Aryna Sabalenka continues to dominate as she swept away her latest opponent, Barbora Krejčíková, with a score of 6-2, 6-1, advancing to the semifinals of the Australian Open tennis tournament. The reigning champion and current number 2 seed has yet to drop a set in this tournament. None of her opponents have been able to win more than three games in a single set or five games in the entire match.
Krejčíková, ranked 9th in the tournament, presented no significant challenge to Sabalenka, similar to her previous match against unseeded American Amanda Anisimova. The only difference was that Krejčíková managed to take the lead in both sets. In the first set, she served first and won her game, but then was broken by Sabalenka in the following game. The score quickly turned from 0-1 to 4-1 in favor of Sabalenka. Despite a surprising break of her own serve, Sabalenka responded and ultimately won the set comfortably. The second set followed a similar pattern, with Krejčíková starting strong by winning her opening service game, but then being broken twice by Sabalenka. Once again, Sabalenka turned the score from 0-1 to 4-1. She came very close to securing a victory in the entire match and did not waste this opportunity.
In the post-match interview, Sabalenka expressed her satisfaction with her performance, stating that she played great tennis and hopes to continue at this level in her upcoming matches. The atmosphere in the stadium reminded her of last year’s final. Despite the late hour, the men’s quarterfinal match between Jannik Sinner of Italy and Andrey Rublev of Russia was scheduled to follow Sabalenka and Krejčíková’s match on Rod Laver Arena.
Looking ahead, it seems that Coco Gauff may pose a more significant threat to Sabalenka than any potential finalist. In the other half of the draw, there are three seeded players, including one qualifier, Ukrainian Diana Yastremska, who will face Czech player Linda Nosková in the quarterfinals. In another match, Russian Anna Kalinskaya will compete against Chinese player Zheng Qinwen (seeded 12). Even if Sabalenka were to win the entire Australian Open, she would not surpass Iga Świątek in the WTA rankings, as Sabalenka would accumulate a total of 8905 points compared to Świątek’s 9770 points. However, a loss to Gauff in the semifinals could cause Sabalenka to drop from second to third place, with 7685 points compared to Gauff’s 7720 points.
