Two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka overcame third seed Jessica Pegula at the Rod Laver Arena to set up a semi-final clash with Elena Rybakina – her first since she won the title in 2013.
The 33-year-old came into Melbourne as the 24th seed but looked unbothered as she saw off the world No. 3 Pegula in straight sets with 6-4, 6-1 win.
Azarenka won five of her 13 break points and ended the game with 74 points won and 36 receiving points won in a dominant display against the highest-seeded women’s player left in the Australian Open.
“I felt last year my tennis wasn’t bad, but I was not mentally ready and played with fear and anxiety. It was difficult to be brave, but I worked a lot on my mindset in the off-season, challenging myself on things I wouldn’t really do before,” she said after securing a spot in the semifinal.
“When you have achieved great success, you can become conservative and hesitant to try new things. I tried new things, put my head down and worked hard.”
For the first time since 2013, @vika7 is going to the #AusOpen semifinals 🙌#AO2023 pic.twitter.com/LstQ8WQcU7
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2023
In her quarter-final clash against world No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko, Rybakina won 6-2, 6-4, in emphatic fashion to progress to her first semifinal in Melbourne and continue an eventful tournament for her so far.
The 23-year-old Kazakh, who has the most aces by a female player at the tournament so far with 35, was too much for the Latvian to handle as she fired eleven aces, won four of six break points, and claimed 24 winners to smash through to the semifinals after one hour and 19 minutes.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion has now defeated three higher-ranked players in the tournament. She overcame world No. 11 Danielle Collins in the third round and, most impressively, defeated the reigning French Open and US Open champion and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets in the fourth round.
“I’m super happy to be in the semi-finals for the first time. Of course, I was nervous, especially in the last game, but I’m super happy I managed the emotions and I played really well today,” Rybakina said after seeing off Ostapenko.
Done in two ✅✅
Elena could not be Ryba-keener to be into the #AO2023 semifinals ✊#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/BYpHgV7Vha
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2023
Azarenka (24th seed) and Rybakina (22nd seed) will face off in the first semi-final of the women’s single event at the Australian Open on Thursday at the Rod Laver Arena.
