Elena Rybakina blitzes Aryna Sabalenka to win Brisbane; Grigor Dimitrov wins first title in six years

Still just 16 years old, Andreeva picked up her fifth career Top 20 win Wednesday after blitzing fourth seed Liudmila Samsonova, 6-2, 6-1, at the Brisbane International. The 2023 WTA Newcomer of the Year impressively did not drop serve and made the most of 31 unforced errors provided by Samsonova—including seven double faults—in capitalizing on five of seven break points.

Andreeva made her WTA main draw debut last April in Madrid.

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ANDREEVA'S TOP 20 WINS

2023 Madrid R2: d. No. 14 Haddad Maia
2023 Madrid R3: d. No. 19 Linette
2023 Wimbledon R2: d. No. 11 Krejcikova
2023 Beijing R1: d. No. 12 Krejcikova
2024 Brisbane R2: d. No. 15 Samsonova

Andreeva has now taken out two of her countrywomen at the 500-level tournament, adding to her 6-2, 6-3 victory over Diana Shnaider. She began the week ranked No. 58, but a win in the round of 16 over Arina Rodionova could vault the rising teen back inside the Top 50.

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In a clash of power players, Jelena Ostapenko dominated Camila Giorgi, 6-1, 6-4, in her event debut to set up a meeting with former champion Karolina Pliskova. Ostapenko finished with a +9 differential, sealing the win from the baseline with a nifty half volley backhand crosscourt winner—her 23rd of the day.

Earlier, top seed Aryna Sabalenka cruised through her 2024 season opener. The reigning Australian Open champion rolled, 6-3, 6-0, over Lucia Bronzetti, winning 50 points to the Italian’s 26.

On the men’s side, Roman Safiullin saved five match points to deny Alexei Popyrin, 6-7 (9), 6-4, 7-6 (3), to reach the last eight. Safiullin previously eliminated third seed Ben Shelton in another tight three-setter.

Fourth seed Ugo Humbert defeated Alex Michelsen of the U.S., 6-4, 6-4. The Frenchman next faces Jordan Thompson with a quarterfinal spot up for grabs.

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