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Eastern Europeans clash in final Tsitsipas reaches first AO men’s final At a glance

Darren Walton of AAP

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and rampant world No 5 Aryna Sabalenka will play for the 2023 Australian Open crown after storming to a pair of straight-set semifinal triumphs in Melbourne.

Rybakina ended Victoria Azarenka’s inspired run to be the first woman through to the final with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 victory before Sabalenka outclassed unseeded Pole Magda Linette 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 on Thursday night.

Continuing her relentless charge through the draw, Rybakina’s victory was her third straight win over a grand slam champion after ousting world No 1 and reigning French and US Open title holder Iga Swiatek in the fourth round and 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals.

‘‘I’m super happy and proud,’’ the Kazakh said. ‘‘It’s an incredible atmosphere and I’m super happy to be in the finals and play one more time here.’’

Azarenka was the last player to successfully defend the women’s crown at Melbourne Park, going back-to-back in 2012 and 2013, and was bidding to join Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Kim Clijsters as only the fourth mother to win a grand slam singles crown.

But as valiant as she was, the 33-year-old couldn’t go the distance with an emerging superstar a decade her junior.

Azarenka’s fighting spirit was on full show in a rollercoaster first set.

She rallied from 5-3 down and set point in the eighth game to take the first set to a tiebreaker, only to lose it with a wild forehand error on

Rybakina’s second set point.

The former world No 1 dropped serve to fall behind 3-1 in the second, then again in seventh game to trail 5-2. Azarenka broke Rybakina the following game but the reprieve proved merely a stay of execution as the Russian-born world No 25 quickly regrouped to take the match after one hour 41 minutes.

Runner-up to Caroline Garcia in last year’s WTA Finals, Sabalenka is unbeaten, yet to drop a set in 10 matches since in Australia this summer and now hugely relieved to finally reach her maiden grand slam final. ‘‘I’m super happy. Super happy that I was able to get this win,’’ Sabalenka said, having lost her previous three grand slam semis.

‘‘I would say that I didn’t start really well and then, in the tiebreak, I

Aryna Sabalenka kind of find my rhythm and just start trusting myself, start going for the shots, and, yeah, it was great tennis from me.’’

Rybakina has lost her only three meetings with Sabalenka, all in three sets, but is a different player as she eyes a second grand slam title in less than eight months.

‘‘For sure I got a lot of experience from Wimbledon and, to be honest, I just want to come on court and really enjoy the moment, enjoy the atmosphere because it’s really amazing,’’ she said.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is just one win away from a breakthrough grand slam title after booking a spot in the Australian Open final for the first time with a hard-fought triumph over Russian Karen Khachanov.

Third seed Tsitsipas prevailed 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 in yesterday’s semi-final at Rod Laver Arena, extending his 2023 winning streak to 10 matches as his Australian coach Mark Philippoussis watched on from the Greek star’s box.

It was a case of fourth time lucky for Tsitsipas, who fell at the semifinal hurdle in three of his previous four appearances at what he regards as his ’home’ major in Melbourne.

It was not all smooth sailing for Tsitsipas, who was twice up a break in the first set before being pegged back and sent to a tiebreaker.

The world No.4 was also called for foot faults several times during the first two sets as he repeatedly stepped across the centre service line.

The succession of calls clearly confused Tsitsipas before the chair umpire clarified what the issue was.

Tsitsipas wasted two match points against the 18th seed during the third set before securing his sixth — and most important — win in as many career meetings with

Khachanov. Tsitsipas faces either nine-times champion Novak Djokovic or unseeded American Tommy Paul in tomorrow’ss final and will rise to the No.1 ranking for the first time if he lifts the Norman Brooks Challenge Cup.

It will be Tsitsipas’ first championship decider in Melbourne and second at a major, after he was famously beaten by Djokovic at Roland Garros in 2021 after winning the first two sets.

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2023-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282209424989585

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