Formidable world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka blasted past Coco Gauff into the Australian Open final on Thursday to keep her title defence on track.
The Belarusian tamed the fourth seed 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 in one hour and 42 minutes on Rod Laver Arena to avenge her defeat by the American teenager in last year’s US Open final.
She will play Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen in Saturday’s final.
By beating Gauff, the 25-year-old became the first player since Serena Williams in 2016 and 2017 to reach back-to-back Australian Open finals.
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No-one since Victoria Azarenka in 2013 has mounted a successful women’s title defence at Melbourne Park.
