Sipu Jha
Belarusian world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3 in the Australian Open semi-final on Thursday to set up a title clash with Elena Rybakina.There was no handshake after the match, in line with protocol involving Ukrainian players and opponents from Russia or Belarus. Before the match at Rod Laver Arena, an announcement informed fans there would be no handshake and asked them to respect the decision. Sabalenka and Svitolina also stayed apart during the pre-match formalities and photographs.
Sabalenka moved into her fourth straight Australian Open final and is chasing a third title in Melbourne. She has not dropped a set at the Australian Open this year.Sabalenka and fifth seed Rybakina have now played each other 14 times, with Sabalenka winning eight matches. One of those wins came in the 2023 Australian Open final, where Sabalenka won in three sets.After the match, Sabalenka spoke about the win and praised her opponent.“I’m super happy with the win, she’s a really tough opponent, she was playing really incredible tennis throughout the whole week,” Sabalenka said.There was a delay early in the match when Sabalenka was given a hindrance call for grunting during the fourth game. The decision led to a video review and boos from the crowd. Sabalenka lost the point but regained control and broke serve early in the second set to close out the match.Svitolina said events in Ukraine put the result into perspective.“People are really living horrible and terrifying lives in Ukraine, so I should not be allowed to really be sad because I’m a very, very lucky person,” the 31-year-old said.In the other semi-final, Rybakina beat sixth seed Jessica Pegula of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (9/7). The match lasted one hour and 40 minutes. Rybakina did not drop a set in the tournament and had earlier defeated second seed Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals.
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