden victory over Putintseva, saving two match points to advance 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 in two hours and 48 minutes battle.

Rybakina will next take on either No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka or Mirra Andreeva as she aims to reach her sixth final of the year.

As demonstrated in their prior matches, Putintseva was skilled at varying spins, speeds, and depth; she hardly allowed Rybakina to establish any kind of rhythm. Towards the end of the second set, Rybakina, who is known for having a level head, slammed her racquet into the ground, so much so that she was given a code violation.

Nevertheless, despite making a total of 54 careless mistakes, the 24-year-old's dedication to her strategy paid off in the end. Despite making a lot of volley errors, Rybakina persisted in trying and was rewarded with just enough success at the net to remain in the match. She broke Putintseva back for a 2-2 lead in the second set with a winning volley, and she then managed to steal the eventual

In the decider, neither player gave their best game. At first, it was Putintseva, who used her most aggressive points of the day to bounce back from the defeat in the second set. She jumped out to a 5-2 lead with a series of outstanding drop shots, so it was understandable that she tried the shot again on her first match point.

However, Rybakina was able to hunt it down and find a counter-drop winner that barely touched the top of the net because it was just a tad too high and deep. Suddenly Rybakina was in the zone after an ace swatted away the second match point. She scored seven points in a row after trailing by two, and 19 of the following 23 after that, blasting winner after winner to take her tally to 45.

Rybakina had her own triple match point after this, and although she needed a fourth to cross the finish line, a brilliant serve winner clinched the victory. (ANI)