The fourth favorite of the “WTA 1000” tournament in Miami, Olena Rybakina, managed to reach the final, beating Victoria Azarenka in three sets with a score of 6-4, 0-6, 7-6(2).

>> OPINION. How fair is it for Simona Halep to get a wild card? It all started with Maria Sharapova, when the Russian also returned from doping, and Halep then challenged her

Victoria Azarenka lost to Olena Rybakinia in the WTA semifinals in Miami

The first set of the match between Rybakina and Azarenka ended in favor of the Kazakh, who managed to make seven aces, including three in a row.

Azarenka showed a completely different mood in the second set, in which Rybakina was practically irrelevant, winning to zero.

Belarus, although with a better morale, tried to maintain the rhythm of the previous set, but the fourth favorite recovered and went to the tiebreak, where the difference was categorical: 7-2.

The match lasted two hours and 36 minutes.

Russian Kateryna Alexandrova (16 WTA) and American Danielle Collins (53 WTA) will meet in the second semi-final on Friday.

The WTA 1000 category tournament will be held in Miami from March 19 to 31. Played on hard court, the main draw features 128 players and a total prize pool of $8,995,555. The champion of the overall title is Petra Kvitova (she is pregnant and will not participate in this year’s edition).

>> ATP Miami: No. 4 seeds for semifinals – Who can fill the field for aces

>> Another important name in tennis says that Simona Halep should not get a wild card.