ABU DHABI: World No. 1 seed Elena Rybakina reached the quarterfinals at the Abu Dhabi Open by rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win against Danielle Collins on Thursday.
The Kazakhstan star improved to 3-1 against Collins with the two-hour, 17-minute victory.
Rybakina trailed 3-2 in the second set and 2-1 in the deciding set before surviving to face Spain’s Cristina Busca, a 7-6, 7-5 winner over Great Britain’s Heather Watson.
No. 8 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia ousted Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina 6-1, 6-3 to set up a quarterfinal clash with No. 4 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic. Krejcikova was ahead 6-2, 1-0 when Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tomo was forced to retire.
