Rybakina books US Open fourth-round berth, inches closer to No. 1

World number two Elena Rybakina avenged her French Open defeat to Yuliia Starodubtseva on Sunday, beating the unseeded Ukrainian 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 to reach the US Open last 16.

The hard-hitting Kazakh, who claimed her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, fell to Starodubtseva in the second round at Roland Garros, a defeat that may have been on her mind as she struggled to find her rhythm in the opening set.

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Starodubtseva took full advantage of Rybakina's struggles with her forehand and broke for a 5-4 lead.

But Rybakina steadied, breaking back with an angled drop shot to level the set.

She saved a set point in the tiebreaker with one of her 12 aces, and with the first set in hand attacked in the second with confidence.

A double fault from Starodubtseva handed Rybakina a break to open the second and Rybakina maintained the edge to finish the job in just under two hours.

"It was a tough match," Rybakina said. "I feel like it wasn't my best performance, but Yuliia she's a great player. Last time we had a battle, too, and I'm glad I could win in straight sets."

Rybakina now just needs two wins -- to reach the semi-finals -- to be assured of supplanting Aryna Sabalenka atop the world rankings -- even if Sabalenka wins a third straight US Open title.

"Not there yet," she said. "It's still very far. I need to focus on my next match and not think about it."

That next match will be against four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who beat Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.