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MELBOURNE. — Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has another shot at a major title after reaching the Australian Open tennis final where she will meet Belarusian fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka tomorrow.
Rybakina (23) won 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 against Victoria Azarenka yesterday, ending the two-time champion’s hopes of winning the title 10 years after her last triumph.
Sabalenka beat Poland’s Magda Linette to reach her first major final.
The 24-year-old Belarusian won 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 against her unseeded opponent.
Sabalenka was the heavy favourite to beat 30-year-old Linette, who had never been past the third round of a Grand Slam event before, and grew in confidence as the match wore on. After losing three times in major semi-finals, Sabalenka’s relief was evident after securing her place in Saturday’s showpiece. Rybakina, seeded 22nd, will contest her second major final after her triumph at the All England Club last year.
“I’m super happy to be in the final and play one more time here,” she said.
“It was different conditions, I couldn’t play aggressive tennis and couldn’t go so much for my shots but I was happy to win.
“I got a lot of experience from Wimbledon and I want to come on court [for the final] and enjoy the moment.”
Rybakina has been one of the most unheralded Wimbledon champions in recent history as a result of her low profile and a lower-than-expected ranking caused by points not being awarded at the All England Club last year.
At Melbourne Park, the tall Kazakh has been reminding people once again of her outstanding talent.
At the US Open last year, Rybakina said she did not “feel like” a major winner because she was ranked outside of the world’s top 20 after points were stripped because of Wimbledon banning Russian and Belarusian players.
Rybakina was also stuck on a small outside court for her Australian Open first-round match — although she insisted she “did not care” — but since then there has been no escaping the threat she posed in the draw.— BBC Sport.
Online Reporter
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