Rybakina rallies past Putintseva to set up Madrid Open semi-final against Sabalenka
The fourth-seeded Rybakina produced key serves to swat away two match points at 2-5 and broke Putintseva as she was serving for the victory at 5-3.
In the first all-Kazakhstani quarter-final at this level on the women's tour, Rybakina lacked efficiency on her break point opportunities, converting just three of 12 chances, and struggled to deal with Putintseva's deft drop shots.
However, a late-match collapse from Putintseva, who smashed her racquet and left it on court after the match - helped Rybakina advance to her sixth semi-final of the season, where she will face defending champion Aryna Sabalenka (25).
"It was really tough. I knew it wouldn't be easy. I was hoping I'd start better... it wasn't easy always coming back," Rybakina said.
"At 2-5, I already left the emotions and frustration and just kept playing. The momentum shifted. Yulia started to get a bit more angry and some mistakes helped me. I just kept on playing.
"I'm really happy."
Rybakina owns a tour-leading 30 wins in 2024 and has been successful in her last 12 deciding sets this season.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka picked up a 10th consecutive victory in Madrid with a 6-1, 6-4 win against teen Mirra Andreeva (17).
Sabalenka was untroubled against Andreeva, facing zero break points and hitting 35 winners in her 79-minute victory.
"I'm super happy with the level I played today, happy to get this win. (Andreeva) is an incredible player even though she's super young. Hopefully, I can keep going the way I'm going," Sabalenka said.
"It's never easy if you get to the semi-finals. Elena (Rybakina) is a great player. We had so many great battles.
"It's gonna be a tough challenge, but I’m happy to accept this challenge. Hopefully, I'm gonna bring my best tennis," she added.
Sabalenka is 5-3 lifetime against Rybakina but lost three of their last four meetings, most recently in the Brisbane final in January. Their Madrid semi-final will be their first encounter on clay.
