Tenth-seeded Elena Rybakina prevailed in a marathon tiebreak and went on to notch a 7–6 (11), 6–4 victory over second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif.
The Kazakh recorded seven aces while winning her fourth career title. The 2022 Wimbledon champion needed two hours, three minutes to finish off the victory over Sabalenka, the No. 2-ranked player in the world.
Rybakina beat World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland in the semifinals to set up a coveted rematch with Sabalenka. The Belarus native was previously 4–0 against Rybakina and beat her in the Australian Open final earlier this year….