Adelaide Internationals 1: Sabalenka sails into semifinals, beats Vondrousova in straight sets

The No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka on Friday defeated Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 7-5 in straight sets to reach the semifinals at the Adelaide International 1.

The World No.5 will play against either No.4 seed Veronika Kudermetova or unseeded Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu for her 19th career WTA Tour singles final.

The big-hitting Sabalenka was dominating the opening quarterfinal to the tune of a 6-3, 4-1, 40-0 lead against the 2019 Roland Garros finalist before things got complicated. She lost four of the next five games and failed to convert match point, before righting the ship in the late stages for a 6-3, 7-5 win.

Sabalenka hammered 38 winners to 26 unforced errors, while the crafty Vondrousova totalled 17 winners to just 10 mistakes.

It was Sabalenka’s fourth straight win over Vondrousova and her second straight triumph against the Czech Down Under. Last year, Sabalenka defeated her 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the third round of the Australian Open.

The 24-year-old hasn’t dropped a set so far this week as she came from 5-1 down, and saved seven set points, in the first set of a 7-6(8), 7-6(3) win over Liudmila Samsonova in Round 2. Against Vondrousova, she saved two break points in the last game of the match and saved six of the eight against her overall.

“It was a tough match. She fought until the end. I’m really happy I was able to win this match,” Sabalenka said after the win. “I think because I’m staying really calm and I feel at home here, that’s why I’m playing really well.”

-IANS

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