Aryna Sabalenka overcame a controversial penalty for a mid-point grunt to thunder over the top of Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in Thursday’s Australian Open semi-final and reach her fourth straight final at Melbourne Park.
The world number 1 suppressed Svitolina’s momentum in a 6-2, 6-3 victory in just 77 minutes at Rod Laver Arena thanks to a dominant display of power tennis.
Sabalenka said she was wary given Svitolina’s impressive run at Melbourne Park and had wanted to play aggressively. “I felt like I had to step in and put as much pressure on her as possible, and I’m happy the level was there today,” she said on court, before adding that while she was proud to advance to the final without dropping a set, “the job is not done yet.”
The match turned her way in the fourth game when she broke Svitolina the first of four times. But it started in unusual fashion when the referee, Louise Engzell, awarded a point to Svitolina for interference after Sabalenka unleashed an unusual shout midway through.
The 27-year-old requested a video review, but it only confirmed the referee’s original decision. It caused an altercation between player and referee, making it clear that the grunt in question added a second, dragging sound. The confrontation clearly irritated the top seed, who became even more fiery with a barrage of groundstrokes. By the end of proceedings, Sabalenka had reached 29 winners, compared to Svitolina’s 12.
However, the match did not go quite like the Belarusian one, and Svitolina spoiled a chance at 15-30 in the first set when she immediately tried to break back. After a mishit drop shot from Sabalenka, she surpassed the approach and three points later the score was 4-1.
Sabalenka’s power and accuracy dictated proceedings, forcing Svitolina into defensive shots at alternating angles and unable to find the defining counterpunch of her game. Her career renaissance has returned her to the top 10, and her run at Melbourne Park has knocked out two top 10 players – American Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva – as well as another prominent Russian in the 22nd seed, Diana Shnaider. But against Sabalenka she faced a formidable enemy.
The 31-year-old’s team did everything they could to find a way back into the match, and Svitolina’s coach, Andy Bettles, could be heard urging his player to hit the ball either side of the rampaging Belarusian as she served at 2-5. But the set soon fell, the first Svitolina had lost at the tournament.
Sabalenka lost his way for a moment at the beginning of the second set. She conceded her first break in the opening match, sparking a manic argument with her team. After losing the game, she stormed back to her seat, pointing to her head as she voiced her complaints. But once again the world number 1 remained steady, broke straight back and accelerated throughout the remainder of the match.
Sabalenka’s victory gave her a fourth straight appearance in the final at Melbourne Park, the second woman to achieve the feat after Martina Hingis.
On Saturday she will have the chance to suppress the memories of last year’s final. That night, American Madison Keys was a surprise winner, prompting the two-time defending champion to smash her racket on the edge of the court before rushing outside to compose herself.
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