Wimbledon 2024: Elena Rybakina insists favourite tag not a burden after Anna Kalinskaya win – ‘I don’t feel pressure’ – Eurosport

Elena Rybakina said she “doesn’t feel pressure” of being the Wimbledon favourite after racing into the quarter-finals when opponent Anna Kalinskaya was forced to retire.

The fourth seed led 6-3 3-0 after a ruthless display when Kalinskaya, who had a medical timeout towards the end of the first set, could not continue.

Rybakina had won eight games in a row before the Russian bowed out.

In total, seven top 10 seeds have already bowed out, with No. 7 Jasmine Paolini and No. 11 Danielle Collins the next two highest-ranked players remaining in the draw after Rybakina.

But the 25-year-old from Kazakhstan insists she is not struggling with the weight of expectation.

“I don’t feel pressure,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview. “Every opponent is difficult, and I know I need to always bring my best.

“That’s what I’m trying to do in every match and I’m just really enjoying every time I step on the court. I’m happy I’m going far in the draw and hopefully I can go to the end.”

No. 17 seed Kalinskaya showed promising signs that she might take the game to Rybakina early on, breaking in the opening game as a fiercely contested opening set unfolded.

However, she was looked at by a physio when trailing 4-3 with the first set back on serve, and things went downhill from there as she lost game after game before deciding to retire when Rybakina sealed the double-break in the second set.

“It’s definitely not the way I wanted to finish the match,” Rybakina said.

“Anna is a great player and I know she was suffering with a couple of injuries. If it’s the wrist, of course it’s very difficult to continue to play, so I wish her a speedy recovery.”

Before then, Rybakina had shown encouraging signs.

She recovered from the early break to draw level at 3-3 as the momentum swung in her favour, and after breaking again for a 5-3 lead, her huge serve got her out of trouble as an ace saw off break point as she served out the first set.

Rybakina again produced an ace when facing down break point in her opening service game of the second set, and she looked imperious with her power and accuracy.

She finished up with seven aces and 86% of first serve points won.

“My serve helps me a lot, especially when the roof is closed with no wind or conditions, it’s perfect for my game,” she said.

“I’m really happy the way I played the last two matches and enjoying my time here.”

Rybakina will take on 21st seed Svitolina – who reached the semi-finals last year – next for a place in the semi-finals.

The Ukrainian defeated China’s Xinyu Wang 6-2 6-1 to reach her 11th major quarter-final in the last 10 years – a record only bettered by Serena Williams (16) and Simona Halep (13).

Rybakina has three titles to her name this year in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Stuttgart, but struggled in the Slams with a second-round exit in Australia and quarter-final defeat at Roland-Garros.

Kalinskaya’s boyfriend, men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, was watching on from the stands on Centre Court as her best run at SW19 came to an end in unfortunate fashion.

Jelena Ostapenko’s fine form continued with a 6-2 6-3 win over Yulia Putintseva, the Latvian needing just 68 minutes to overcome top seed Swiatek’s conqueror.

Ostapenko will face Barbora Krejcikova next after the Czech player beat Danielle Collins 7-5 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

“I’m looking forward to that, but I’m just going to enjoy the victory today,” said the No. 32 seed.

“It’s the first time I’m in the quarter-finals, so we’ll celebrate tonight and have some good food. I’m going to prepare the best way so I can get one step further.”