Elena Rybakina defeats Iga Swiatek to advance to the semifinals of the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Elena Rybakina triumphed over Iga Swiatek with a score of 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday, advancing to the semifinals of the Australian Open and thwarting the No. 2 seed’s attempt to achieve a career Grand Slam.
This victory provides Rybakina an opportunity to claim her second Grand Slam title, having previously won Wimbledon in 2022.
Swiatek, a four-time champion at the French Open, has also secured titles at the US Open and Wimbledon. She was aiming to become the 11th woman to accomplish a career Grand Slam.
The first set lasted an hour, with Rybakina breaking Swiatek in the final game. The second set was nearly the reverse.
Rybakina, who was born in Russia but competes for Kazakhstan, broke her Polish rival twice at the beginning of the set, establishing a 3-0 advantage. She served two aces to extend her lead to 4-1, broke again in the sixth game, and concluded the match with an ace.
In the final women’s quarterfinal, two American players faced each other, with Jessica Pegula taking on Amanda Anisimova. Pegula is pursuing her first Grand Slam title after finishing as the runner-up at the US Open in 2024.
Anisimova is also seeking her inaugural Grand Slam title and was the losing finalist last year at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
The victor of the Pegula-Anisimova match will meet Rybakina in a semifinal on Thursday. In the other semifinal on Thursday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will compete against Elina Svitolina.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: espn.com
