Melbourne. Four months after the lost final at the US Open, Aryna Sabalenka took revenge against Coco Gauff (number 4) this Thursday in the semifinals of the Australian Open. The world number 2 is thus one victory away from winning her second consecutive Australian Open.
Sabalenka won 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 in 1 hour and 42 minutes over her American rival and will face the Chinese Zheng Qinwen, who defeated the Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska hours later 6-4, 6-4 .
In New York in mid-September, Gauff had defeated the Belarusian 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win her first Grand Slam title at the age of 19.
For Sabalenka it will be the third final of a ‘Big’ in her career. The Belarusian is the first player to reach two consecutive finals at the Australian Open since Serena Williams achieved it in 2016 and 2017.
Without giving up a set
Sabalenka has reached the final match for the title without dropping a single set since the beginning of the Australian fortnight.
Although their semi-final exceeded one hundred minutes, in none of their five previous matches had they spent more than 71 minutes defeating their current rival. And on his way to the semi-final he had only lost 16 games.
On the Rod Laver Arena indoor court before Gauff, Sabalenka deployed the weapon of her ball-striking power this Friday.
This allowed him to go 5-3 in the first set and served to score the first set. Gauff managed to reverse the trend to go 6-5 and move two points away from the set.
But again Sabalenka brought out the strength of his arm to take the tie-break.
In the second set, she broke serve to go up 4-5 and close by serving in the next game.
Sabalenka has reached at least the semifinals in the last six Grand Slam tournaments and in the last two Masters.
Will she become the first since compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013 to win two years in a row in Melbourne?
Zheng 10 years after Li Na?
Answer on Saturday afternoon (19:30 local; 08:30 GMT) when she faces the Chinese Zheng Qinwen, number 15 in the world but who from Monday will be in the top 10, after playing at the age of 21 for her first final of a Grande.
Zheng Qinwen stopped the dreams of Yastremska, who had reached the semifinals after going through the previous qualifying phase of the tournament.
Ten years after the triumph in Melbourne of her compatriot Li Na, also the winner of Roland Garros in 2011, the 21-year-old Chinese is one victory away from a first Grand Slam title.
This Thursday put an end to the epic of Dayana Yastremska, who had won eight consecutive matches in Melbourne – qualifying phase included – to reach the semi-finals.
Ukraine stood up to the twelfth seed in the tournament, but failed to convert its chances in the decisive moments (a four-ball break successful).
The Chinese made the difference in the second set, confirming the break achieved with 3-3, to fly to victory in 1 hour and 42 minutes.
“It’s incredible, it’s difficult to explain what I feel,” he declared on the court at the end of the match.
The Chinese, who was already assured of joining the WTA top 10 after her victory in the quarterfinals against the Russian Anna Kalinskaya, continues her progression after a 2023 marked by a quarterfinal at the US Open in September.
She failed to qualify for the semi-finals back then, swept in two sets by… Aryna Sabalenka. On Saturday they will meet again at the Rod Laver Arena.
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