Australian Open: Svitolina crushes sorry Gauff to set up semi-final with Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka stands in the way of Elena Svitolina at the Australian Open
Elena Svitolina swept past Coco Gauff to secure a place in the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time today.
The Ukrainian was far too good for the out-of-sorts American, winning 6-1 6-2 in under an hour.
Third seed Gauff made 26 unforced errors and was unable to produce any kind of response as Svitolina advanced to her fourth major semi-final and moved back into the world’s top 10.
“Not a bad day in the office,” was her assessment afterwards.
“I am very pleased with the tournament so far and it was my dream to get back into the top 10 after maternity leave. It didn’t happen last year, but in the off-season, I told my coach I still wanted to get back to the top 10. That was my goal this year.
“It means the world to me. I try to push myself and motivate myself to continue. Overall, it has been a good trip and I am really happy to go through to the semi-final.”
Sabalenka too strong for teenagerJovic
She faces top seed and two-time Melbourne champion Aryna Sabalenka in the last four.
The Belarusian was an equally emphatic winner, seeing off rising star Iva Jovic 6-3 6-0 in sweltering conditions on Rod Laver Arena.
Jovic, 18, had blazed a trail through the draw, becoming the youngest player to make the quarter-finals without dropping a set since Venus Williams in 1998, and competed early on before Sabalenka moved through the gears.
“Incredible player, it was a tough match – don’t look at the score, it wasn’t easy at all,” Sabalenka said.
“She played incredible tennis, pushed me to … a better level. I’m super happy with the win, it was a tough battle.”
The two remaining quarter-finals in the women’s draw take place tomorrow with second seed Iga Swiatek facing Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula taking on fellow American Amanda Anisimova.