Sabalenka and Svitolina set for politically-charged Australian Open semi-final

MELBOURNE, Jan 28 : Aryna Sabalenka will aim to take a huge stride towards a third Australian Open title in four years when the Belarusian top seed clashes with Ukraine's Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a semi-final simmering with geopolitical tension.

Both players will navigate the political sensitivities that have cast a shadow over their meetings on the tour since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, for which Belarus has been a staging ground, and there will be no customary handshakes at the net.

The war has shaped the atmosphere when Ukrainian players go up against their Russian and Belarusian rivals on the tour, with Svitolina among the most vocal in highlighting the strain such encounters carry and the message she feels compelled to send.

But once the first ball is struck, the focus will narrow to their ambitions at Melbourne Park as Sabalenka pushes to extend her hardcourt supremacy with another final while Svitolina aims to break new ground on a stage she has long circled.

"I think every player, when they get to the tournament, it's trophy or nothing. The mentality is the same and it's always in the back of your mind that you want to win it," Sabalenka said after her crushing quarter-final win over teenager Iva Jovic.

"But I'm trying to shift my focus on the right things and taking it step by step, and trying my best in each match, each point, each game, each set. That's my mentality."

SABALENKA'S NEAR‑FLAWLESS EXECUTION

Her approach has translated into near‑flawless execution on the court, the top seed sweeping through five rounds in straight sets, scarcely offering opponents a foothold as she marches toward a fourth successive final in Melbourne.

A third trophy at the venue of her Grand Slam breakthrough would also