June 21, 2023 
By India Today Sports Desk: World number three Elena Rybakina suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Croatia’s Donna Vekic to be knocked out of the ongoing Berlin Open. Vekic beat Rybakina 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals of the grass-court tournament.
The world number 23 beat Rybakina in a match that lasted for two hours and 14 minutes. With this loss, Rybakina’s nine-match winning streak also came to an end. In fact, Vekic claimed the first win of her career against a top-five ranked opponent after losing the opening set.
Speaking after the match, Vekic said she’s really happy to beat Rybakina, while calling her opponent the best server on tour. Rybakina bombarded Vekic with her big serves and even dished out 15 aces in the match.
“I'm really happy to not only beat her, but to be in the quarterfinals here. I stayed in the moment. I was just trying to play the next point, the next game. She was serving unbelievable today. She's definitely, I think, the best server on the women's tour right now. She was serving really big, so I was like, 'Just stay with her; your chances will come,' and they did,” said Vekic.
She went on to say that she was trying to be aggressive against the world number three, adding she id not feel at ease while facing Rybakina’s serves.
“I was just trying to go for it, to be aggressive, which is not easy. In a way, I found myself lucky almost, every time I could get the return in. I felt in a better position once I was in the rally, but to get her serve back was not easy,” Vekic added.
Vekic will next face lucky loser Elina Avanesyan in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on June 23.
September 14, 2024 
