The semi-finals of the Australian Open brought with it an unusual sight. After a typically assured start, Elena Rybakina was becoming flustered and agitated by the returns of Victoria Azarenka, whose experience in the heat of battle was starting to scratch away at the Wimbledon champion’s cool and collected facade.
Yet it only lasted for a moment, as Rybakina regathered her composure, picked up her weapons, and ground down Azarenka’s resurgent game. In what was the two-time Australian Open champion’s first semi-final in Melbourne since her last title in 2013, Azarenka was eventually taken apart by Rybakina’s aggressive returns and put away by her dominant serve, as the momentum of a nervy and rather unsettled semi-final finally swung in the 23-year-old’s direction.
It means Rybakina is into her second grand slam final in six months and after starting the tournament shunted out onto Court 13, there will be no denying her status if she becomes a two-time champion on Saturday. She will face the fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka, who is through to her first grand slam final after defeating Magda Linette 7-6 6-2. It extends Sabalenka’s run to 10 wins in a row to start the year, where she is yet to drop a set.
Key to Sabalenka’s form has been matching her intimidatingly aggressive game with a clear and calm mentality, qualities Rybakina has already displayed on her run to the Wimbledon title. The Kazakhstani is an understated competitor but when her powerful game clicked into place with her icy presence it led to a one-sided second set against Azarenka, after her opponent had battled to make the first a tense and fraught affair.
The meeting of the two remaining grand slam champions in the draw was billed as a contest of serve against return. It was so, but with the added twist of the match being dictated by Rybakina on either side. Rybakina’s ruthless attacks against the Azarenka second serve saw the Belarusian win just two points out of a possible 15 in the second set. As the errors from Azarenka’s groundstrokes also mounted, Rybakina gave very few points away on her first serve as her percentage returned to its commanding levels.
Azarenka’s chance came when Rybakina wobbled midway through the first but in a crucial turning point in the match the 33-year-old failed to take it. Rybakina came into the match with a tournament-high 35 aces and served impressively in the opening stages, but Azarenka’s accurate returns began to ask some testing questions. In a compelling seesaw of a first set, Rybakina’s percentage plummeted to below 50 per cent after Azarenka saved set point and the Wimbledon champion suddenly looked vulnerable.
Azarenka looked to take full advantage. She flipped the pressure onto Rybakina and a double fault gave the Belarusian three break points at 5-5. Azarenka would be made to regret not taking her opportunity. She slumped a second-serve return into the net on the final break point and after Rybakina escaped with an ace the Kazakhstani was able to limit the errors while Azarenka’s level slipped in a scrappy tiebreak.
It set the tone for her performance in the second set as Azarenka fell away. “I cannot say I’m proud of how I played,” she said, her face typically hidden behind her dark sunglasses in her post-match press conference. “Tennis-wise I felt like I just wasn’t there, especially in the important moments when I kept creating those opportunities for me. Just couldn’t convert them.”
Rybakina had allowed Azarenka some of those opportunities but the world No 25, who is set to enter the top 10 after her performance in Melbourne, also steadied in the big moments. Even with the huge serve and big forehand, Rybakina’s most impressive feature is often how unfazed she is by the stage she finds herself on. Despite having spent less time on tour than Sabalenka, she will have the edge in Saturday’s final in terms of grand slam final experience.
Sabalenka, though, is a player reborn. After three previous grand slam semi-final defeats, all typified by mistakes and missed opportunities, the Belarusian has marched into the Australian Open final with a newly-discovered mentality that has allowed her powerful hitting to take full control. In previous years, the sight of the unseeded Magda Linette breaking in the opening game might have caused Sabalenka to wobble and then nosedive.
But the new temperament remained, and Sabalenka instead hit Linette off the court in an immense performance, saving her best level for the first-set tiebreak. After the melodrama of last year’s tournament in Australia, Sabalenka’s path has been smooth. Now, further new ground awaits in the final.
