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Rybakina stuns Halep in straight sets to reach 1st Wimbledon final

London, Jul 7 (EFE).- Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina shocked Romanian Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday and will play her first Wimbledon final.

Rybakina, who had never advanced past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, upset Halep, who came into the clash with a 12-match unbeaten streak at Wimbledon.

The Romanian had not known defeat at the All England Club since 2018, as she won in 2019 and missed last year’s tournament due to injury – the 2020 edition was suspended due to the pandemic.

Halep was favorite in the duel against Rybakina, with the advantage of having beaten her in their last two clashes, at the US Open 2021 and Dubai 2020, but the Kazakh, thanks to how she took advantage of the Romanian’s second serves, took the match on the fast track.

Rybakina won 20 points on Halep’s second serve and only conceded one breakpoint on her own serve. Halep also committed nine double faults that weighed her down in a match that passed her by.

Rybakina has won only two titles in her career, but on Saturday she will fight for the most important of all.

She will face Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who defeated Germany’s Tatjana Maria in three sets, in the Wimbledon final.

This will be the fourth meeting between Rybakina and Jabeur, with a 2-1 head-to-head advantage for the Tunisian.

Jabeur defeated her last year in Chicago and Dubai, both on hard courts, and Rybakina beat her in Wuhan in 2019. EFE

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