Rybakina Beats Kostyuk to Win Porsche Grand Prix

21 April 2024, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Stuttgart: Kazakhstani tennis player Elena Rybakina celebrates with the trophy during the award ceremony after defeating Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk during their Women's singles final tennis match at the Stuttgart Open Tennis tournament. Photo: Marijan Murat/dpa

Elena Rybakina eased to her third title of the season on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix.
Rybakina, the world No. 4-ranked player who defeated top-ranked Iga Świątek in the semifinals, saved the three break points she faced and took four from six opportunities to win in 1 hour, 9 minutes, The Associated Press reported.
It’s Rybakina’s tour-leading 26th win of the year. The Stuttgart title comes after wins in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi this season. The Kazakh player’s previous clay-court wins were in Rome in 2023 and Bucharest in 2019.
The 27th-ranked Kostyuk was under pressure from the start as Rybakina broke her serve and sealed the first set in just 30 minutes.
Kostyuk had surprised herself with her run to the final, including three consecutive wins over top-10 players Zheng Qinwen, Coco Gauff and Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. Kostyuk saved five match points against Zheng in the round of 16.
It was Kostyuk’s third final. She won her maiden title in Austin last year, and was runner-up in San Diego last month.