Sabalenka and Azarenka chase historic all-belarus final in Melbourne
Azarenka faces Rybakina in the first semis, with Sabalenka up vs Linete ater. Should Azarenka and Sabalenka progress, it will be the 1st time the two Belarusian have contested the championship match at a tennis major
Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka can on Thursday set up an all-belarusian Australian Open final but Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and Magda Linete stand in their way of making Grand Slam history.
Two-time champion Azarenka faces Russianborn Kazakh Rybakina in the first women’s semi-final on Rod Laver Arena, with Sabalenka up against Poland’s unseeded Linete ater.
Should Azarenka and Sabalenka progress to Saturday’s final, it will be the first time two Belarusian players have contested the championship match at a tennis major.
“I really want it to happen,” said Sabalenka, the fith seed who is yet to drop a set in 2023 ater winning the Adelaide International earlier this month.
“I know that Vika will do everything she can to make it happen. I will do everything I can to make it happen. That’s going to be history.”
The 33-year-old Azarenka is chasing a hattrick of titles at Melbourne Park, 10 years ater she won her second, but knows she has her work cut out against Rybakina.
“It will be a great match-up,” the 24th seed told reporters ater knocking out third seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets to reach the last four.
“She’s an incredible player,” she added of 22nd seed Rybakina.
Rybakina was awarded no ranking points for winning her first Grand Slam title because of Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players last year.
She would otherwise have been in the top 10 now.
“She’s a very good, solid player. Her ranking obviously doesn’t tell the full story,” said Azarenka.
Rybakina has launched 35 aces so far in Melbourne and will be hard to topple on the form that has already seen her oust last year’s finalist Danielle Collins, top-ranked Iga Swiatek and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
“Very powerful. Big serve. She’s in the semifinal, so she’s obviously playing amazing,” said Azarenka.
As well as Pegula, Azarenka knocked out 10th seed Madison Keys on her way to the last four so will fear no one as she rolls back the years in Melbourne, scene of her greatest career triumphs in 2012 and 2013.
Melbourne’s Polish community was cresfallen when Swiatek was knocked out but now have a new star to cheer in the late-blooming Linete, who is into her first Grand Slam semi-final at the age of 30.
Linete was routed 6-2, 6-1 by Sabalenka when they last met, at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
“My last encounter wasn’t the best at the Olympics, so I think I have really big room there for improvement because I obviously can’t do any worse than the last one,” she told reporters ater beating Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday.
Linete, the world number 45, stunned fourth seed Caroline Garcia in the fourth round and will reach a new career-high ranking inside the top 30 thanks to her exploits in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, Tommy Paul believes it is important for him to put American men’s tennis back on the map ater the 25-year-old became the first American man to reach the Australian Open semi-finals since 2009 ater he defeated Ben Shelton on Wednesday.
World number 35 Paul is the first man from the US to reach the semi-finals at Melbourne Park since Andy Roddick in 2009 and the third active American man to advance to the last four of a Grand Slam ater John Isner and Frances Tiafoe.
“American tennis is (important). Since I was young, that’s all we’ve been hearing, since like 14 years old. The coaches have been telling us, we need new Americans, we need new Americans,” Paul told reporters.