Elena Rybakina is living her dream at the Wimbledon Championships 2022. Seeded 17th, the Kazakh tennis star is into her maiden Grand Slam final. Yesterday, she defeated the former World Number 1, Simona Halep in the semifinals of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. Further, in a match lasting a little over a quarter and an hour, Rybakina got the better of her Romanian opponent in straight sets.
Rybakina is a Russian-born player, who moved to Kazakhstan to pursue her professional tennis career. After her semifinal victory, Rybakina opened up about whether she felt Russian still.
Elena Rybakina enjoying her time on the biggest stage
During the post-match press conference after her match against Halep, an interviewer asked Rybakina, “In your heart, do you feel Russian still?” The 23-year-old replied, “What does it mean for you to feel? I mean, I’m playing tennis so for me, I’m enjoying my time here. I feel for the players who couldn’t come here but I’m just enjoying playing here on the biggest stage and enjoying my time and trying to do my best.”
Additionally, she was also asked whether she felt like she was representing Russia at Wimbledon Championships 2022. Answering this question, Rybakina said, “I actually answered these questions yesterday and as I said yesterday, I can repeat it now. I’m playing already for Kazakhstan for a long time and I’m really happy representing Kazakhstan. They believed in me and there is no more question about how I feel. It’s just already a long time, my journey as a Kazakh player and I played Olympics, Fed Cup so I think I gave an answer also yesterday about this.”
Rybakina sets up a final clash with Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon Championships 2022
In the summit clash of the ongoing grass-court Grand Slam tournament, Rybakina will take on the third seed, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. The latter had earlier defeated Germany’s Tatjana Maria in a three-setter thriller.
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It’ll be a maiden Grand Slam final appearance for both players. Who are you backing to lift the Wimbledon 2022 title? Let us know your views in the comments below.
The post ‘Do You Feel Russian?’ – Journalist Presses a Bizarre Question Into Wimbledon Championships Finalist Elena Rybakina appeared first on EssentiallySports.
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