Highlights:
- On Tuesday, Elena Rybakina easily defeated Jelena Ostapenko.
- Rybakina defeated Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4 to win the match.
- The No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula or Victoria Azarenka will now play the 23-year-old in the semi-finals.
By easily defeating Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinal on Tuesday, Elena Rybakina continued her winning streak at the Australian Open and advanced to the Melbourne final four for the first time.
In the match between the two former Grand Slam champions, Rybakina seemed to be in great form after defeating World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the previous round.
Ostapenko also entered the match with a lot of confidence after winning her previous encounter against Coco Gauff. Over the years, the Latvian also dominated both of their head-to-head matches.
The 23-year old’s outstanding serving helped her take control early on in the match. The defending Wimbledon champion broke serve early on and led 3-1 until Tuesday’s rain decided to interfere.
Due of this, the game was delayed and the Rod Laver Arena’s roof had to be closed. This had little effect on Rybakina’s momentum, though. It took her around 30 minutes to win the first set 6-2.
But in the second set, Ostapenko stormed out to a 2-0 lead. However, Rybakina appeared to be in fantastic form, and therefore Latvian was unable to maintain the lead.
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The 23-year-old immediately took the lead and looked poised to win the match. In the end, Ostapenko did put up some resistance, but it came a little too late.
For the first time in her career, Rybakina advanced to the Australian Open semifinals after winning the second set 6-4 and finishing the match in one hour and 19 minutes. The Kazakhstani’s 11 aces in the match served as the key factor in the tie on the given day.
In the semifinals, Rybakina will now take on either Victoria Azarenka or No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula.