The Kazakh Elena Rybakina, current Wimbledon champion, will play the final of the Australian Open on Saturday after beating the two-time champion in Melbourne, the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, 7-6 (7/4) and 6-3.
In search of her second Grand Slam, Rybakina (N. 25) will face the winner of the other semifinal between the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and the Polish Magda Linette.
With 35 ‘aces’ so far in the tournament, Rybakina had a hard time finding her serve throughout the first set, which gave life to the 33-year-old Belarusian, who returned to the semifinal of this Grand Slam ten years after her second consecutive title in Melbourne.
But powerful and aggressive in her shots, placing many balls on the bottom line, the Kazakh managed to prevail in the even first set and, once the serve was fine-tuned, dominate the second to reach the final.
"Today was a bit tougher for me. The conditions were difficult, I couldn’t play aggressively, the ball didn’t travel as much, but I’m very happy that I managed to win"said Rybakina, 24.
Unusual for her, Rybakina opened the game with a double fault, which she later amended with three consecutive ‘aces’ to open the scoring.
Although in tow and on defense throughout the match, it was Azarenka who got the first break with a high backhand volley, but Rybakina reacted immediately and rallied to 5-3 on serve.
Once the most difficult thing was achieved, Rybakina’s gunpowder in the serve got wet and gave life to the Belarusian. With only 2 first serves on 16 points, a double fault put the Kazakh down 0-40 and 5-5 on the scoreboard.
Two powerful serves fueled her reaction and took the set to a tie-break, where several overlong shots and a double fault from Azarenka handed the Wimbledon champion the opening set.
With greater precision in the serve, Rybakina commanded from the beginning of the second set. After blowing a break point in the first game, he broke twice later to serve at 5-2.
In a last attempt to resist, Azarenka returned the break but later, with a double fault, she handed three match points to the Kazakh who did not forgive.