Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina’s preparations for the grass-court Grand Slam hit a snag Wednesday when she lost to Donna Vekic 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Berlin Open.
Vekic faced only two break points and saved them both. It was Rybakina’s second match, after beating qualifier Polina Kudermetova on Tuesday, since withdrawing ahead of her third-round match at the French Open when a virus left her with breathing difficulties.
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Donna Vekic of Croatia reacts to defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the second round on Day 5 of the bett1open 2023 Berlin at LTTC Rot-Weiß e.V. on June 21, 2023 in Berlin, Germany (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
“I stayed in the moment. I was just trying to play the next point, the next game,” Vekic said. “I was like ‘Just stay with her. The chances will come.’”
Vekic’s next opponent will be Elina Avanesyan, who lost in qualifying but then got a main-draw spot as a lucky after another player withdrew.
Caroline Garcia beat qualifier Jaimee Fourlis 6-3, 6-2 and will next play former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
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Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in action against Donna Vekic of Croatia in the second round on Day 5 of the bett1open 2023 Berlin at LTTC Rot-Weiß e.V. on June 21, 2023 in Berlin, Germany (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
“The best practice is to play matches so obviously I feel more confident in my movement,” the third-seeded Garcia said of adapting to grass after clay tournaments. “Today, I had a good time on Center Court. I really enjoyed it.”
Kvitova eased to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Nadia Podoroska in their second-round match which lasted 49 minutes.
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Donna Vekic of Croatia reacts to defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the second round on Day 5 of the bett1open 2023 Berlin at LTTC Rot-Weiß e.V. on June 21, 2023 in Berlin, Germany (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
Maria Sakkari beat Alizé Cornet 6-4, 6-2 in the first round after a health issue affected her French opponent. Cornet was trailing 4-1 in the first set when she complained of feeling unwell and had her blood pressure checked before continuing.
Sakkari will next face Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who upset Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-4 in a match that had been suspended overnight.
