By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday January 5, 2024
Last year's Australian Open finalists are starting strong in Brisbane.
Photo Source: Getty
The WTA’s big guns are being brandished in Brisbane.
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina stormed into the semifinals on Friday, moving one stop closer to a possible Australian Open final rematch at the Brisbane International.
Sabalenka took out 18th-ranked Russian Daria Kasatkina, 6-1, 6-4, while Rybakina advanced after just seven games when Anastasia Potapova was forced to retire due to injury.
Top-seeded Sabalenka, who has now won 14 straight matches on Australian soil, will face Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals; Second-seeded Rybakina will face 19-year-old Linda Noskova.
Sabalenka was a force to be reckoned with in Australia last year. She won the title at Adelaide before claiming her maiden major crown at the Australian Open. She has dropped just nine games through three rounds this week, and held off Kasatkina in a tense final set to earn the hard-fought victory.
"I'm trying to not focus on that," Sabalenka said of her 2023 exploits in Australia. "Last year was an amazing result. This year we start everything over again. I'm not focusing on all those wins. I'm just trying to improve my game and show better tennis than I showed last year. The main focus is on myself and bringing my best tennis on each match here in Australia."
Rybakina Ruthless As Well
Rybakina has dropped just seven games through five sets in Brisbane. Potapova needed over six hours to get through two rounds in Brisbane, and was under the gun early against Rybakina.
"I wish Anastasia a speedy recovery, because she had a really tough battle yesterday [against Kudermetova]," Rybakina said on court. "I'm just happy I get to play another match, but definitely not the way I wanted to win."
Noskova won a battle of young guns earlier on Friday, defeating rising talent Mirra Andreeva, 7-5, 6-3, in the first WTA 500 quarterfinal between teenagers since the 2009 US Open (Wozniacki v Oudin).
Noskova saved a match point in her first-round match at Brisbane, a win over Timea Babos.