Also Zheng in the Melbourne final
Sabalenka takes revenge on the tennis prodigy
January 25, 2024, 4:27 p.m
Coco Gauff wins in the final of the US Open, and Aryna Sabalenka has the upper hand in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The Belarusian moves confidently into the final in Melbourne – she has not lost a single set in the tournament. Now she meets a clear outsider.
Aryna Sabalenka hugged Coco Gauff at the net, then closed her eyes in relief and distributed kisses to the audience: After the next demonstration of power at the Australian Open, the Belarusian is only one step away from successfully defending her title and her second Grand Slam title – and is leaving against the Chinese Zheng Qinwen as the clear favorite in the final in Melbourne.
“I’m of course super happy to be in the Grand Slam final again. I hope I can do better than last time,” said Sabalenka, who lost the US Open final in September to the tennis prodigy – and now took revenge for it. After the 7:6 (7:2), 6:4 against Gauff, the second major title is within reach. The 25-year-old has yet to drop a set during the tournament and has been unbeaten in 13 games in Melbourne.
And against Zheng would be on Saturday (9.30 a.m. CET/Eurosport) a defeat is a huge surprise. The Chinese, seeded twelfth, reached her first Grand Slam final with a 6:4, 6:4 win against Ukrainian qualifier Dajana Jastremska. “It feels incredible to reach the final. It’s hard to put my feelings into words,” said Zheng, who thanked her team and addressed Chinese fans with words in Mandarin. Ten years after Li Na won the title, a Chinese woman is once again in the final in Melbourne.
Gauff “unfortunately makes one or two mistakes too many”
Sabalenka and Zheng know each other well and have already faced each other in the US Open quarterfinals in 2023 – with the Belarusian coming out better. “We trained together here before the tournament, she is playing very well. It will be a great match,” said Sabalenka, who won her only Grand Slam title to date on the Yarra River a year ago.
She got into the game well against Gauff, who seemed nervous at the start, but after the American’s performance improved, Sabalenka kept her nerve in the tiebreak. In the second set, Sabalenka managed the decisive break to 5:4, after 1:42 hours of play she used her second match point to win and moved into a major final for the third time – where she wants to complete her perfect journey in Melbourne again. “I think I wasn’t so passive today and tried to put less pressure on myself.”
For Gauff it was the first defeat this year. Shortly before the Australian Open she won the tournament in Auckland. “Unfortunately I made one or two mistakes too many,” said the 19-year-old after her exit. “It was still a good tournament for me. Aryna was simply the better one today.”