Sabalenka through to maiden Slam final at fourth time of asking
Aryna Sabalenka won against Magda Linette 7-6 (1), 6-2 on Thursday and will face Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the No 22 seed, for the title
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 26, 2023 Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in action during her semi final match against Poland’s Magda Linette (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the No 5 seed, advanced to the final of the Australian Open by winning against Pole Magda Linette 7-6 (1), 6-2 at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
Sabalenka, ranked No 5, will face Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the No 22 seed, for the title.
Earlier in the tournament, the Belarusian defeated Czech Tereza Martincova (6-1, 6-4), American Shelby Rogers (6-3, 6-1), Belgian Elise Mertens, the No 26 seed (6-2, 6-3), Swiss Belinda Bencic, the No 12 seed (7-5, 6-2) and Croat Donna Vekic (6-3, 6-2).
Linette, ranked No 45, won against Egyptian Mayar Sherif (7-5, 6-1), Estonian Anett Kontaveit, the No 16 seed (3-6, 6-3, 6-4), Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No 19 seed (6-3, 6-4), Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, the No 4 seed (7-6 (3), 6-4) and Czech Karolina Pliskova, the No 30 seed (6-3, 7-5) in the previous rounds.
Melbourne (Grand Slam), other semi-final result (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 24.297.942):
- Elena Rybakina beat Victoria Azarenka (24): 7-6 (4), 6-3
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