Elena Rybakina vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: Pavlyuchenkova’s first career semi-final?

For fans of women’s tennis in Russia and Kazakhstan, undoubtedly, the central duel of the Roland Garros quarterfinals will be the meeting between Rybakina and Pavlyuchenkova. The girls have never crossed paths with each other, but at the same time, the Russian and the Kazakh do not know each other very well. Pavlyuchenkova and Rybakina play each other, so they know each other’s weaknesses. Whose knowledge will be more effective in the end?

Almost every tournament in the suburbs of Paris gives us a lot of sensation. One of these stars is Elena Rybakina. The quarter-finals may not yet be at a mega level. But it’s unlikely that before the start of Roland Garros 2021, one could have considered Elena among the contenders for the semifinals. Let us remind you that Rybakina played only three official matches on the clay courts before the Grand Slam, not even three, but two and a half, so to speak. One set in Charleston and two in Madrid. As a result, she withdrew from the US tournament, beat Tomljanovic and lost to Mertens.

But at Roland Garros Rybakina has already achieved four victories, over Jacquemot, Hibino, Vesnina and Serena Williams. Yes, Serena is not as dangerous now as she was a few years ago. But still, a victory over the living legend of women’s tennis will surely give the young Kazakhstani player extra confidence.

Pavlyuchenkova has reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the seventh time in her career, her second at Roland Garros, she has played three times at the Australian Open, once each at the AO and USO. It’s quite possible that now is Anastasia’s last chance to play in the semi-finals. After all, Pavlyuchenkova is almost 30 years old, turning 30 in a month. That’s a decent age for women’s tennis, so it’s a sin not to use this opportunity, especially as Elena Rybakina, after beating Sobolenko and Azarenka, doesn’t look like a super top player. Besides these two athletes from Belarus, Pavlyuchenkova has also been stronger than McHale and Tomljanovic in the current Roland Garros draw.

For Anastasia, this may be her last chance to play in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament. By Anastasia’s admission, clay is not her favourite surface but Pavlyuchenkova played her first Grand Slam quarter-final on the outskirts of Paris. Here are her betting options for the game: W2 for 2.24, Total Over 21.5 for 1.86.