AUSTRALIAN OPEN – Elena Rybakina defeats Victoria Azarenka and will play a second Grand Slam final

Between the 24th player in the world (Elena Rybakina) and the 25th (Victoria Azarenka), it was difficult, on paper, to do more balanced than this first women’s semi-final on the program this Thursday in Melbourne. In fact, the meeting was indecisive for a set, the first, before the great Kazakhstani finally took the best (7-6, 6-3) against an Azarenka who gradually withered in the 2nd set.

The Belarusian, titled in Melbourne in 2012 and 2013, missed the boat in a disjointed first set where she had several chances. It was her, first of all, who had managed the first break of the game (3-2) and it was important when you know the quality of Rybakina’s service, author of another 9 aces which make 44 in her total since the start of the tournament.

Azarenka too jagged

But Azarenka then experienced a first big air pocket to find herself trailing 5-3, set point on her opponent’s serve. “Vika” magnificently saved her from a superb forehand passing at the end of the race to finally unbreak, come back to 5-5 and offer herself at that time, again, three consecutive break points. This time again, she did not seize the opportunity, before collapsing in the deciding game and finally letting Rybakina win this rather disjointed 1st set.

What will have been disjointed is Azarenka’s level of play, who then fell sharply in the second set with a break quickly conceded (1-2), then a second (2-5). Back to the wall, the former world number 1 had a final burst by redoing one of her two late breaks, but it was only to fall behind on her serve. Thanks to a new unforced error on the backhand, Elena Rybakina, generally more solid and consistent, thus completed a deserved victory in 1h41.

Rybakina, a confirmation

It is also complicated to deserve your final even more when you beat, consecutively, three former Grand Slam winners, including world number 1 Iga Swiatek in the round of 16 and former queen of Melbourne Victoria Azarenka in the semis (plus Jelena Ostapenko between the of them).

In the same way, we will not find anyone to say that Elena Rybakina will not have a chance in the final, whether it is Aryna Sabalenka or (even more) Magda Linette facing her. No, there is no longer any doubt now: at 23, the tall Kazakhstani, 1.84m tall, is establishing herself as one of the best players in the world and will try on Saturday to enter the closed club of multiple champions in Grand Slam.