Aryna Sabalenka is into her first grand slam singles final after a dominant semi-final win over Poland’s Magda Linette on Thursday night.
Sabalenka and Linette battled out a tight first set before the World No. 5 went to another level in the tie-break, claiming it 7-1 to take the opener.
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In the second set, Sabalenka took control with her brutal groundstrokes, closing out the match 7-6 6-3 to book her spot in Saturday’s final.
The Belarusian possesses immense power in her forehand especially, with her average forehand speed of around 140km/h placing her right up with the top men’s players.
Italian Matteo Berrettini, averaged a similar speed last year and he boasts one of the quickest forehands in the men’s game.
In her post-match interview on court, former Australian player Casey Dellacqua praised Sabalenka’s “super impressive” shot speed.
The compliment was met with cheers from the Rod Laver Arena crowd and Sabalenka clearly appreciated it, jokingly kissing her biceps in response.
“I’m just wondering, does it feel as good as it looks?” Dellacqua asked of Sabalanka’s power hitting.
“Well, to be honest, not really. I actually think that I hit really slow balls today,” Sabalenka responded with a laugh.
“But I don’t know. Thank you, I mean, I’ve got good genetics, I guess.”
Sabalenka will take Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s final after the reigning Wimbledon champion defeated Victoria Azarenka 7-6 6-3 in their semi-final.
The 24-year-old has won two grand slam doubles titles but this will be her first singles decider, surpassing her previous best result of reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open.
Sabalenka and Rybakina are two of the more pure strikers of the ball in the women’s game, setting up a mouth-watering clash of power hitting.
