Italian Open LIVE: Elena Rybakina and Anhelina Kalinina are looking to lift their maiden Italian Open title. Both the players will be in action in their first-ever final at Rome. Rybakina is eyeing her second WTA 1000 this season. Kalinina meanwhile defeated Veronika Kuermetova to reach her career’s maiden WTA 1000 tournament final. The upcoming contest is scheduled to begin at 10.30 PM IST on Saturday, 20th May 2023. Follow Italian Open 2023 LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Italian Open LIVE: Elena Rybakina and Anhelina Kalinina to fight for maiden Italian Open title
Also Read: Elena Rybakina defeats Jelena Ostapenko in Italian Open semifinal
- Elena Rybakina is aiming to win her career’s second WTA title on clay courts. Her only title in a clay court tournament so far is the Bucharest Open. She won it way back in 2019.
- She has reached her third final in 2023. Earlier this year she won the title at Indian Wells and finished as runner-up at Miami Open.
- Elena Rybakina is the seventh seed at Rome this year. She began her campaign in the second round with a straight set win against Jasmine Paolini.
- In the third round, she received a walkover from Anna Kalinskaya after the latter was trailing 3-4 in the first set.
- She defeated Marketa Vondrousova in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinal she met Iga Swiatek and qualfiied for the semifinal after the World No.1 pulled out due to a thigh injury.
- In the semifinal, she faced 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko. Rybakina went on to clinch a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
- Anhelina Kalinina is the 30th seed in the Italian Open 2023. The Ukrainian entered the tournament after facing successive defeats in her first matches at Charleston Open and Madrid Open.
- At Rome, she began her campaign in the second round. She sealed her first victory on clay this year by defeating Anna Blinkova in straight sets.
- In the third round, she dominated against Sofia Kenin with a 6-4, 6-2 victory to enter the fourth round.
- In the pre-quarterfinal, she met 19th seed Madison Keys. Against the American, she clinched a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.
- She faced 12th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarterfinal and clinched a nail-biting 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 win to advance to the semifinal.
- Against Veronika Kudermetova she yet again continued her momentum with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 victory to proceed to the final.
- Before her run in the Italian Open, Kalinina’s best performance this year was a quarter-final appearance at the Hobart International in January.
Rybakina vs Kalinina Head-to-Head: Anhelina Kalinina leads the head-to-head record 1-0 against Rybakina. Their first meeting was at the Charleston Open last year and Kalinina sealed a three-set victory. Rybakina however has improved leaps and bounds in the past year and enters the contest as the favourite.
Where to watch Italian Open 2023 LIVE?
The action can be watched LIVE on Tennis TV.
Italian Open LIVE: Elena Rybakina and Anhelina Kalinina to fight for maiden Italian Open title