Coco Gauff, left, of the U.S. congratulates Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus following their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka avenged a U.S. Open final loss to Coco Gauff and will defend her Australian Open title as the overwhelming favorite against first-time finalist Zheng Qinwen.
Sabalenka attacked Gauff’s serve with her powerful returns and unloaded 33 winners in the 7-6 (2), 6-4 semifinal victory on Thursday night.
After her breakthrough sequence in 2023 that started with a first major title in Australia and ended in U.S. final loss to Gauff, Sabalenka is the first to reach consecutive finals at Melbourne Park since Serena Williams in 2015, ’16 and ’17.
“The key was that I was able to stay focused no matter what, no matter what the score was … keep fighting for it,” Sabalenka said of the difference between her last two Grand Slam encounters against Gauff. “I’m super happy to be in another final of a Grand Slam. Hopefully I can do a little bit better than the last time.”
No. 12-seeded Zheng had a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 93-ranked Dayana Yastremska, ending the Ukrainian player’s bid to become just the second qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open era after 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Zheng lost in the U.S. Open quarterfinals to Sabalenka last year in her best previous run at a major.
She said reaching the final a decade after Chinese compatriot Li Na won the Australian title almost completes a dream. One more win will finish it.
“It feels unbelievable. I’m super excited to have such a great performance today and arrive in the final,” said Zheng, who hasn’t faced a player ranked in the top 50 in six rounds. “I haven’t faced big seeded (players) all the past rounds … but, you know, it’s a match, so let’s see what’s going to happen in the…
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