By W. G. S. D. Wijesinghe, Jadetimes news
Elena Rybakina reinforced her status as the favorite to win the Wimbledon title with a commanding performance against Anna Kalinskaya on Centre Court, before Kalinskaya retired due to injury.
Leading 6-3, 3-0, Rybakina was well on her way to victory when Kalinskaya, in tears, was forced to withdraw from the match due to a wrist injury. The Russian 17th seed had taken a medical timeout midway through the first set but could not continue.
Kazakh player Rybakina, born in Russia, is the highest seed remaining in the women's draw and will face either Elina Svitolina or Wang Xinyu in the quarterfinals. Following the elimination of several big names over the weekend, Rybakina is now the only former Wimbledon champion left in the women's competition.
Despite being broken in the first game and trailing 3-1 in the opening set, the fourth seed rallied to win five consecutive games, securing two breaks to love to claim the first set. She continued her dominance by breaking at the first opportunity in the second set, defending a break back point, and securing another break to establish a commanding lead.
Struggling visibly since the middle of the first set, Kalinskaya chose to retire from the match to avoid further injury.
