MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka showed the same confidence in her core game that led her to a two-time Australian Open title and world number one a decade ago, by defeating Jessica Pegula 6-4 on Tuesday. Back to the semi-finals at Melbourne Park.
The Belarusian was crowned in 2012 and 2013, but since then she has not been among the top four in the first major of the year.
Azarenka, now 33 and a mum – stepped out into the Rod Laver Arena wearing a jersey of her 7-year-old son’s favorite soccer team, Paris Saint-Germain – landed one brilliant blow after another, taking only 12 minutes to build a 3-0 lead. And she didn’t let her good friend Pegula, the third seed, into the match.
“Leo can’t care less that I play here,” said Azarenka, laughing. “He’s more worried about football and when we’ll play again. He’s obviously watching some games, but he definitely wants his mum to come home. So I’ll be back for a few more days.”
In the semifinals, Azarenka, seeded 24, will face Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina (22), who beat former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4. The game was interrupted for about twenty minutes while the retractable roof was closed due to rain.
Rybakina was leading 3-1 before halftime. Back on the court, Ostapenko saved a break point, but Rybakina served him the next opportunity to take a 4-1 lead and win the first set 6-2.
The Kazakh, who had beaten top seed Iga Swiatek in the previous round, took the match points with a header, but both were saved by Ostapenko. He achieved another direct serve win, on the 11th and 35th day of the tournament.
“I was nervous in the last match, but I managed to control my emotions and played very well,” said Rybakina. “The conditions were different after they closed the roof. But it can happen here, you never know, the weather is in the morning and then it changes.”
In the men’s draw, Russia’s Karen Khachanov will play her first semi-final at Melbourne Park – her second consecutive major tournament after advancing to the US Open in September – after American Sebastian Korda retired in the third set. due to a right wrist injury.
Khachanov will face the winner of the duel between the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (third) and the Czech Jiri Lichka, who met later.
Korda, whose father Peter won in Melbourne in 1998, felt pain in his wrist when he missed a forehand serve in the second set. The coach called in to examine and bandage him but he withdrew when he ordered 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-0.
