Supreme Sabalenka crushes Svitolina to reach Australian Open final

MELBOURNE, Jan 29 : Aryna Sabalenka swept to her fourth successive Australian Open final with a 6-2 6-3 win over Ukrainian Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a semi-final overshadowed by geopolitical tension.

Top-seeded Belarusian Sabalenka will bid for a third crown at Melbourne Park in four years and fifth Grand Slam title overall against the winner of the late semi-final between Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina at Rod Laver Arena.

"I just cannot believe that. It's an incredible achievement but the job is not done yet," world number one Sabalenka said on court. "I'm super happy with the win. She's such a tough opponent and has been playing incredible tennis the whole week."

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, for which Belarus has been a staging ground, Russian and Belarusian players have been banned from representing their nations at the Grand Slams and tour events.

Svitolina has been vocal about the strain of playing the countries' players, and said she hoped to bring her nation "light" at the Australian Open after a tough winter.

The 27-year-old Sabalenka, however, crushed those hopes in a furious display of raw power.

She became the third woman in the professional era to reach the Australian Open decider four times in a row following Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1971-76) and Martina Hingis (1997-2002), who each played six finals in a row.

"Gutted not to make it through tonight," Svitolina told reporters. "Of course it's very difficult when you're playing a world number one on fire."

SVITOLINA COMPREHENSIVELY BEATEN

While 31-year-old Svitolina was comprehensively defeated, she fought hard from the first ball to the last.

The 12th seed started with tenacity, thumping a forehand winner down the line on the first point