Joining Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) as the other opponent for tomorrow’s women singles final is Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus.
She too responded to Magda Linette’s brilliant fire off really well, having closed in on her semis opponent that went all the way with the first set tiebreak win before Sabalenka was just too good in the end via straight sets – 6-7 (1-7 tiebreak) & 2-6.
We’re so gutted for Linette as her fairlytale campaign at the 2023 Aus Open has came to an end just outside the Final two places. She got away with a really good start against another of the rising stars right now in Sabalenka. But when it comes to the fightback and execution though, she just couldn’t keep the momentum that
let her slip up as this other semi final goes on. Sadly, Sabalenka saw a great opportunity to pick up the pieces & build an extended lead on Linette where she eliminated her comfortably. Let’s hope Linette will continue to build on her unreal run here in her prime right now at age 30.
And congratulations to Sabalenka on her breakthrough into the Final for the first time on her fourth attempt following the 2021 Wimbledon & 2021-22 US Opens beforehand. The response and fightback she did on Linette in the opening stage was so good to watch, which made her make up lost time that went into the tiebreak and came out on top with a 1-0 lead. Then the pressure began to alleviate where Sabalenka wasted no time with the patience needed on the run home & she did it just that to collect the 2nd & last Main Event ticket for tomorrow as a player alongside Rybakina. Well done as a grand slam singles’ title here would be her next best breakthrough moment yet at age 24.
