MELBOURNE – Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has reached the semifinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
The match at Rod Laver Arena had a rare rain delay of about 20 minutes while the roof was closed. Rybakina led 3-1 and held a break point before the delay. On the return, Ostapenko saved the first break point, but Rybakina broke on her next opportunity to take a 4-1 lead, winning the opener 6-2.
Ostapenko had a break in the second set, but Rybakina equalized with a break of her own. It came to their first break point when Ostapenko failed to convert in the previous game four.
Rybakina, who defeated top seed Iga Swiatek in the fourth round, set up match points with aces, both held by Ostapenko. But she won the match with another ace, her 11th of the match and a tournament-leading 35th overall.
“I was nervous in the last game, but I controlled my emotions and played very well,” Rybakina said. “Conditions were different after the roof was closed later it changes.”
Rybakina plays the winner of the night quarterfinals between the Americans Jessica Pegulaat No. 3, the highest remaining seed of the women and a two-time champion Viktoria Azarenka.
In the men’s quarterfinals, 22-year-old American Sebastian Korda played the next match at Rod Laver Arena against Karen Khachanov, number 18. In a nighttime quarterfinal, third-placed Stefanos Tsitsipas plays against Jiri Lehecka. The winners of these games will play against each other in the semi-finals on Friday.
___
AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed without permission.
