Diana Shnaider is just short of being great, but good enough to push for deep runs in tournaments. The 22-year-old might still be finding her footing in singles, but has already reached a good level of success. She isn't anywhere close to Elena Rybakina, though, and it showed in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
This began in the first set when Shnaider was off her game, yet somehow won three games and only dropped the set 3-6. The issue was that anyone looking at most of the statistics would have assumed she was bageled by Rybakina, who was playing exceptionally.
The Kazakhstani rarely lost a point on serve, and she was playing efficiently with 11 winners and 14 unforced errors. Meanwhile, her Russian opponent had one winner but a miserable 16 unforced errors. When Rybakina wasn't controlling the point on her own, Shnaider was handing her the point.
Elena Rybakina holds on after first dominating Diana Shnaider at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The shock wasn't that Rybakina was so outplaying Shnaider, but that the Russian refused to fully give in. She was almost broken in the second set but kept battling back. She had gone from planning her next break in playing to thinking that maybe she had a real chance to come back against the WTA No. 2.
This is the kind of grit that will likely propel Shnaider forward in her career. She doesn't have the pure power of Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka, nor the speed of Coco Gauff, but she is strong mentally. This had to be somewhat frustrating for the Kazakhstani, who had such a firm grasp on the match in the opening set.
As the second set reached 4-all and on Shnaider's serve, the Russian suffered the ultimate letdown as she tried to force Rybakina to hold in the next game or face a third set. Shnaider double-faulted twice and handed the game to the WTA No. 2. Rybakina then held and finished the match off with an ace.
Elena Rybakina will next face the winner of the Leylah Fernandez and Zeynep Sonmez match in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. After that, a semifinal match against either Iga Swiatek or Mirra Andreeva looms.
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