Sabalenka, Rybakina march into Australian Open final showdown

Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will clash in Saturday’s Australian Open women’s final after both won in straight sets in the last four in Melbourne.

Wimbledon champion Rybakina defeated two-time Melbourne winner Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 at a blustery and chilly Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Thursday. 

Belarusian Sabalenka then marched into the championship match with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 win over Magda Linette.

The 24-year-old Sabalenka will be a slight favourite to win the title, for what would be her first major crown, and promises to be a bruising showdown between two hard-hitters.

“I’m super happy, super happy that I was able to get this win,” said the fifth seed after reaching her first Grand Slam final.

“Magda’s an unbelievable player. She played really great tennis.”

Sabalenka has been in the form of her life since arriving in Australia. 

She won the Adelaide International warm-up tournament and has now extended her unbeaten streak to 10 matches, not losing a single set in any of them.

But it was Poland’s Linette, contesting her first major semi-final aged 30, who was out of the gate fastest, breaking to love in the opening game and holding for an early lead.

Sabalenka was being made to work hard and showed all her new-found patience to get back on terms with a break of her own, to love, for 2-2 and the set went to a tiebreak.

Sabalenka timed her moment perfectly to up the aggression, and the decibel level, racing to 4-0 with a scream. 

An ace that barely clipped the line stretched it to 5-0 and she closed out comfortably after 51 minutes, having smacked 20 winners to just seven from Linette.

“I would say that I didn’t start really well,” admitted Sabalenka.

“And then on the tiebreak I kind of found my rhythm and just started trusting myself, started going for the shots. It was great tennis from me in the tiebreak.”

Sabalenka showed no sign of letting up in the second set, breaking Linette and with a scream of “Come on!” holding for a 3-1 advantage.

A second break took her within sight of the finish line, which she raced across in 1hr 33min.

Missed opportunities

Rybakina, 23, said she hoped she had made her watching family proud after another impressive display.

The Moscow-born Kazakh prevailed in 1hr 41min against the 2012 and 2013 champion Azarenka of Belarus to account for a third major winner in as many matches.

The 22nd seed Rybakina had already defeated reigning French and US Open champion Iga Swiatek in the fourth round and 2017 Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-finals.

Rybakina said her semi-final triumph was even more special because she had her sister and parents all watching at Melbourne Park for the first time.

“I’m super happy that we can spend evenings together and they can watch me live,” said Rybakina, whose parents were not there to see her win Wimbledon last year.

“For sure it’s great for them. I didn’t even talk with them yet. I’m sure they’re happy. They don’t see me often playing live, so I think this time, it’s a big result already.

“No matter how I play in the final, I think they’re very proud and happy.”

Azarenka, 33, was left to rue missed opportunities as her dream of a third Australian Open crown dissolved.

“Right now especially it’s kind of hard to digest,” she said. 

“I’m proud of myself how I fought and I tried.

“Tennis-wise I felt like I just wasn’t there, especially in the important moments when I kept creating those opportunities for me. Just couldn’t convert them.”