Elena Rybakina defeats Ons Jabeur in dramatic Abu Dhabi clash

Elena Rybakina won her second three-set match of the week at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, overcoming a strong challenge from Ons Jabeur to win, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4) and reach the semifinals.

The top seed is looking win the title in Abu Dhabi for a second straight year, and will now face 2023 champion Belinda Bencic for a spot in the final after defeating Jabeur, a former world No. 2, in two hours and 13 minutes on Center Court.

Rybakina is playing her first tournament since publicly splitting with new coach Goran Ivanisevic, who began working with the 2022 Wimbledon champion during the off-season and through the Australian Open. The former world No. 3 has expressed a desire to reunite with former coach Stefano Vukov, but Vukov remains provisionally suspended while under investigation by the Hologic WTA Tour for a potential Code of Conduct breach.

Still, the top seed has played solid tennis despite the drama, reaching the second week of the Australian Open and winning her opening round in Abu Dhabi in three sets.

Trailing Jabeur 2-3 in their head-to-head, Rybakina won their highest-profile match in the championship match of 2022 Wimbledon, where the Russian-born Kazakh won her first major title. She chaneled that form early on in the evening to win the first set but soon found herself trailing two breaks in the second.

Jabeur served her way to level the match and rallied from a 2-4 deficit in the decider as the match hurtled towards a tiebreaker. The Tunisian thrilled the crowd by saving two match points on her own serve and carried that momentum into the Sudden Death, leading 4-2 at the first change of ends.

Rybakina recovered the mini-break with a well-struck forehand and put the pressure back on Jabeur with an aggressive approach to net.

Down two more match points, Rybakina wrapped up the match with one last miss from Jabeur, the two exchanging a warm hug at the net.

Rybakina will next face new mom Belinda Bencic in the last four. Bencic, a former world No. 4, is making the most of the wild card she earned into the main draw, winning a 6-0, 6-0 second-round over Veronika Kudermetova and a 7-5, 6-3 win over fellow wild card and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.