MELBOURNE, Australia – Elena Rybakina defeated Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and prevent the No. 2 seed from completing the Grand Slam career.
The win gave Rybakina, the No. 5 seed, a shot at her second Grand Slam title after winning Wimbledon in 2022.
Swiatek is a four-time French Open champion and has won the US Open and Wimbledon. She was trying to become the eleventh woman to complete a Grand Slam career.
The first set lasted an hour and Rybakina broke Swiatek in the final game. The second was almost the opposite.
Rybakina, born in Russia but representing Kazakhstan, broke her Polish opponent twice to start the set and took a 3-0 lead. She served two aces to take a 4-1 lead, broke in the sixth game and closed the match with an ace.
Last season the two played against each other five times.
“We know each other pretty well,” Rybakina said. “In the first set, the first serve wasn’t really working for either of us, so we tried to intervene on the second serve and put pressure on the other.
“In the second I just started playing more freely and serving better,” Rybakina added. “For now the service is really helping, so hopefully I can continue like this.”
In the final women’s quarterfinal, two Americans faced Jessica Pegula versus Amanda Anisimova. Pegula is looking for her first Grand Slam title after losing the US Open final in 2024.
Anisimova is also looking for her first Grand Slam and was the losing finalist at both Wimbledon and the US Open last season.
The winner of the Pegula-Anisimova match will play against Rybakina in the semi-finals on Thursday. In the other semi-final on Thursday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will play Elina Svitolina.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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