TENNIS: Rybakina battles back to solve Maria problem on busy day at Queen's

Top seed Elena Rybakina came within two points of being sliced out of the Queen's Club Championships by defending champion Tatjana Maria but switched on the power to reach the quarter-finals with a 6-7(4) 7-5 6-0 victory on Friday.

The Kazakh will be back on court later for her quarter-final against Britain's Katie Boulter as tournament organisers play catch-up after persistent rain washed out play on Thursday to leave a backlog of matches.

Boulter beat Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-1 6-3.

Rybakina's level fluctuated wildly in the opening set as she began strongly, then fell 5-3 behind, saved set points as she hit back to force a tiebreak before eventually succumbing.

The 38-year-old Maria voiced her frustration earlier in the week at not being handed a wildcard despite winning the title last year, and she looked determined to make a point as she continued to torment Rybakina in the second set with her undercut strokes skimming low on the lush turf.

Fans expecting the usual power rallies from the baseline were entranced as Maria went about her business in her unique way and were clearly just happy to be watching tennis after the weather interruptions.

They even gave Maria a round of applause for changing her shoe midway through the second set after she snapped a lace.

Rybakina leaked errors and at 4-5 0-30 in the second set she seemed set for a repeat of her defeat by the German last year. But she found her range in the nick of time.

After holding for 5-5 she found the answer to the puzzle and reeled off eight successive games for the win.

"I was battling with myself but I found the way and found the rhythm," former Wimbledon champion Rybakina said on court.

-Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Hugh Lawson/Reuters