Aryna Sabalenka defeats Magda Linette to reach a first career Grand Slam final at the AusOpen. MORE:
MELBOURNE, Australia — What all seemed so different, so daunting, even, about trying to win a Grand Slam title to Elena Rybakina a little more than six months ago is now coming rather naturally.
“Everything was new at Wimbledon,” Rybakina said after hitting nine aces in the semifinals to raise her tournament-leading total to 44. “Now I more or less understand what to expect.” Sabalenka finished with a whopping 33-9 edge in winners, but also compiled more unforced errors — including a trio that led to a break at love by Linette in the opening game.
Rybakina’s win over Azarenka, the champion at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013, added to what already was an impressive run through a string of top opponents. She also beat No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko — both owners of major titles — and 2022 Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins.
Rybakina might be seeded just 22nd in Melbourne, and ranked just 25th, but those numbers are rather misleading and not indicative at all of her talent and form. She did not get the usual bump from her title last July at Wimbledon, where zero rankings points were awarded after the All England Club banned players from Russia and Belarus because of the invasion of Ukraine.
That had a role in the way the first set was as much of a seesaw as can be, with each player seeming to gain the upper hand — and then ceding it just as quickly. Both found the conditions slowed down the tennis balls.Rybakina encountered similar issues and her occasional inconsistency was encapsulated by the very first game. She began, inauspiciously enough, with a double-fault, before holding with the help of three aces.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rybakina, Sabalenka to meet in Australian Open women's finalElena Rybakina, a 23-year-old who represents Kazakhstan, reached her second final in a span of three major tournaments by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 at the Australian Open on Thursday, signalling a rapid rise toward the top of tennis.
Read more »
Rybakina, Sabalenka to meet in Australian Open women's finalElena Rybakina, a 23-year-old who represents Kazakhstan, reached her second final in a span of three major tournaments by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 at Melbourne Park on Thursday, signaling a rapid rise toward the top of tennis.
Read more »
Aryna Sabalenka says she stopped consulting a psychologist before run to Australian Open finalAryna Sabalenka told reporters on Thursday that she decided to stop working with a psychologist because she realized ‘that nobody (other) than me will help me’
Read more »
Two-time Australian Open champ Victoria Azarenka tops Jessica Pegula to advance to semi-finalsAfter the match, Victoria Azarenka opened up about how she managed to learn a new mindset by ‘trying to be neutral, not to go negative; accepting the anxiety that I have; accepting the fear that I have’
Read more »
Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski eliminated from Australian Open after women's doubles lossThe Ottawa native and her Mexican partner Giuliana Olmos lost 7\u002D5, 6\u002D2 to American Caroline Dolehide and Anna Kalinskaya of Russia
Read more »
Linette keeps getting better; into Australian Open semisLinette keeps getting better; into Australian Open semis
Read more »