Adelaide, Australia, Jan 8 (AFP\/APP):Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina said she was targeting a place in the world’s top 10 after easing past Japanese player Misaki Doi in the semi-finals of the season-opening Adelaide International on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The towering Rybakina started slowly but had too much firepower for Doi, winning 6-4, 6-3 in 83 minutes.<\/p>\n
She served nine aces and hit 22 winners in the straight-sets win to book a final against either world number one Ashleigh Barty or rising Polish star Iga Swiatek.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old, who stands 1.84 metres (6 feet) tall, went into the tournament ranked 14th in the world.<\/p>\n
Reaching the final will see her rise to 12th, and if she wins she will end the week as world number 11.<\/p>\n
“I want to get to the top 10 and play well in the Grand Slams and big tournaments,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I haven’t played my best tennis this week — I still have to improve (for the final).”<\/p>\n
Against Doi, Rybakina looked sluggish early and dropped her first service game.<\/p>\n
But in a match of few long rallies, she broke straight back and then broke Doi again at 5-4 to take the first set in 40 minutes.<\/p>\n
She found her range and was never troubled on serve, while Doi came under increasing pressure from her opponent’s powerful hitting.<\/p>\n
Rybakina broke at 3-3 in the second, then again at 5-3 to claim a comfortable win.<\/p>\n
In the first of the men’s semi-finals, second-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov ousted the big-serving Marin Cilic 7-6 (7\/3), 6-3.<\/p>\n
Khachanov played more consistently than his Croatian opponent, whose forehand began to misfire in the first set tiebreak and during the second set.<\/p>\n
Khachanov, who reached the sixth final of his career with the win, will now play either top-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils or Australian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis in the decider.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Adelaide, Australia, Jan 8 (AFP\/APP):Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina said she was targeting a place in the world’s top 10 after easing past Japanese player Misaki Doi in the semi-finals of the season-opening Adelaide International on Saturday. The towering Rybakina started slowly but had too much firepower […]<\/p>\n
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