By Courtney Walsh
Watching Aryna Sabalenka in full flight on Rod Laver Arena in an Australian Open semi-final on Thursday night, it was difficult to reconcile the star with the player she was a year ago.
The Belarusian progressed to her first grand slam final in stunning fashion with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 victory over Poland’s Magda Linette on a brisk Melbourne night.
Aryna Sabalenka plays a backhand in the semi-final.Credit:Getty
The 24-year-old will play Elena Rybakina in Saturday night’s final after the reigning Wimbledon champion ended dual-Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka’s resurgence earlier on Thursday 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
Should the two finalists play at their peak, it promises to be an enthralling contest given the prodigious power both women possess. Both pulverise the ball from the baseline.
Rybakina counts the scalps of three grand slam champions and last year’s Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins among her six wins in this tournament.
But Sabalenka has now strung together 20 straight sets in a stunning 10-match winning streak that includes a season-opening title in Adelaide.
Told in a post-match interview that the average speed of her forehand was comparable to the world’s best male players, she made a show of her strength by kissing her biceps.
“[Elena] is an amazing player. She is super aggressive. She has had the experience of playing in a final,” Sabalenka said.
“It is going to be great fun and I am really looking forward to playing in this final.”
Sabalenka’s confidence and conviction on the court is a credit to her given the woes she experienced in Melbourne last year when effectively gripped with the yips on her serve.
Her remodelled action held up under pressure against Linette and it should not be understated just how important it was for Sabalenka to deliver at this stage given her history.
The world No.5 entered the match dealing with tennis’s version of scar tissue from her three previous semi-final appearances in majors over the past two years.
The Belarusian fell to Karolina Pliskova at Wimbledon in 2021 and Leylah Fernandez at the US Open a couple of months later, losing both matches 6-4 in the deciding set.
The 24-year-old was banned from playing at Wimbledon last year due to her nationality.
Magda Linette serves in the semi-finals.Credit:Eddie Jim
She suffered more heartache again at the 2022 US Open when world No.1 Iga Swiatek edged her by the familiar scoreline of 6-4 in the deciding set of a semi-final once again.
That hoodoo was not the only hurdle facing her on Thursday night, with the cool and windy conditions not necessarily conducive to a player who plays with such power.
Linette, at the age of 30, was also playing in the best form of her career.
Sabalenka had obliterated her in their two previous outings, including the Tokyo Olympics a couple of years ago, but the Polish player showed considerable pluck in the semi-final.
The world No.45 started strongly, winning eight of the first nine points, to lead 2-0.
But Sabalenka, who bears a tattoo of a tiger on her arm, was able to get her claws into the match from that point on.
She finally put her stamp on the match in a decisive tiebreaker where she sliced second serve aces, clubbed powerful winners and clipped smart returns.
With her confidence rising, Sabalenka broke Linette’s serve in the third game of the second set to establish a firm grip on the match.
“I would say that … in the tiebreaker I found my rhythm and started trusting myself and started going for my shots,” Sabalenka said.
Rybakina powers into final
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina will seek her second grand slam title in the Australian Open final after a stirring victory over dual-champion Victoria Azarenka on Thursday night.
After a tense opening set, the 23-year-old raised her level to claim an entertaining semi-final 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in 1 hour and 41 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Elena Rybakina celebrates her semi-final win.Credit:Eddie Jim
The 22nd seed will play Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka or Poland’s Magda Linette in a decider on Saturday night that will end Ash Barty’s stint as the reigning Australian Open champion.
The Moscow-born right-hander could break into the world’s top 10 for the first time regardless of the result of the decider. But Rybakina is playing at a level closer to the world’s best.
The three majors since Barty’s retirement have been shared between her and world No.1 Iga Swiatek and a second major title would further burnish Rybakina’s reputation.
She has learnt from her success at Wimbledon where she dropped the first set to Ons Jabeur after a nervous start.
“I gained a lot of experience from Wimbledon,” she said.
“To be honest, I want to come on the court and enjoy the experience, enjoy the atmosphere. I will try my best and I will fight and hopefully I am going to win.”
The run of Azarenka is over, although the former world No.1 produced another strong performance.
But ultimately the quality and versatility of the Kazakh star, who hits the ball powerfully at the baseline but is also adept at the net, overwhelmed the 33-year-old.
While the Rybakina’s prodigious serve went awry late in the first set – she missed 11 consecutive first serves – she responded superbly to the strong challenge from Azarenka.
Tournament over: Victoria Azarenka shows her frustration.Credit:Eddie Jim
Rybakina started with a double fault, which drew gasps of disappointment from a near-capacity crowd in attendance on a clear, though chilly and windy, evening in Melbourne. But she soon found her rhythm with three straight aces to close out the opening game.
That in itself is not surprising, for Rybakina led the tournament in terms of aces served prior to the semi-final and added another nine to her tally for the fortnight against Azarenka.
This strength made for a fascinating clash on paper given Azarenka has long featured among the premier returns of serve on the tour.
A superb backhand return at 2-2 helped the Belarusian bring up a break point, an opportunity she seized after an attractive exchange which ended with both women at the net.
But the advantage lasted only one game, with the Kazakh rebounding immediately and then breaking again to move to a 5-3 lead.
Her sublime groundstrokes came to the fore the further the first set progressed. Struck with venom, they had her elder rival on the defensive from the baseline.
Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 champion, enjoyed a fine moment late in the first set that threatened to turn the semi-final on its head.
Facing set point, she produced a beautiful forehand passing shot while running at full speed and went on to retrieve the service break.
When she rifled two forehand winners in succession in the Rybakina’s service game at 5-5, Azarenka pumped her fist defiantly to the crowd.
But that proved her last salvo, with Rybakina asserting her authority from then on.
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