The tennis community recently witnessed a nail-biting Miami Open clash between Elena Rybakina and Taylor Townsend. As she had to avoid a huge scare after dropping the second set, the fourth-seeded Kazakhstani tennis star recently got real about her round-of-32 victory against her American opponent.

The former Grand Slam champion was recently singing the praises of Townsend after prevailing in a three-set thriller, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4. While calling her opponent a ‘very dangerous player,’ Rybakina opened up about how she is ‘surviving’ in this esteemed WTA 1000 tournament.

In her post-match on-court interview, Rybakina was asked how she counteracted Townsend’s game style down the stretch at the end of their first meeting on the tour. Rybakina answered by saying, “I knew she’s a very dangerous player. She has very good hands and comes forward a lot. I knew it would be a tough one, for now I’m surviving, I’m really happy, and yeah, it was a really tough one.”

In an honest conversation, Rybakina also revealed that she will now try to recover for her next high-profile encounter with one of the top-seeded Americans, Madison Keys. Meanwhile, the current number 4 player also brought to light her strategy to come out on top in such challenging games.

Elena Rybakina reveals her secret sauce to prevail in ‘tough’ matches

In the same on-court interview, the player from Kazakhstan was asked, “When matches are close and tight like that, is there something that you repeat to yourself, something that you try to think about every time, or do you keep the brain empty on those points? “

Rybakina answered by saying, “I was always trying to focus on every point because it was pretty close the whole match and it’s not easy. Also, the tough conditions on the second day, already, it’s so long, and thank you so much, guys, for staying so late

She also revealed how she likes to take advantage of the crowd that supports her during the late-night session in Miami Gardens. Rybakina added, “It’s not easy, but your support, of course, helps, and hopefully, see you next match.” What do you think of Elena Rybakina’s strategy to win such close contests on the court?

Also, do you think that Rybakina can make it to the championship game in this tournament? Let us know in the comments section.

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