• Aryna Sabalenka beats Donna Vekic 6-3, 6-2 to reach semi-finals.
• Belarussian fifth seed will play unseeded Magda Linette of Poland in final.
• The 24-year-old is the highest-ranked player left in the draw.

Aryna Sabalenka stated that she had to overcome “a lot of really challenging moments” against a tenacious Donna Vekic on Wednesday to reach her first Australian Open semi-final.

Sabalenka, 24, is the highest-ranked player left in the draw and will face unseeded Magda Linette of Poland in Saturday’s final.

The Belarussian fifth seed was always under siege in a 1hr 49min battle on Rod Laver Arena before overcoming unseeded Croat Vekic 6-3, 6-2.

“There were a lot of really painful moments,” Sabalenka said after facing break points in all of her service games and edging in on her first Grand Slam title.

“I simply kept telling myself, ‘Just remain in the game, fight for it, don’t give her free points, make her work for it.'”

The other semi-final on Thursday faces her 33-year-old compatriot Victoria Azarenka against Elena Rybakina, raising the prospect of the first all-Belarusian final in Grand Slam history.

“I truly want that to happen. I know Vika will do everything she can to make it happen “Sabalenka remarked of two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka.

“I will do all in my power to make it happen. That will be history. It will be difficult to accept that this actually occurs.”

Many commentators considered Sabalenka to be the favorite to win the Melbourne title going into the match. She just won the WTA Adelaide International and had played eight matches without dropping a set in 2023.

The world’s fifth-ranked player made the Wimbledon final four in 2021 and advanced to the US Open semifinals in each of the previous two seasons.

Vekic, who is ranked 64th and is 26 years old, has been fighting her way back to the top 20 since undergoing knee surgery two years ago that she feared may put an end to her career.

Vekic, however, had triumphed in five of the pair’s six encounters, including in San Diego in October of last year and at the Tokyo Olympics, and was able to put significant pressure on Sabalenka’s serve right away.

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