Bencic stuns Rybakina to set up Krueger final

Belinda Bencic is through to another Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open final after eliminating reigning champion Elena Rybakina in a pulsating contest. The Swiss star will now meet Ashlyn Krueger, who defeated Linda Noskova in straight sets, in Saturday's final.

The winner of the inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in 2023, Bencic went into the semi-final against the current champion as the underdog.

Rybakina, who came out on top in a three-set thriller against Ons Jabeur in the last eight, started the match in ominous fashion, quickly taking control and claiming the first set 6-3.

Bencic, having only returned to action at the tail end of last year after taking a maternity break, has been growing in stature throughout the tournament and secured her passage to the semi-finals with a straight-sets win over Marketa Vondrousova.

The disappointment of falling behind, if anything, galvanised the 27-year-old, who responded brilliantly in the second set, racing into a 3-0 lead. Rybakina, in true champion style, hit back, but Bencic held on to force a decider.

It was Bencic looking the more dangerous of the two players and, after breaking Rybakina for a third time, she found herself serving for the match.

Rybakina saved two match points before breaking her opponent’s serve to close the deficit to a single game, with the score 5-4 in favour of Bencic, who was now serving for the match once more.

This time around, she wasn’t to be denied, seeing out the match to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and book her place in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open final for the second time.

Krueger’s impressive form in the tournament continued following standout wins against Daria Kasatkina and Leylah Fernandez, as she edged an entertaining clash with Noskova to reach the final.

It was a clash of the rising stars with the two players, both 20, having impressed on their way to the last four, with Krueger seeing off both Daria Kasatkina and Leylah Fernandez, while Noskova had beaten Paula Badosa and Magda Linette in straight sets.

It was the first meeting between the two players and Noskova, who won her maiden title at the Monterrey Open last August, appeared to be on course to take the first set as she led 4-2.

Krueger, though, had other ideas and fought back strongly as both women attempted to seize the initiative. It was no surprise to see the set eventually settled via a tie-break, which Krueger claimed 7-2 to take the lead.

After claiming the opening set, Krueger grew in confidence and broke Noskova twice to take control of the second.

Despite failing to take advantage of a match point, with Noskova breaking her opponent and winning the next game on serve to bring it back to 5-4, Krueger, serving for the match, successfully saw it through to seal a 7-6, 6-4 victory and secure her first appearance in a WTA 500 final.