Aryna Sabalenka has her sights on a second straight Australian Open title after a successful revenge mission against Coco Gauff.
Gauff denied Sabalenka a second grand slam title of the year with victory in the US Open final last summer but her winning run at the majors came to an end with a 7-6 (2) 6-4 defeat under the roof on Rod Laver Arena.
Sabalenka will now be a big favourite to successfully defend her title at Melbourne Park on Saturday when she takes on first-time slam finalist Zheng Qinwen, who defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-4 6-4.
Sabalenka has been in tremendous form this fortnight, not losing more than three games in any set prior to this semi-final meeting.
Gauff’s stellar powers of defence, which turned the tables in New York after she had lost the first set, ensured she got significantly closer than any of Sabalenka’s previous opponents, but it was still not enough.
“It was (an) incredible match,” said the second seed. “She’s a great player, always tough battles against her. I think the key was that I was able to stay focused no matter what. I just kept trying my best, kept fighting for it.
“Of course I’m super happy to be in another final of the grand slam. Hopefully I can do a little bit better than the last time.”
Gauff made a poor start, with five double faults in her first three service games helping Sabalenka open up a 5-2 lead.
But Gauff’s ability to get one more ball back in play better than anyone else in the women’s game had put Sabalenka into meltdown mode in New York and she threatened the same here.
Sabalenka failed to serve out the set at 5-3 and Gauff saved a set point in the next game before making it four games in a row, the crowd gasping as the Belarusian pushed a forehand wide with the whole court at her mercy.
Gauff was two points away from taking the set but Sabalenka refused to let history repeat itself and forced a tie-break, where she put on a display of awesome power that even the athletic American could find no answer to.
The second was nip and tuck but Sabalenka got the crucial break at 4-4 and served out the victory to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 and 2017 to reach successive finals here.
Gauff looked emotional leaving the court but she rated her performance as better than in the US Open final, saying: “I felt like it wasn’t a great match for me. Yes, I won. I think I played better tonight.
“I wish I could have made more first serves. I think that was the difference. She had a higher first-serve percentage, and it’s tough to also go for the second when you double-faulted a couple times.
“I put myself in the position to serve out the set. At the end of the day, it came down to a couple of points. Same in the second.”
The 19-year-old immediately found perspective at the end of her final slam as a teenager, saying: “I watched these matches growing up, watching Serena (Williams) and (Maria) Sharapova lose these matches.
“When you’re in it, it feels like the end of the world. But then, when you look at history, they didn’t let one match define their career.
“I’m going to dwell on it tonight but, as (coach) Brad (Gilbert) told me as soon as the match was over, the sun is going to rise tomorrow and you have a new chance to live a good day. Tomorrow I’m going to try to go to the movies or something, be proud of myself.”
Twelfth seed Zheng has kept her head while the more fancied players in the top half of the draw have fallen around her.
Yastremska was trying to emulate Emma Raducanu by reaching a grand slam final as a qualifier but she came out second best in a big-hitting encounter.
Zheng, who has not yet faced a top-50 opponent, is the first Chinese player to make it to a slam decider since Li Na won the title here a decade ago.
The 21-year-old said: “It feels unbelievable. I’m super excited to have a such a great performance today and arrive in the final.”
Djokovic bemoans 'completely off' performance after early Italian Open exit
Novak Djokovic lamented his dismal showing as Alejandro Tabilo profited from the world number one's "completely off" performance to triumph at the Italian Open.
Tabilo stunned Djokovic with a straight-sets victory in the third round on Sunday, winning 6-2, 6-3 in his maiden ATP Tour clash with the Serbian.
The Chilean advances to the fourth round at a Masters 1000 event for just the second time after Indian Wells in 2023, with Djokovic unable to explain his struggles in Rome.
"I just wasn't able to find any kind of good feelings on the court, to be honest, striking the ball. I was completely off," he said.
A six-time champion in Rome, the 36-year-old won his opening-round match at the ATP Masters 1000 event against Corentin Moutet.
However, Djokovic was inadvertently hit on the head by a falling water bottle when leaving the court after that victory.
Whether that incident impacted his performance against Tabilo remains to be seen.
"I don't know, to be honest. I have to check that," he said. "Training was different. I was going for [a] kind of easy training yesterday.
"I didn't feel anything, but I also didn't feel the same. Today under high stress, it was quite bad – not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance.
"Just no coordination. Completely different player from what it was two nights ago. Could be. I don't know. I have to do medical checkups and see what's going on."
Tabilo's next opponent will be Karen Khachanov, who saw off Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, while Djokovic is made to wait for his 1100th match win.
Djokovic stunned in straight-sets defeat at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic is out of the Italian Open after a straight-sets defeat by Alejandro Tabilo in the third round on Sunday.
Tabilo recorded the biggest win of his career with a dominant performance, winning 6-2, 6-3 in his maiden ATP Tour clash with the Serbian.
Djokovic, who was hit on the head by a water bottle following his second-round win over Corentin Moutet, struggled to get going as he saw his serve broken four times.
Tabilo clinched the opening set in style, making few errors, and Djokovic failed to mount a comeback in the second, with double faults costing him at key moments, including one on the final break serve.
The Chilean advances to the fourth round at a Masters 1000 event for just the second time after Indian Wells in 2023. His next opponent will be Karen Khachanov, who saw off Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4.
Data Debrief: Big winner
Tabilo is the second player from Chile to defeat the World No.1 in ATP-1000 events after Fernando Gonzalez, who defeated Lleyton Hewitt at the Hamburg Masters in 2003, since the introduction of the format in 1990.
He is also the first Chilean to defeat a World No. 1 since Fernando Gonzalez beat Roger Federer at the 2007 Nitto ATP Finals Round Robin.
Djokovic, meanwhile, is made to wait for his 1100th match win.
Sabalenka dominates Yastremska to reach Italian Open fourth round
Aryna Sabalenka dominated Dayana Yastremska to reach the fourth round of the Italian Open on Sunday.
Sabalenka, who claimed Australian Open glory for the second time earlier this year without dropping a set, eased to a 6-4 6-2 victory over Yastremska.
Yastremska headed into the third-round contest having beaten Sabalenka in all three of their previous meetings, but the world number two found a crucial break of serve in the seventh game of the opening set before going on to hold twice more to take the ascendancy.
Yastremska's resolve was broken further in an epic third game of the second set, surviving six break points before Sabalenka finally got over the line to tighten her grip on the match.
Sabalenka didn't look back from there, breaking Yastremska again before going on to seal her place in the fourth round.
Sabalenka will take on either Sara Errani or Anna Kalinskaya in the fourth round as she looks to win the Italian Open for the first time ahead of the French Open later this month, where she will bid to improve on her semi-final appearance last year.
Data debrief
Since 2018, when Sabalenka achieved her first WTA 1000 win, she is now the player with the joint-most wins in such events (90, equalling Iga Swiatek).
Sabalenka may have lost her three previous games against Yastremska, but the last meeting between the pair was in 2020, and the two-time grand slam champion showed how much her game has progressed since then as she won all nine of her service games while breaking her Ukrainian opponent three times on her way to victory.
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