World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated 18-year-old American Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0 on Tuesday to reach her place in the Australian Open semifinals.
Aryna Sabalenka, the runner-up at last year’s Australian Open will face the winner of the Coco Gauff vs Elina Svitolina clash in the AO semifinals.
The match at Rod Laver Arena started with the roof open as heat warnings gripped Melbourne, with temperatures forecast to exceed 40°C (104°F). While the roof remained open for that encounter and it was very closed for the subsequent men’s quarterfinal between Alexander Zverev and American Learner Tien.
Chasing her third Australian Open title in four years, Aryna Sabalenka raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set to assert early control against 29th seed Jovic. The American however, stayed competitive and earned three break-point opportunities in a marathon ninth game that lasted 10 minutes.
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Sabalenka surged to a 5-0 lead in the second set with two breaks, completely halting any momentum the young American had built. Jovic added to her troubles late in the match, double-faulting on break point to hand Sabalenka the 5-0 advantage. In the closing game, Sabalenka fired an ace on break point and sealed victory with another ace on match point. She saved all the five break points she faced and finished with seven aces.
Sabalenka defeated 19-year-old Canadian Vicky Mboko to reach the match against another teenager in the fourth round.
Aryna Sabalenka said,
“These teenagers have tested me in the last couple of rounds — incredible player.”
“It was a tough match and Don’t look at the score, it wasn’t easy at all. She played incredible tennis and she pushed me to a one-step better level. It was a amazing battle.”
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Sabalenka won the Australian Open 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year ago against with Madison Keys. Keys was knocked out of this tournament on Monday defeated by American Jessica Pegula.
California-born Iva Jovic comes from an immigrant family, with a Serbian father and a Croatian mother and has been getting advice from Serbian great star Novak Djokovic.
Sabalenka reached the semi-final and will play the against winner of the match between third-seeded Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina.
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