NEW YORK (Reuters) – Frenchwoman Clara Burel joined the growing list of giant-killing qualifiers at this year’s U.S. Open as she toppled Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 6-4 6-4 in the first round at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday.
Hot on the heels of Ukrainian Daria Snigur’s win over twice Grand Slam winner Simona Halep and Colombian Daniel Galan’s triumph over fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 131st ranked Burel produced an assured display to eliminate Rybakina.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina squandered six of the seven break points she earned in the first set as she racked up 19 unforced errors.
Former junior number one Burel capitalised on her chances to break in the fifth and ninth games.
Burel broke the Russian-born Rybakina in the opening game of the second set and won more than three-quarters of her first-serve points under hot and humid conditions on day two of the hardcourt major.
She thrust her fists in the air after clinching victory with a backhand winner.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
