| Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 16-29 January |
| Coverage: Commentary day-after-day from 07:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra ‘Tennis Breakfast’ stay from Melbourne, with chosen stay textual content commentaries and match stories on the BBC Sport web site & app |
Victoria Azarenka continued her quest for a 3rd Australian Open title – a decade on from her final – by knocking American third seed Jessica Pegula out within the quarter-finals.
The 33-year-old Belarusian, seeded twenty fourth, made a assured begin and used the momentum to win 6-4 6-1.
Pegula was the very best seed left however should look ahead to a primary Slam semi-final.
Azarenka faces Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina within the final 4 after the Kazakh beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-4.
Rybakina, 23, fired 11 aces and 24 winners as she claimed a dominant victory over Latvia’s seventeenth seed Ostapenko.
The Kazakh, who’s seeded twenty second, wrapped up victory in a single hour and 19 minutes following a prolonged rain delay on Rod Laver Arena.
“I’m tremendous comfortable to be within the semi-finals for the primary time,” stated Rybakina, the youngest participant left within the ladies’s draw.
“Of course I used to be nervous, particularly within the final recreation. I’m tremendous comfortable I managed the feelings and I performed rather well as we speak.”
Azarenka ‘creating new recollections’ by not trying again
Having received back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, Azarenka is a participant who thrives in Melbourne and confirmed it as soon as once more as she dismantled a below-par Pegula.
The former world primary was again within the quarter-finals for the primary time since she grew to become a mom – having given start to son Leo in 2016 – and reached the final 4 for the primary time since her final triumph.
Despite her wealthy pedigree at Melbourne Park, Azarenka says she doesn’t “actually look again and take into consideration” what she has achieved.
Instead she prefers to “create new recollections” and making use of this forward-thinking strategy earlier than the brand new season is paying dividends.
“I felt final 12 months my tennis wasn’t dangerous however I used to be not mentally prepared and performed with concern and anxiousness. It was tough to play courageous,” she stated.
“I labored quite a bit on my mindset, difficult myself on issues I would not actually do earlier than.
“When you might have achieved nice success, you may grow to be conservative and and hesitant to strive new issues.
“I attempted new issues, put my head down and labored laborious.”
A assured begin full of fresh hitting helped Azarenka transfer right into a 3-0 lead and, after being unable to transform 4 set factors and dropping serve for 5-4, she broke once more to clinch the opening set.
The second set was much more one-sided. Azarenka broke 3 times and conceded simply 13 factors as a despondent Pegula fell on the quarter-final stage of a significant for the fifth time.
Rybakina serving up one other deep run
Despite incomes probably the most prestigious title of her profession along with her shock success at Wimbledon, Rybakina dropped to twenty fifth on this planet – the place she stays – as a result of rating factors weren’t awarded on the grass court docket main.
She subsequently spoke about not feeling like a Grand Slam champion and commenced her Melbourne marketing campaign on court docket 13 reasonably than a show-court.
Restored to the principle stage at Melbourne Park, she adopted up her beautiful win over prime seed Iga Swiatek with one other devastating show towards 2017 French Open winner Ostapenko.
“I feel I acquired all of the expertise at Wimbledon and it is serving to me now this time right here in Australia. I do know what to anticipate,” Rybakina stated.
“[I’m] feeling good on the court docket and actually having fun with each match I’m enjoying right here.”
In a gathering between two of the three main champions nonetheless standing among the many final eight, Rybakina made a assured begin as she broke seventeenth seed Ostapenko’s serve within the opening recreation.
She arrange one other alternative in recreation 5 along with her highly effective shot-making earlier than play was suspended by rain, returning after a wait of round half an hour to clinch a double break lead and in the end serve out the set underneath the roof.
Ostapenko threatened a fightback with a break at first of set two however Rybakina swiftly extinguished these hopes, recording successive breaks in reply to convey her second main semi-final into focus.
She went on to seal the match in becoming style, sending down a remaining ace to increase her tournament-leading tally to 35.
