Naija street don wake up to shocking news from Roland Garros as Yuliia Starodubtseva, a Ukrainian wey many people never hear about, dey give world number two Elena Rybakina serious wahala. For day four of French Open, Starodubtseva don level match at one set each after Rybakina win first set 6-3. But second set na different story, as Rybakina lose 6-0, wey be say she only win one game for nine games.
Rybakina, wey be second seed, dey play like she no get energy. She dey make many unforced errors, and her forehand dey fly into net. Starodubtseva, 25-year-old Ukrainian, take advantage well well. She break Rybakina early for third set and lead 3-0. The crowd for Suzanne-Lenglen court dey shocked, as Rybakina dey struggle to hold serve. Starodubtseva even get chance for double break, and net cord help her as Rybakina forehand go wide.
Meanwhile, for other courts, Novak Djokovic dey cruise against Valentin Royer. He win first set 6-3 and lead second set 4-1. Djokovic dey wear funny outfit, but his game dey solid. Andrey Rublev dey fight hard against Camilo Ugo Carabelli, wey force fourth set tiebreak. Rublev win first set 6-1, but Carabelli bounce back to take second set 6-1. Rublev currently lead 2-1 for third set.
For women side, Elina Svitolina defeat Carlota Martinez Cirez 6-0, 6-4. She say she play well for first set, but second set dey tough as Quevedo improve. Svitolina dey happy to move on to round three. Also, Marie Bouzkova lead Francesca Jones 6-0, 4-2, and Kostyuk and Volynets dey level at 4-4 for first set. Jelena Ostapenko dey serve for second set against Magda Linette to force decider.
For men side, Karen Khachanov survive scare against Marco Trungelliti, win 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. Khachanov miss overhead shot wey fit haunt am, but he recover. He praise Trungelliti, wey at 36 years old dey play like prime. Next match for Khachanov be against De Jong.
Back to Rybakina match, she dey try to hold serve for first time for third set. She save some break points and hold, but she still trail 3-1. Starodubtseva dey serve for 4-2 lead. The Ukrainian dey handle pressure well, as she dey close to biggest win of her career. Rybakina, wey win first set 6-3, don lose nine games in a row at one point. The match dey get many twists, and fans dey wonder if Rybakina fit recover or Starodubtseva go finish am.
On Chatrier, Djokovic break Royer again to lead 6-3, 4-1. He dey look strong despite limited preparation. For Melbourne earlier this year, he run out of gas after beating Jannik Sinner, but for Paris, he dey handle week one opponents well. Royer get morale-boosting hold, but Djokovic still lead 5-2 for second set.
For Court 14, Joao Fonseca dey wait to play, but TNT cut away from tennis to interview fans. This dey annoy some viewers wey want watch Starodubtseva vs Rybakina. The shadows don creep across Lenglen court, but Rybakina dey see ball okay as she earn break point at 30-40 and take it to level at 4-4 for first set. But after that, things dey fall apart for her.
Rybakina game dey contain margin for error because of her big groundstrokes, but she dey disintegrate. No one know wetin dey happen for her life or head, but the fact be say she take first set 6-3 and since then win only one game. Starodubtseva, wey dey play with confidence, dey serve for 5-0 lead for second set, having won seven of last eight games. She survive break points to hold for 5-0.
For other matches, Rafael Jodar, 19-year-old 27 seed, take first set against James Duckworth 6-1. He lose only five games in round one. Basavareddy lead Michelsen 2-1 on serve, Borges lead Kecmanovic 1-1, 2-0, and Mensik lead Navone 2-1 on serve for fifth set. Kostyuk get second break to spare herself stress of serving out set, and she and Volynets go to decider. Carreno Busta lead Kokkinakis 7-5, 0-1 with break, and Kecmanovic lead Borges 6-3, 2-4.
The French Open day four dey full of drama, with Starodubtseva dey cause major upset against Rybakina. Fans dey wait to see if Rybakina fit come back or if Starodubtseva go finish am. For now, the Ukrainian dey in control, and the tennis world dey watch.
