Elena Rybakina in action during the Australian Open women's singles semifinal against Victoria Azarenka in Melbourne, Australia, January 26, 2023. /CFP
Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka reached the Australian Open women's singles final on Thursday, beating Victoria Azarenka and Magda Linette in straight sets, respectively.
Wimbledon champion Rybakina has had an impressive run in Melbourne, eliminating world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, No.17 Jelena Ostapenko, and others.
Azarenka foundered in a messy first set tiebreak which ended in 7-6 (4), and dropped serve twice to fall 5-2 behind in the second set before Rybakina booked her place in the final at 6-3.
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates after winning the Australian Open women's singles semifinal against Magda Linette in Melbourne, Australia, January 26, 2023. /CFP
Later in the second semifinal, Sabalenka booked a place in her first Grand Slam final with a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory over unseeded Linette.
Sabalenka has now extended her winning streak to 10 matches. Set to make her Grand Slam final debut, the 24-year-old fell short thrice in semifinals before Thursday, losing to Karolina Pliskova at Wimbledon 2021, Leylah Fernandez at the U.S. Open 2021 and Iga Swiatek at the U.S. Open 2022.
(With input from agency)