Elena Rybakina rallies past Victoria Azarenka to reach Miami final

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan advanced to her fourth final this season, dispatching Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (2) at the Miami Open on Thursday in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The world's No. 4-ranked player improved to 22-3 on the season and kept alive her pursuit of a third singles title for 2024 while also improving to 4-0 against Azarenka.

Rybakina, who was a finalist in last year's Miami Open as well, quickly fell behind by a game in the deciding set before breaking Azarenka's serve in the fifth game and moving ahead 4-2.

She later fell behind 6-5, but she once again rallied with four straight points to draw even and then controlled the tiebreaker.

"Thank you guys for the support," Rybakina said in addressing the crowd. "It was an unbelievable atmosphere. I really enjoyed it. It was such a tough battle. For me this tournament was a marathon from Day 1. Really happy I made it to the final."

Rybakina recorded 11 aces and won 40 of 49 first-serve points in a match that lasted two hours and 33 minutes. But she never found the going easy against Azarenka, with the two drawing to a 3-3 tie in the first set. Rybakina got ahead 5-3, at which point Azarenka rallied to within 5-4 before Rybakina swept the 10th game to finish the set.

Azarenka, the No. 27 seed, converted on 50 percent of her break points (4 of 8) and won 16 points in a row at one point to force a third set. She dominated throughout the second, three times earning wins on four straight points to eventually win 6-0.

On Saturday, Rybakina will face the winner of today's other semifinal between Danielle Collins and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Collins, an American, is unseeded. The Russian Alexandrova is seeded No. 14.