Defending champion Elena Rybakina survived a stern test from Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Thursday, outlasting the Tunisian in a third-set tiebreak, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4), to return to the semifinals and win her sixth match in a row at the event.

Abu Dhabi: Draws | Scores | Order of play | 411

The sixth career meeting between the two players continued a trend of their all-time head-to-head with a fifth three-setter. After two dominant sets by the winning player -- though Jabeur needed two opportunities to serve out the second set after leading 5-1 -- the third set was decided by the slimmest of margins. Jabeur hit more winners than Rybakina (43 to 29) and both players racked up the same amount of unforced errors (42) but it was the World No. 5 who won the final points that mattered.

In the end, the top seed escaped in 2 hours and 13 minutes by winning the last five points of the match.

"It was an extremely difficult match. Ons, she played really well -- we played so close, every game, and I'm really happy that I managed to win ... and to get through another round," Rybakina said of the match, which she called "a big roller coaster." 

Rybakina saved a break point at 1-1, the first by either player in the set, and later earned a break in the sixth game after swatting aside three chances for Jabeur to hold for 3-3. The fan-favorite Tunisian roared back from a 4-2 deficit, and after saving two match points in her 6-5 service game, had all the momentum as she built a 4-2 at the change of ends in the deciding tiebreak.

But Rybakina wasn’t about to let her grip on her crown go easily, and eventually denied Jabeur her first Top 10 win on hard courts since the 2022 WTA Finals.

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"It's not easy," Rybakina said of the match points that slipped by. "The first point, she played really well and the second one, I just rushed and made a mistake, but I knew that it was a tough match no matter what, and I just needed to fight and play point by point."

Standing between Rybakina and a spot in the final for the second year in a row is the resurgent Belinda Bencic, who defeated Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets in Thursday's first quarterfinal. The former World No. 4, still building in the midst of her comeback following the 2024 birth of her daughter, is also a former champion in Abu Dhbai, winning the title in 2023, and is seeking her first final since Charleston of that season.