Rybakina saves set points vs. Pliskova to make Australian Open second round

No.3 seed Elena Rybakina recovered from a slow start to win her Australian Open first round 7-6(6), 6-4 over Karolina Pliskova in 1 hour and 33 minutes, saving triple set point in the first-set tiebreak along the way.

Rybakina, who was runner-up in Melbourne last year to Aryna Sabalenka, has enjoyed a superb start to 2024. The Kazakhstani claimed her sixth career title in Brisbane two weeks ago, routing Sabalenka 6-0, 6-3 in the final, and now owns a 7-1 record this season.

The result maintained Rybakina's perfect record against two-time major finalist Pliskova. She now leads their head-to-head 4-0, including 8-0 in sets and 3-0 in tiebreaks. The 24-year-old will face the opposite dynamic in her second round against Anna Blinkova, though. No.57-ranked Blinkova, who defeated Cristina Bucsa 6-2, 6-4, won their only pro encounter in the 2017 St. Petersburg ITF W100 semifinals, as well as their only junior meeting in a Moscow clay-court final in 2014.